Off Beat: The election is over, rats!

Plus: The Boston.com Turkey Tracker is live.

3 minutes to read

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We have weathered another election week, and what a week it was: Gov. Maura Healey was declared the winner over challenger Mike Minogue one minute after the polls closed, spry old Ed Markey galloped past John Deaton to win another term in the Senate, and, don’t worry, marijuana is still legal. (I know some of you were sweating that.)

We don’t get too concerned with politics here at Off Beat, except for the really big stories, like the Connecticut state rep who ran off with her opponent’s campaign signs but forgot to check for AirTags first. (A rookie mistake — The Off Beat Live blog had the scoop.) Or the brouhaha when Pats legend Rob Gronkowski turned up in New Hampshire on Election Day and later denied that he was there on behalf of the ultraconservative Turning Point USA. “It’s disappointing to see an innocent moment stripped of context and turned into clickbait,” read Gronk’s statement, which, and I’m just spitballing here, may have been written by ChatGPT. Meanwhile, Nicki Minaj was also spotted in the Granite State on Election Day, and has yet to issue any statements about it.

But no, what really caught our attention this week was not our democracy but rather a monarchy — specifically the one presided over by Boston’s own Rat Queen, who is an actual person. Specifically, she’s local artist Sariah Wertman, who has amassed a tremendous following walking around with a big rat head on top of her noggin. (Six million views on this TikTok video alone.)

And it’s not just online: Roughly 1,000 people attended her first “cult meeting” on Boston Common last month. She also turned up in a video with Mayor Michelle Wu, and has teamed up with the Allston Rat Rangers to do something about their neighborhood’s unsavory reputation as Allston Rat City.

Our own Fiona Bright Holton got up close and personal with the Rat Queen (presumably a much more pleasant experience than doing so with an actual rat), and found out what makes her squeak. Wertman began their conversation with, “I am the Rat Queen of Boston, cheesed to meet you, parmed I’m sure,” which was enough to win me over for life. Check out Fiona’s video for more:

This week’s Off Beat highlights:

“Cinderella boy, Cinderella story … It’s in the hole! It’s in the hole!” Bill Murray turning up at Boston College men’s basketball games is apparently a thing now. Hayden Bird has more.

Now bawding: A deep-voiced pipefitter dude from East Arlington is the new Voice of Logan, so next time your flight is delayed, you can blame him. Annie Jonas reports.

Eyes on the fries: The largest jackpot prize in the history of the Massachusetts Megabucks game was just won by a plastic potato, apparently. It’s in The Off Beat Live Blog.

Finally, we are gobbling on

We know you’ve been waiting, so good news: The Boston.com Turkey Tracker is live! We asked readers to share where they’ve spotted the birds roaming around Greater Boston, and Annie Jonas has compiled the responses into a handy map in case you’d like to go out and see if they’re still there.

Meanwhile, if you see an errant turkey, let us know: We’ll keep updating the map with reader submissions through Thanksgiving, at which point we assume they will all be rounded up and eaten. (The turkeys, not the readers.)

Peter Chianca, Boston.com’s general assignment editor since 2019, is a longtime news editor, columnist, and music writer in the Greater Boston area.

Peter Chianca, Boston.com’s general assignment editor since 2019, is a longtime news editor, columnist, and music writer in the Greater Boston area, and is the author of Boston.com's weekly Greater Boston news quiz.

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