Originally published at: Watch how easy it is for a rat swim up into a toilet | Boing Boing
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This is not representative of the normal situation for a toilet.
Yes, there is water in the trap portion of the toilet, that is how the sewer gasses are blocked from entering your home. But, unless the branch line is completely clogged, the other side of the trap would have no water at all. After you flush, the water and the waste is carried swiftly away into the sewer system. The normal condition for a sewer pipe is empty, until used.
In reality, the rat could just walk most of the way.
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Can spiders do that too?
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Yep. You just need one abandoned toilet somewhere in the system and it makes easy access to the entire system.
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This is why I routinely flush baby alligators, for pest control.
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Hello, operator? There’s a giant ass hovering over my swimming pool!
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Oh my. This is horrible. we need some kind of grate in the toilet that can keep them out.
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Oh, good, that was a phobia I didn’t have! One more and I think I get a free therapy session. I gotta check my punchcard.
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I live on the 10th floor of a high rise. I pretty sure it’s safe to say that I won’t have to worry about this.
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we worry about sneks. and lizards, tho they mostly get in from above. another reason to put the damn lid down.
those little LED bowl lights are nice, too!
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that’s why here often soem kind of flaps (one way cat doors) are installed at the bowl-outlet. So water and stuff can get out but rats can’t get in. At least that’s what they claim; rats are very smart though.
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The bum ain’t what I would be worried about…
Yeah, well, any rat that makes it that far up is gonna mean business.
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This whole thing reminds me of a classic movie about a very smart and motivated rat:
The bathroom scene is not to be missed! 
The Edmund Hillary of rodentia, you might say.
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I’ve already seen Gaetz and Greene in action.
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Once you get past the initial shock of their presence, living rats are durn cute.
What is less cute is when your building’s management Does Something about the rats by setting out poison, and then after a week or so you trace the origin of the smell, and find yourself having to get right under your sink so that your face is inches from a former lil’ cute feller whose decay gases have blown them out like a stomped ketchup packet. I had legit mini-PTSD for months.
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Another reason not to use poison on rodents is that it travels up the food chain, killing predators such as hawks, owls, and cats.
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This is also a metaphor for computer network security, to be honest.
