Entombed animal

Entombed animals are animals reportedly found alive after being encased in solid rock (and sometimes coal or wood) for an indeterminate amount of time. The accounts usually involve frogs or toads. The reputed phenomenon has been dismissed by mainstream science but has remained a topic of interest to Fortean researchers.

Reports

Accounts of frogs and toads encased in stone have appeared in the writings of William of Newburgh, Ambroise Paré, Robert Plot, André Marie Constant Duméril, J. G. Wood, John Wesley, and others. Even Charles Dickens mentioned the phenomena in his journal "All the Year Round". According to the "Fortean Times", about 210 entombed animal cases have been described in Europe, North America, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand since the fifteenth century.

Some witnesses say that the freed animals are darker than usual and possess unnatural, glowing eyes.Jan Bondeson. "Toad in the Hole". "Fortean Times". June 2007.] Many also describe the presence of a very smooth cavity in the rock not much larger than the freed animal itself. Though an animal could conceivably survive for some amount of time on water that seeped into cracks, a number of reports specifically claim that no fissures were present in the material around the animals.

At times, multiple animals are said to have been encased in the same place. In a letter to Julian Huxley, for example, one Eric G. Mackley claimed to have freed 23 frogs from a single piece of concrete while widening a road in Devonshire. An 1876 report from South Africa said that 63 small toads were found in the middle of a sixteen-foot wide tree trunk.Jerome Clark. "Entombed animals". "Unexplained!" Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink, 1999. 164-169.]

Explanations

Though reports of entombed animals have occurred as recently as the 1980s, scientists have paid little serious attention to the phenomenon since the nineteenth century. During the 1820s, English geologist William Buckland conducted an experiment to see how long a frog could remain alive while encased in stone. He placed frogs of different sizes and ages into carved chambers within limestone and sandstone blocks, then buried the blocks in his garden. A year later, he dug up the blocks and found that most of the frogs were dead and decayed. A few frogs that had been in the limestone (which did contain small pores) were still living. However, Buckland found them all dead after reburying them in the limestone for another year. Buckland concluded that the entombed animal phenomenon was impossible, and most scientists agreed.Jan Bondeson. "Toad in the Hole". "Fortean Times". June 2007.] A writer from the journal "Nature" wrote in 1910, "The true interpretation of these alleged occurrences appears to be simply this – a frog or toad is hopping about while a stone is being broken, and the non-scientific observer immediately rushes to the conclusion that he has seen the creature dropping out of the stone itself." ["Toads and Frogs in Stones". "Nature" 83 (1910): 406-407.]

However, some paranormalists have remained interested in the accounts, especially those which mention a tight, body-shaped cavity in the rock. In his book "Unexplained!", Fortean writer Jerome Clark criticizes the explanation proposed by "Nature", saying that it " [assumes] that reporters of the phenomenon go through the world trying to function with what amounts to a chimpanzee's level of intelligence." However, Clark concedes, "Nothing about this phenomenon makes any kind of sense. It seems to defy not only natural but even any conceivable paranormal explanation."Jerome Clark. "Entombed animals". "Unexplained!" Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink, 1999. 164-169.]

In fiction

Perhaps the most famous example of a fictional entombed animal is Merrie Melodies character Michigan J. Frog, who is discovered inside the cornerstone of a building in his debut appearance, "One Froggy Evening." [David George Gordon. " [http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/columns/?article=sciencetoad Hibernating Hoppers: Can Toads Live Buried for Decades?] " MSN Encarta. Retrieved 2 September 2007.] A reference to the phenomenon also appears in Dante Gabriel Rosetti's poem "Jenny," which mentions a "toad within a stone / seated while time marches on."Jan Bondeson. "Toad in the Hole". "Fortean Times". June 2007.]

ee also

*Ol' Rip the Horned Toad

Notes