Sick, But Interesting

In ''2 Fast 2 Furious,'' an underworld kingpin tortures a potential squealer by placing a rat on the guy's stomach, covering the rodent with a metal bucket, and heating it with a blowtorch -- with the implication that the rat will chew through anything to get out. ''Rats have really strong, powerful jaws and certainly will chew to get through things, including human flesh,'' says Dr. Joanne Paul-Murphy, special-species veterinary professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. ''The first thing the rat would do is try to squeeze out or chew through the bucket...though he might get frustrated and try to eat something else a little bit less resistant, which would be the person.''

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