Popverse readers more likely to eat meal from raccoon chef than rat chef

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It all started with an article about Ratatouille and how we (meaning deputy editor Tiffany) think that the movie is a bit harsh on critics.

The article, titled Pixar's Ratatouille, the state of media journalism, and why I'm a critic, included a throwaway line that read "no one, in real life really wants a rat cooking their food." In response to that line, Popverse friend David Harper from SKTCHD, tweeted that he would try a meal cooked by a "highly competent rat chef," and we (again, meaning deputy editor Tiffany) were... well, "grossed" out would be a good term for it. So grossed out in fact, that we felt the need to pose the same question to Popverse fans on twitter.

To our surprise, it turned out that the majority of Popverse fans who turned out to vote would also eat a meal prepared by a rat chef like Remy.

When this topic came up in a staff meeting this week, Popverse video producer Ashley V. Robinson wondered what readers would think about eating a meal from a raccoon chef like Raccacoonie from last year's Academy Award Best Picture Everything Everywhere All at Once. We clearly had to know.

Fewer Popverse fans voted for this poll, but there is a noticeable difference in the results. 70.4% of voters would eat a meal prepared by a raccoon chef like Raccacoonie, as opposed to the mere 59.7% who would eat a meal prepared by a rat chef.

Why the difference? Maybe people just have bad feelings about rats (though the recently viral Chicago Rat Hole might speak against that). Or maybe all of those videos featuring raccoons washing their hands and food get people thinking that raccoons are the more sanitary of the bunch. Either way, the results certainly were a surprise on every level.

Pixar's Ratatouille, the state of media journalism, and why I'm a critic