From New York’s Pizza Rat to Mississippi’s RATT 2, with a little help from Matt, Two-Tone, and the law of seriality.
Earlier today, I finished writing about Jeff, affectionately—or perhaps not so affectionately—known in my personal mythology as “the rat at the end of the cliff.”
Approximately two hours later, while stopped at a red light in Mississippi, I found myself directly behind a Nissan Altima sporting a personalized license plate:
RATT 2.
Naturally, I took pictures.
Anyone familiar with my research into Paul Kammerer’s Law of Seriality knows why this caught my attention.
But the rat hole goes deeper.
From Pizza Rat to Two-Tone
Remember Pizza Rat, the famous New York City subway rat that became an internet sensation for dragging an entire slice of pizza down the stairs?
Well, apparently Pizza Rat has a sequel.
RATT 2: The Fast and the Furriest.
And this time, instead of hauling pizza through the New York subway, he’s cruising through Mississippi in a Nissan Altima.
But wait. There’s another rat in my personal history.
During my earlier days with my friend Matt—the one I associate with angel wings—he actually had a pet rat named Two-Tone.
Yes, Two-Tone.
So now we’ve got Jeff, the rat at the end of the cliff; New York City’s Pizza Rat; Matt’s Two-Tone; and a Mississippi license plate reading RATT 2.
At this point, I’m beginning to wonder whether the simulation has a rodent department.
And whether somebody forgot to pay the exterminator.
The Machine Elves Have Entered the Chat
People who’ve experienced DMT sometimes describe encounters with seemingly autonomous entities popularly known as machine elves.
Having experienced DMT myself, I’ve wondered about the relationship between those extraordinary perceptions and the everyday coincidences that continue to capture my attention.
I no longer encounter machine elves through DMT experiences. But I’ve developed a playful hypothesis:
What if license plates are the machine elves’ cue cards in the simulation?
Rather than appearing in psychedelic visions, perhaps they’re metaphorically holding up little signs along the highway.
Or perhaps my brain is simply very good at recognizing patterns in things that already matter to me.
There’s no evidence that machine elves are actually arranging license plates. Still, the timing makes for an entertaining entry in my ongoing study of seriality.
The Rat Race Continues
A rat at the end of a cliff.
An old friend with a rat named Two-Tone.
A legendary New York pizza thief.
And approximately two hours after finishing an article about Jeff, a license plate reading RATT 2.
I’m not presenting this as proof of supernatural intervention, hidden entities, or a programmed simulation. The license plate is real. The connections are my interpretations.
But if life really were a holographic comedy, this would make a pretty good running gag.
Maybe reality isn’t sending me messages. Maybe I’m simply getting better at noticing the words already written across it.
And sometimes those words spell RATT.
With two T’s.
And a 2.
Somewhere, Pizza Rat is probably demanding royalties.
Transparency Note
This article was developed with assistance from OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The personal experiences and associations described are Todd’s own. The license plate was photographed, and the reference to Matt’s pet rat Two-Tone comes from Todd’s recollection. Interpretations involving machine elves, seriality, and simulated reality are speculative and metaphorical, not established scientific conclusions.
AI assistance included editing, humor, structure, and distinguishing documented observations from personal interpretations. Safety considerations informed that distinction.