I Would Ask If This Is An Example Of Irony But I Can’t See Around The Giant Inflatable Rat In My Face

First off, Happy Birthday, Giant Inflatable Union Rat — it turned 20 this year. The Daily News marks the occasion and notes that even though the thing has been used to great effect by the city’s unions to inform the public about non-union work sites (or whatever they’re using them for), there is actually no giant inflatable rat-maker union:

The vinyl vermin quietly marked their 20th birthday this year. The folks at Illinois-based Big Sky Balloons and Searchlights, creators of the inflatables, made their first rat for a Chicago bricklayers union in 1990.

Business was soon blowing up — the rats became an instant, unlikely symbol of corporate greed and anti-union work sites.

The company — a nonunion shop, by the way — says the majority of its business is done on the East Coast. The rats range in height from a relatively small 6-footer to the super-sized 25-footer.

The costs can run upward of $8,000.

See also: Union Rat.