Bronze Sculpture of a Rat

A tourist wanders into a back-alley antique shop somewhere in Washington DC. Picking through the objects on display he discovers a detailed, life-sized bronze sculpture of a rat. The sculpture is so interesting and unique that he picks it up and asks the shop owner what it costs. "Twelve dollars for the rat, sir," says the shop owner, "and a thousand dollars more for the story behind it." "You can keep the story, old man," he replies, "but I'll take the rat."

The transaction complete, the tourist leaves the store with the bronze rat under his arm. As he crosses the street in front of the store,two live rats emerge from a sewer drain and fall into step behind him. Nervously looking over his shoulder, he begins to walk faster, but every time he passes another sewer drain, more rats come out and follow him. By the time he's walked two blocks, at least a hundred rats are at his heels, and people begin to point and shout. He walks even faster, and soon breaks into a trot as multitudes of rats swarm from sewers, basements, vacant lots, and abandoned cars.

Rats by the thousands are at his heels, and as he sees the waterfront at the bottom of the hill, he panics and starts to run full tilt. No matter how fast he runs, the rats keep up, squealing hideously, now not just thousands but millions, so that by the time he comes rushing up to the water's edge a trail of rats twelve city blocks long is behind him.

Making a mighty leap, he jumps up onto a light post, grasping it with one arm while he hurls the bronze rat into the Potomac Tidal Basin with the other, as far as he can heave it. Pulling his legs up and clinging to the light post, he watches in amazement as the seething tide of rats surges over the breakwater into the Basin, where they drown.

Shaken and mumbling, he makes his way back to the antique shop."So, you've come back for the rest of the story," says the owner. "No," says the tourist, "I was wondering if you have a bronze congressman. "

a reply to: ackeiyword

LMAO! S&F!

I ran across this thread doing research, using ATS search, for the Cult of the Bronze Serpent thread.

I also ran across this article on a huge Bronze Rat statue ...

The New Colossus Arrives at the Lever House in NYC

The center of the exhibit features a 12′ tall Bronze Union Scab Rat that was manufactured at Polich Tallix. The massive, nearly 5,000 lb sculpture, was cast and assembled, finished, patinated and installed in less than four months.

The original model for the sculpture is the recognizable vinyl blow-up Rat, ussually situated outside to mark the protest of union workers against Scabs, or temporary workers that take over the jobs of union members when they go on strike. Working with experts at Direct Dimensions and Digital Atelier, the orignal vinyl model was digitally scanned, enlarged and CNC machined in urethane in order to create the physical model for molding and lost wax casting.

And that gives me good enough reason to bump this funny old thread!