Pizza Rat wildly captured the imagination of Twitter on Monday, thanks to comedian Matt Little (h/t Jordan Sargent). Like any other rat in the Big Apple, it is hungry for life. Unlike the rest of its rodent brethren, however, it was recorded carrying a large, single slice of pizza down the dirty cement steps of a New York subway station.
I'm thinking about what this means for the universe. Is this a good or bad sign?
Posted by Margarita Noriega on Monday, September 21, 2015
Pizza Rat does some heroic work, carrying a slice of pizza tenaciously down the steps. The slice is way bigger than the rat and likely weighs more too. But he (or she?) was quickly criticized for abandoning the slice as it approached the third-to-last step.
Pizza Rat inspired many with its embrace of New York's most iconic portable snack:
— Nathan W. Pyle (@nathanwpyle) September 21, 2015
when you have four teen turtles at home of course you’re gonna drag a whole slice
— Alex Bedder (@itgetsbedder) September 21, 2015
But Pizza Rat abandoned the slice on the third-to-last step, leaving many critics to question the rat's intent:
Pizza: Never let go. Rat: I'll never let go, Pizza. I'll never let go. *promptly lets go of pizza* pic.twitter.com/hxvDOZVNwZ
— Alp Ozcelik (@alplicable) September 21, 2015
That rat didn't even make it down the stairs with the pizza.
— Stefan Becket (@stefanjbecket) September 21, 2015
i was dragging slices of pizza across subway platforms years ago
— it me, mario (@ptrmsk) September 21, 2015
Sasquatch, Godzilla, King Kong, Loch Ness Pizza Rat, a zombie with no conscience
— Becca Laurie, PI (@imbeccable) September 21, 2015
pizza rat was beloved for like two minutes and then people started doubting the rat’s dedication to pizza. is nothing sacred?
— Summer Anne Burton (@summeranne) September 21, 2015
Pizza Rat was so captivating, it trended on Twitter:
— Nu Wexler (@wexler) September 21, 2015
Pizza Rat's big secret? There's more than one pizza, and pizza rat, in the city.
We don't know why Monday's Pizza Rat abandoned the slice, but Katla McGlynn caught another pizza rat earlier this year who appears to have finished the business that today's pizza rat abandoned.
This rat eating a slice of pizza on the subway tracks is, hands down, the most New York thing I have ever seen pic.twitter.com/yyGwTPNWV9
— Katla McGlynn (@katlamcglynn) April 16, 2015
Pizza rat was like ‘a whole slice holy shit, wait wtf this has oregano on it’
— Josh Laincz (@zohf) September 21, 2015
Maybe Monday's rat grew tired of the pizza-razzi. Maybe it hated lugging that huge slice down those stairs? Pizza slices can weigh anywhere up to nearly a pound, depending on toppings; according to the American Fancy Rat & Mouse Association, that's nearly as heavy as the average rat.