The internet went wild last week over a video of a rat dragging a slice of pizza down the steps of a New York City subway. But "pizza rat" is just the tip of the iceberg.
Rats are some of the most resilient creatures in the world. They eat just about anything. They multiply incredibly fast, and they might be one of the few creatures that survive the next mass extinction. They even have their own Wikipedia page.
Here are some amazing facts about everyone's least favorite rodent vermin.
CHECK OUT: This city came up with a brilliantly simple solution to its rat infestation problem
NOW READ: Spend A Night With The Rat-Hunting Dogs Of NYC
It's an urban myth that there are as many rats as people in New York. In fact, the real number of rats is closer to one-quarter of the number of people (or about 2 million rodents).
All New York City rats today are the same species: the Norwegian rat (Rattus norvegicus). This is the same kind as pet rats and lab rats. It's also known as the brown rat, the sewer rat, and the alley rat.
The average adult brown rat is 16 inches long and weighs 1 pound, but some have been reported to be as long as 20 inches and weigh up to 2 pounds.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
NOW WATCH: This 3-minute animation will change the way you see the universe