Posts tagged "rodent"

For this video, we're going to have to ask you all to look beyond your initial reactions and try to see the cuteness inherent in a sewer rat eating garbage.

Nobody likes the idea of sewer rats even existing. They aren't the clean, tame, fancy rats that people keep as pets; they're the rats that people think of when you says "rats." But, c'mon, this little fella is still pretty cute! And at least he's below the street instead of running free on it. Plus: ice cream. It's the great equalizer. Everyone loves ice cream. You're not going to stop eating it now just because sewer rats like it too, are you?

It's 3 o'clock. You had a heavy lunch, and now you're getting that drowsy feeling at your desk that you feel every day around this time. You're putting more work into keeping your eyes from closing and your head from nodding than you're putting into your actual work.

Just be thankful that your desk isn't several feet off the ground. Then those afternoon drowsies could suddenly become a matter of life and death, or at least a matter of injury.

Hamster owners, are you ready to show off your furry little friend's skills? You'll get your chance at a Petco near you on April 24, during this year's Hamster Ball Derby!

Last year's Hamster Ball Derby had more than 10,000 hamsters and other small pets racing down hamster-ball-sized tracks. Heats of four quickly separated the more fleet-footed hamsters from the slower ones, with the three fastest in each store going home with a hamster-iffic prize. (What, no wee little trophy for the hamster's mantle?)

The goal behind the Hamster Ball Derby is to give kids a fun, new way to interact with their hamsters. You may already have a hamster ball, but if you are serious about competing you might want to buy a Hamtrac, just like the ones used on race day, and get some serious practicing in before the big day. (But not too much practicing. Petco recommends no more than three 15-minute "workouts," three times a week, with rest in between.)

The epitome of ridiculousness? Absolutely. But for those of you who think a vacation just isn't a vacation unless you get to act like a rodent, there is at long last a place for you: the hamster hotel in Nantes, France.

This unique establishment provides guests with the chance to play out their fantasies of living like a hamster, according to The (UK) Telegraph. The Hamster Villa, located in an 18th-century building, was designed by a pair of French architects to resemble a giant hamster cage. We don't get it either.

Visitors to the hotel sleep on hay bales and stretch their legs by running on -- what else? -- a giant hamster wheel. And forget snacking on baguettes and cheese during your stay in France. Guests at the Hamster Villa are given a treat of hamster grain, according to the Telegraph. Imagine, all this for just 99 Euros (about $147) per night.

The experience gives guests a chance "to become a hamster, eat seeds, change our way of life...come out of our daily routine," the villa's first guests told Reuters TV.

If this sounds like your idea of a stellar getaway, well, enjoy it. But please be a considerate hotel guest, and don't keep your neighbors awake by gnawing on your cage all night.