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Friday, April 03, 2009

Environment - Cooler head than mine at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

All the ILB can say about this item by Al Kamen of the Washington Post in his "In the Loop" column today is "OMG!"

Marine ecologist Jane Lubchenco, finally confirmed March 19 as the undersecretary of commerce in charge of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, went the next day to check out her new digs on the fifth floor of the Commerce Department headquarters.

She has a fine corner office at 15th and Constitution -- nothing fancy, but excellent views of the Ellipse and the Washington Monument. She also discovered that she has her own bathroom -- or at least a half-bath that she'll share with her yet-to-be named deputy.

But as Lubchenco opened the door to look in, she noticed that it was occupied -- by a massive Norwegian rat. The critter, equally startled, was, she guessed, about 10 inches long. (They usually have an equally long tail, we understand.)

The rat scurried back and forth and then hopped up on the toilet seat. There was a brief standoff. Then the rat did a swan dive into the bowl and disappeared into the system. The droppings were quickly cleaned up.

"As an ecologist, she finds it biologically fascinating that sewer rats have adapted so well to coexisting with humans," her spokesman, Scott Smullen, told us. (Studies show they have an especially easy time fitting in here.) The exterminator is scheduled to pay a visit today, he said, but "she's already been using the toilet."

"She thinks the rat was able to enter the pipe since the toilet hadn't been used for some time," Smullen explained. Her predecessor left several months ago. As a result, air pockets may have developed along the line, which apparently would allow the rat easier access. "But with regular flushes, it's less likely to pay a return visit."

Posted by Marcia Oddi on April 3, 2009 11:03 AM
Posted to Environment