Mr.Radt's Amazing Fun Facts on Rats Quiz

Answer: Peer pressure

It has been found that when a rat is introduced to a new group it will eat food that it has found unpalatable before purely because the rats in the new group eat it. This is an example of peer pressure - you're doing it, so I'll join in.

Answer: Camel

It is well known that a camel can survive up to fifteen days without water. The kangaroo rat (Dipodomys species) can go their whole lives (3-5 years) without water. They get enough liquid from the food that they consume. An interesting fact that is not well known is that giraffes can go without water for around 20 days, but one should take into account their typical habitat would not include deserts.

Answer: Fancy rat

The term "fancy rat" is associated with the more inclusive "animal fancy" which refers to the hobby of pet keeping including, appreciating, breeding and advancement of a certain pet or domestic animal.

Answer: Fruit, nuts, seeds, veggies and a bite of chocolate

Rats are omnivores and in the wild, being opportunistic eaters, will pretty much gnaw on anything that comes their way including small insects such as crickets and beetles, berries, seeds etc. Domestic rats would prefer a mixture of seeds, nuts, fruits and vegetables. Contrary to popular belief, chocolate in small amounts is not dangerous to rats, but avocado skins and seeds are.

Answer: Mallomys

Mallomys is a large wooly rat found in New Guinea. They weigh between one and two kilograms. The critically endangered Enggano rat is smaller and is only found on the Enggano island of Indonesia.

Answer: Malaria

Malaria is transmitted by mosquitoes. Leptospiroses, or Weil's disease, is a bacterial infection caused by contact with rat urine or feces. Colorado tick fever is transmitted to humans by ticks that had fed on blood of the Bushy-tailed woodrat. Plague is transmitted by fleas and the most common reservoir of plague remains the domestic rat in the twenty-first century.

Answer: Chatter their teeth, vibrate their eyes and "laugh"

A cheerful rat may "laugh" although, unfortunately, this sound is not audible to the human ear as the sound comes in the form of a high frequency 50 kilo-hertz ultrasonic call or "chirp". You are sure to notice the chittering (sort of grinding) of the teeth and the vibrating of the eyes of your merry rat. (Source: "Rats laugh, but not like humans" by Jesse Berring in Scientific America, July 2012 on the research of Jaak Panksepp.)

Answer: Landmine detective and electrician's aide

They can be, and are being, trained to detect land mines. Due to their light weight they can perform this work quite safely. Rats have also been trained to pull electrical cables through conduits and limited access maintenance ducts, saving the electrician much time and effort.

Answer: Disease

The Bulldog rat (Rattus nativitatis) was a land dwelling, short tailed rat with an unusual layer of fat on its back. These animals were slow and probably nocturnal. It is thought that disease from black rats inadvertently introduced by sailors destroyed them, with the last specimens being seen in the early 1900s.

Answer: First rat in space

Launched in France in February 1961, Hector became the first rat to successfully travel in space and return safely to earth. Hector died without receiving a knighthood or other honors. All the other options are fictitious, although a cloned rat might not be that ridiculous. I doubt he will be called Hector as well and it won't have happened in 1961.