[2][3][4] The post quickly became viral, compelling many Chicago residents to visit the hole—in what has been described as a "pilgrimage"—and to make offerings to it, such as coins, flowers, candles, cheese, cigarettes, alcohol, children's toys, foodstuffs, and estradiol pills.

[17] Some residents of West Roscoe Street expressed frustration with the hole's newfound viral status, with some locals citing public nuisance, vandalism, and accumulation of garbage on the sidewalk.

[18] A "Rathole Music Fest" was held at a venue under three miles south of the site in June, featuring local bands as well as burlesque and poetry performances.

[9] The director of Lincoln Park Zoo's Urban Wildlife Institute, Seth Magle, told NBC Chicago that he believed it likely that a squirrel fell on the wet concrete from a tree.

Magle also clarified that the thinness of the tail cavity, used by some to argue in favor of it being a rat hole, should not be considered, given that fur does not always leave impressions.

[21] A purse filled with Lucky Charms hanging from a sign for Addison Street in Chicago received similar visits from Chicagoans, and was thus also compared to the rat hole.