A REAL SQUEAKER: RAT BASKETBALL

A REAL SQUEAKER: RAT BASKETBALL

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Wireless Flash) -- When folks at the Center of Science and Industry in Columbus, Ohio, say they've seen a basketball game that's a real squeaker, they mean it literally. That's because a regular feature at the science center is something called "Rat Basketball" where rodents dunk itty- bitty basketballs into tiny hoops. The rats use leftover balls from roll-on deodorant containers as basketballs and drop them into six inch-high hoops by standing up on their hind legs. Rat basketball trainer Erik Fuller says it takes about five months to train a rat to make a basket -- as well as a lot of patience. But the hard effort is worth it in the end because the cheesy exhibit is one of the most popular attractions at the science center.