Ol' Rip the Horned Toad
Legendary Texas horned lizard (died 1929) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Ol' Rip (died January 19, 1929) was a Texas horned lizard—commonly referred to as a "horned toad" or "horny toad"—famous during the Jazz Age which supposedly survived a 31-year hibernation as an entombed animal.[1][2] The reptile's name was a reference to American writer Washington Irving's fictional character Rip Van Winkle.[1][3]
Following its alleged exhumation from a cornerstone in Eastland, Texas on February 18, 1928, the lizard became a national celebrity and appeared in 1920s motion pictures.[1][4] 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' 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 toad which is able to sing Tin Pan Alley songs such as "Hello! Ma Baby" and "I'm Just Wild About Harry".[5]