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CT wonders how it is that rats know when it is time to leave the sinking ship?

2 hours ago · Comment · Like

BRC at 12:45pm July 6

Hanging out down in the bilge, they get an early warning when the water starts to rise. Which applies to rats both literal and figurative.

CT at 12:56pm July 6

but if the ship is sinking can we really make the rats out to be bad guys? And if they aren't bad literally are they bad figuratively? Maybe we as a society need rats to be our early warning system.

BRC at 12:59pm July 6

If rats are bad guys, it's usually for some reason other than making the ship sink - it's the disease-carrying and thieving they are more guilty of. Ship sinking is usually more due to icebergs/sleeping watchmen. Or pirates.

CT at 1:02pm July 6

yes, but their merit as early warning systems for the sinking of the ship --- shouldn't that allow them some measure of forgiveness for all the desieasery and theivery?

BRC at 1:14pm July 6

it's only an "early warning" for the rest of us if they tell someone they are leaving.

SW at 1:17pm July 6

Ship sinking could also be caused from rice. Think about it. You put a ton of rice in the hull of a ship and it gets wet, expands, and then cracks the ship's frame. Very dangerous cargo to transport in the days of wooden ships. Of course, if they had rats to eat the rice, no problem, well, except for lack of merchandise.

EH at 1:49pm July 6

Y'all need to pick of a copy of William Hope Hodgson's "The Albatross"

CT at 1:51pm July 6

See there is ANOTHER thing that rats are good for. eating the rice that might other wise expand and sink the ship.
But... then of course we would have to discuss the quantum effect that rats saving and abandoning said ship. And the overall moral effect that eating/stealing/saving/abandoning the ship might have on both the crew and the rat populace.

CT at 1:54pm July 6

Plus, Hodgson falls into the same social trap as do we all. The rats in his story are "imprisoning" the woman and need to be battled. But isn't that an assumption on the part of the woman? Maybe the rats are filling in the cracks and her weeks worth of supplies would be worthless if the boat sank prematurely. Just as we all assume we know the identity of the figurative rats in society and how to best deal with them

EH at 2:12pm July 6

Okay, okay. Go read "The mystery of the Derelict" then or go get the exciting part in my note.

BRCat 2:21pm July 6

Or you could watch the bonus feature on the Ratatouille DVD that talks about the historical relationship between rats and humans and draw your own conclusions.

CTl at 2:23pm July 6

HA HA. I love the juxtaposition: Mystery of the Derelict, or Ratatouille bonus features. Surely we dwell in the information age.