Frogs: The Animal Answer Guide

11. Frogs in Stories and Literature

116 What roles do frogs play in religion and mythology? Placing frogs or toads in the context of religion is difficult because of evolving cultures and because the frog or toad has not assumed the lasting significance as the sole icon of a major civilization. Nonetheless, scholars have cited numerous religious roles for frogs. A few thousand years ago, Egyptians credited at least four gods with having frog-like heads and with being involved in the creation of the earth. Because the religions of Egypt have extended over more than 5,000 years, other animals have also assumed the deity roles, so frogs have not really been that special in Egyptian religion or mythology. Frogs are actually mentioned in three books of the Bible (Old Testament : Exodus, Psalms; New Testament: Revelation). Frogs were not popular creatures of the times. The Lord’s admonishment to Pharoah pretty well sums up the negative role frogs played in the Judeo-Christian religion: “And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs” (Exodus 8:2, King James Version [KJV]). The last book of the Bible states, “And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet” (Revelation 16:13, KJV). Not a pretty sight. One story about frogs that qualifies as an urban legend is about the boiling frog. A summary and analysis of the myth, written by one of us ( JWG) for a newspaper column, follows: Chapter 11 Frogs in Stories and Literature The Legend of the Boiling Frog Is Just a Legend Recently I received a communication about frogs that emphasizes the importance of confirming conventional wisdom and offers a metaphor for the human response to environmental degradation. The issue started with an email from Germany. As often happens in scientific inquiry, though the answer to the question was pretty straightforward , arriving at the answer was not. But the easy way out—accepting what “everyone knows”—more often than not simply perpetuates misinformation . Although finding an answer that destroys an urban myth or a commonly held belief may disappoint some people, we are better off knowing the truth. Joe Pechmann at the University of New Orleans, who is a noted amphibian conservation biologist, received a query last month that read: “I am writing a weekly column for Die Zeit, Germany’s major weekly paper, on scientific urban legends that my readers ask me about. Now you surely have heard the story of the boiling frog that is often told by consultants or activists: If you put a frog in boiling water, he will try to escape. If you put him in cold water and heat it gradually, the frog will remain in place until he’s boiled, because that’s the lesson, to him (and consequently to us)—gradual change is not perceivable. Frankly, I don’t buy this. But I am looking for professional advice (and I don’t want to boil frogs). Can you help me with that question? Thanks! Christoph Droesser, Hamburg, Germany.” Joe was not sure what the answer was, so he referred Mr. Droesser to me. I also passed the buck, saying: “I have heard the anecdote many times and actually heard a Baptist preacher give a sermon in Mississippi in which he used the story of a big bullfrog in a bucket of water that was being heated. The situation was presented as an example of how gradual habituation to a devilish situation leads to acceptance of an even worse one. But with a real frog in real water, my bet is that when it began to get uncomfortable the frog would jump out if it could, long before the water started to boil. Nonetheless, consultants, activists, and others who are unaware of gradual environmental problems are responding in the way we like to think a frog acts rather than the way it does.” I went on to say, “Although I do not know a databased answer myself, I am aware of experiments that have been done on responses of amphibians to thermal conditions. In some of the experiments the temperature was gradually raised, so I feel certain someone familiar with those studies would have an impression of what a frog would do as the water warmed up. I am sending your question to Dr. Victor Hutchison at the...