Okay...so you're just minding your own business, briskly walking to work in the AM after getting off the subway when -- out of nowhere -- an urban rat darts across the pavement, nearly missing the tip of your shoe. What's your first reaction? Do you: a) Leap a few feet into the air? b) Grab onto the closest tree trunk? c) Shriek like a little school girl? d) Thrust your foot upward in a lame attempt to send the now-long-gone rat careening through the air like a football? Perhaps the correct answer is "all the above" for some, and yet what we tend to forget about the whiskered, turbo-chomping rodents is that they are not the vile creatures that we mistakenly presume them to be. Granted, they were partially responsible for taking out 1/3 of the population in medieval Europe due to the spread of the Bubonic Plague, but hey - they didn't actually start the whole thing. If we really want to blame someone, it's more appropriate to point the finger at rat fleas which were feasting on their blood and spreading the Yersinia pestis bacteria all over the better part of Europe and the Middle East.
Let's focus on all the good things that rats have done for us lately, such as helping us to comprehend diseases, psychological studies, drug reactions/benefits, perform search and rescue missions and even sniff out landmines in third world countries. They've also proven to be excellent pets capable of being affectionate and able to perform certain handy household tasks. Unfortunately for them, some cultures -- such as Aboriginal, Ghanan and Southeast Asian -- have also regularly utilized their wee little bodies as a reliable protein source, but I suppose that this factoid offers yet more proof of how instrumental they've been to mankind. And yes, let's not forget Reid Peppard's collection of RP/ENCORE rodent and vermin taxidermy jewelry and fashion accessories - definitely a gnarly sight to behold. I wouldn't say that their sacrifice in that particular application helps to advance our society....um, perhaps we should just move on.
From the interesting news files comes a new project straight out of Surrey, England starring, well, rats of course! 25 year old artist Jeeves Basu is currently in the process of coaching a highly trained team of sharp-toothed munchers to strategically carve a solid piece of wood into a functioning table using nothing but their choppers and a little friendly coaching. It may sound like an absolutely absurd experiment, but the copywriter/art director is so serious about his efforts that he is documenting the entire process on film and editing it into a final 5 minute time-lapsed version, which naturally will be posted in Spring of 2010 on YouTube and his Facebook page, appropriately titled RAT TABLE. Given the fact that the little rascals thoroughly enjoy nibbling all sorts of snacks and are capable of decimating everything from wood and uncured concrete to metal in their path, Basu's fleet of furniture carving rats should be up for the task. Anyone tempted to bid on the final product? How much would you offer...and what would you use to sterilize the whole thing?
For more on the artist and his RAT TABLE plans, check out this recent interview.
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