Ol' Rip the Horned Toad (died January 19, 1929) was a Texas horned lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum), commonly referred to as a "horned toad" or "horny toad", which supposedly survived a 31-year hibernation as an entombed animal following its exhumation from a cornerstone in Eastland, Texas, on February 18, 1928. The lizard became a national celebrity and appeared in 1920s motion pictures.[1][2] Its name was a reference to American writer Washington Irving's fictional character Rip Van Winkle.[1][3] The same year, a Texas political delegation led by Senator Earle Mayfield presented the docile lizard to President Calvin Coolidge at the White House for his inspection.[4]
Following the creature's fame, horned toads were sold by the thousands as souvenirs at public events, including the 1928 Democratic National Convention.[3] The ensuing mass capture and export of the horned toads resulted in the genus's abrupt decline in West Central Texas and prompted an intervention by the Texas Department of Agriculture.[3]
Decades later, the saga of Ol' Rip inspired Looney Tunes scribe Michael Maltese to write a 1955 animated theatrical short entitled One Froggy Evening.[5] In the cartoon, a construction worker demolishing an old building finds an 1892 time capsule inside a cornerstone.[5] The capsule contains a living frog which is able to sing Tin Pan Alley songs such as "Hello! Ma Baby" and "I'm Just Wild About Harry".[5]
- ^ a b Scudder & Watkins 2018.
- ^ Newton 2008; Ellsworth 1997; Greenville News 1928, p. 1.
- ^ a b c House 1938, p. 8.
- ^ House 1938, p. 8; Greenville News 1928, p. 1.
- ^ a b c Michael J. Frog 2017; Gordon 2003.