 Rats really did eat the soles off John H. Groberg (qv)s feet;  they split open when he stood up. Later in life he was diagnosed  with skin cancer on the soles of his feet. His doctor was curious  about how he exposed the soles of his feet to the sun, and he  explained that the treatment for his injury in Tonga had been to  sear his soles with the heat of the sun.