Bust a squirrel deal, face the squirrel wheel

August 21, 2006 12:49 PM

Why did I annoy that black squirrel in Council Bluffs? I hope they don't put me in their special haunted jail.
posted by Astro Zombie (15 comments total)

Not newsfilter -- I know the stories areold. It always just tickled me that it is a crime to worry a squirrel in Council Bluffs.

And the squirrel cage prison is astounding.
posted by Astro Zombie at 12:55 PM on August 21, 2006

Woah - that's totally strange. Obviously they had to close it down - I mean, you could lose a finger in that thing!
posted by GuyZero at 1:05 PM on August 21, 2006

Hot squirrel on squirrel action, previously on MetaFilter about different colored squirrels.

More about the black squirrel.

What a fascinating post Astro Zombie. The world is unceasingly amazing in all its strange stories.

Cannot believe that squirrel cage shaped prison. Weird.



A number of years ago I noticed an enclave of black squirrels in Central Park, behind the Metropolitan Museum. Now there 's a bunch by the 59th Street West side exit. Just thought it was a genetic quirk, didn't know there's an actual breed of them. Guess there'll be red ones moving into the neighborhood too.
posted by nickyskye at 1:06 PM on August 21, 2006

Considering all the squirrels in my area are black, I find it odd that anyone finds them odd. White squirrels - now that's odd.
posted by GuyZero at 1:07 PM on August 21, 2006

Wierd. I was in CB (actual local parlance that they use to refer to their town) a month ago for work... and i was annoying the SHIT out of the squirrels on the weekend i had off there. I hate them, those stupid dolphin-brained rodents.
posted by sleslie at 1:08 PM on August 21, 2006

Nothing odd about white squirrels. Albino squirrels are neat.
posted by scblackman at 1:09 PM on August 21, 2006

that was funny. how do they decide that any given squirrel is annoyed, anyway? the stories don't say...
posted by owhydididoit at 1:13 PM on August 21, 2006

Previously on MF about Pottawattomie.
posted by nickyskye at 1:29 PM on August 21, 2006

Black, white, or gray, don't f*** around with squirrels, is all I have to say. They will make your life a living hell if you cross them.
posted by blucevalo at 1:32 PM on August 21, 2006

Oh, forget the damned squirrels...I didn't know until now that there is a panopticon within day-trip distance!
posted by cookie-k at 1:50 PM on August 21, 2006

We just moved to CB in March, and the Squirrel Cage was our first museum stop. The best part of the tour was on the second floor where there is a display about a serial killer. The tour guide pointed at a dummy (in very snazzy loafers) and said, "This is James Bird. Actually, this isn't James Bird, it's a dummy."

I have worried about worrying black squirrels for months now. Apparently if you run over one, you have to contact the police. Squirrels are serious business, buddy.
posted by bayliss at 3:20 PM on August 21, 2006

I was born in CB and the Squirrel Cage Jail was a yearly school field trip. Gets old after about grade 3. I mean, I get it...the serial killers couldn't put their arms outside the cell or they'd get ripped off! What was that supposed to teach me about social justice, anyway?
posted by Bueller at 5:00 PM on August 21, 2006

battle creek, mi used to be a black squirrel town, but the gray squirrels have been invading lately
posted by pyramid termite at 8:26 PM on August 21, 2006

When I hear the phrase "squirrel cage", I think of a squirrel cage fan (like the blower in a car's heater/AC). Did people keep squirrels in cages of this shape, or did they have an exercise wheel for squirrels (before hamsters?). I'm just wondering when this jail started to be referred to as a 'squirrel cage".
posted by 445supermag at 7:16 AM on August 22, 2006

I assume it's beacause squirrels are afraid of corners. Ia!
posted by GuyZero at 7:53 AM on August 22, 2006