Ye History of Ye Throwing of Ye Olde Pun-Frog

[eredien]

Wow. It's really scary what one finds on the internet. I just found the origin of the Bryn Mawr tradition of lobbing frogs at people who make bad jokes, and it's even older (and odder) than I would have thought at first glance.

And it's in the wierdest place. The FAQ for the newsgroup of author David Weber, who I had never heard of before this.

Go to section 14, 'Frogs and Buzzards and Tortoises, Oh My!'

Comments

[thespooniest.livejournal.com]

Well now; that's kinda frogged up, wouldn't you say?

[batshua]

... Wait. Does this cover balled-up paper napkins, too?

... How on EARTH did you find this?!

holy smoke...

[signy1.livejournal.com]

I should have known. Kate- that's _the_ Kate. I could not believe it when I saw the name on that post. Who else. Who else!?! Good grief, I hadn;t heard from or about her in years...

And, for the record- I could have told you the frog story if you'd asked. I thought I _had_. Folklore like that shouldn;t be forgotten.

[trifles.livejournal.com]

And for weird future reference...

David Weber writes the Honor Harrington series (Baen Books) -- very popular militaristic space opera. He's also done other stuff, and worked with other people (like Eric Flint, on the alternate history/time-travel stories 1632 and 1633).

Sorry. Will go hide now...

[rushthatspeaks.livejournal.com]

Sweet Goddess. I feel like such an unconscious part of an ongoing thread of tradition and culture that started before I was even born. This is weird. If I were an Anthro major, as opposed to Cities, I'd do an ethnology on us. As it is, I will resist the urge, and comment merely that 1) we ought to get a stuffed frog and 2) I think the older generation would be proud of us. I mean, I can just see the motto we could come up with: 'Backsmoker Diaries: 20+ Years of Ongoing Insanity'. Except that ought to be in Latin, or Greek, or both.

I am too tired to translate it. Anybody?
Lila