An entire city's train traffic was brought to a stop Saturday by a rat that authorities discovered was stuck in a hotel signal box. Stockholm residents suffered a three-hour traffic delay, with officials primarily failing to find the source of the problem. Questions about the transit problem were answered when the police finally found the large rat inside the signal box at the basement of a local Sheraton Hotel.

The Livingston County American Red Cross honored a 2-year old English Mastiff, who according to them had donated blood more than 20 times. The donations of the dog, named Lurch, had reportedly been of great help to the organization, as it had even aided in the recovery of a dog that ingested rat poison.

A hospital in Finland is in hot water after one of its patients lodged a complaint after finding a mouse head in his plate of steamed vegetables. While the health of the patient in Joensuu, eastern Finland, whose name was withheld, had not been endangered by the dead rat, Sakari Kela, chief administrator at the Northern Karelia Central Hospital said it was "understandable that he lost his appetite. "

It's the Chinese Year of the Rat but it is unlikely the animal's status could be elevated above the sewer and loathsome level. Never mind that last year's hit film Ratatouille showed their humorous - and culinary - side and that Mickey Mouse and Tom and Jerry have been a long-time favorites.

A ton of live snakes have been discovered by Vietnamese Customs officials onboard a plane from Bangkok. Custom officials said the snakes were contained inside 60 boxes marked 'fresh fish,' onboard the cargo hull of a Thai Air plane.