Reykjavík Grapevine - 02.06.2017, Síða 14

What To Do If You Find A
Rat In Your Toilet
… and other facets of rats in Reykjavík

Words: Paul Fontaine
Photo: Art Bicnick
OPINION Reykjavík is a harbour
town, and like all harbour towns,
it has rats. How many rats exactly
is unknown, but they are not great
in number, and have been on the
decline. Granted, the climate isn't
exactly welcoming, but the re-
sources are, and they can be found
in many districts of Reykjavík.
You are still unlikely to see an
actual rat scurrying along Reyk-
javík streets, although you might
hear them with-
out realising it
w h e n w a l k i n g
through any giv-
en side street. For
the most part, rats
t ravel t h roug h
the city's water drainage system.
This means they can sometimes
get into sewers, which means
they can and do get into toilets.
Yes, this is a thing
This has happened to me twice,
once in the 105 postcode, in 2013,
and again in the centre of 101, in
2014. In both cases, I was living in
a basement apartment, which is
where a rat would be most likely
to make its first stop in search
of air after entering a structure's
toi let drainage pipe system.
Once the rat gets to the top of
an individual toilet's drainage
pipe, it reaches the reservoir of
air above the porcelain rim that
separates the water in the toilet
from the drainage pipe. It will
then hang out on the rim of the
air reservoir for a while to catch
its breath before either making its
way back down the drainage pipe,
or entering the toilet bowl itself.
On both of my occasions, the rat
only made its presence known to
me by presenting me with its tail,
waving forlornly from the darkness
of the toilet cave, at the bottom of
the bowl. At this moment, there
is only one thing you can do that
will be to the benefit of both you
and the rat: put the lid town, and
empty the fucking tank on it. Lean
on that flush until the water stops.
Listen. If you do not hear splashing
or rat-paddling sounds, deign to lift
the lid and check. If it worked like it
should, you have sent it right down the
drainage pipe to the mainline again,
and you've rid your toilet of a rat.
Peaceful coexistence
Regardless of how few rats there
are in Reykjavík, everyone will re-
spond to them differently, depend-
ing on context. If you grew up here,
rats in the city might be alarming
to you. If you grew up some place
with more rats, then you have no
reason to overreact should you hap-
pen upon one here. I mean, these
rats didn't even ask to be here.
The bright side is this: if we
maintain proper curbside sani-
tation and stop
drunkenly spill-
ing fries in the
street, we can
probably peace-
f u l l y c o e x i s t
with a rat ecosys-
tem in our sewers, living on what
we throw away, making it use-
ful for them and us alike. There's
absolutely no need to panic.
14 The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 09 — 2017
Words: Alice Demurtas
Share this article: gpv.is/tc07
TIME CAPSULE Built and opened
in 1950, the National Theatre of Ice-
land stores a page of Reykjavík’s
decadent history in the fiery heart
of its cellar.
As I step under its low ceilings,
the room greets me with a warm,
crimson hug. Faded red stools are
carefully arranged to frame two
rows of round tables, while the
polished wood of the stage shines
under the dim lights. The scar-
let curtains lined with a golden
band are drawn still, waiting.
It’s strange to think that this
place is part of the theatre. It
hosts a comedy club, improv ses-
sions and cabaret. However, you
can almost feel some sort of hid-
den energy buried under those
dark 1950s lath floors. “This place
used to be a club,” the cellar’s su-
pervisor Ása Andrésdóttir ex-
plains, unveiling the mystery.
“The cognac bar was right there,”
she adds as she points behind me. As
I touch it, the beautiful glass door
tinkles. It’s like a sound from the
past, while the smoke of old cigars
turns into dust before my eyes.
The National
Theatre Cellar
BRYGGJAN BRUGGHÚS * GRANDAGARÐI 8 101 REYKJAVÍK
00354 456 4040 * WWW.BRYGGJANBRUGGHUS.IS
DAILY TOURS ON THE HOUR BETWEEN 13-22
BEER TOUR
2O - 30 MIN TOUR INCLUDING A 3 OR 6
BEER FLIGHT MENU FROM OUR MICRO BREWERY.
2.900/5.400 KR.
DOCKSIDE BREWERY & BISTRO
BISTRO
11.30-23.00
JAZZ EVERY
SUNDAY
AT 20.00
“I mean, these
rats didn't even
ask to be here”
Some rats are a lot of fun
Photo: Art Bicnick