Frog jumping is a competitive pastime for humans in which

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...

s are entered into competitions to

jump Jumping is a form of locomotion or movement in which an organism or non-living (e.g., robotic) mechanical system propels itself through the air along a ballistic trajectory. Jump or Jumping also may refer to: Places * Jump, Kentucky or Jump St ...

certain distances. Frog jumping contests are held in small communities scattered around the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, as part of the folk culture. Frog jumping was made famous in a

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" is an 1865 short story by Mark Twain. It was his first great success as a writer and brought him national attention. The story has also been published as "Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog" (its orig ...

" by

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

. An event, inspired by the Twain story, has been held annually in

Angels Camp Angels Camp, also known as City of Angels and formerly Angel's Camp, Angels, Angels City, Carson's Creek and Clearlake, is the only incorporated city in Calaveras County, California, United States. The population was 3,836 at the 2010 census, up ...

, in California's

Calaveras County Calaveras County (), officially the County of Calaveras, is a county in both the Gold Country and High Sierra regions of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 45,292. The county seat is San Andreas. Angels Ca ...

, since 1928, with other events held in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Washington, Maine, Missouri, Louisiana, New York, Wisconsin, and also in Manitoba, Canada. With 4,000 contestants in 2007, the Calaveras County contest has imposed strict rules regulating the frog's welfare, including limiting the daily number of a frog's jumps and mandating the playing of calming music in their enclosures. Entering specimens of the

California red-legged frog The California red-legged frog (''Rana draytonii'') is a species of frog found in California (USA) and northern Baja California (Mexico). It was formerly considered a subspecies of the northern red-legged frog (''Rana aurora''). The frog is an IU ...

in the competition, since it is an endangered species, is illegal. (It is also illegal, and likewise considered poor sportsmanship, for any competing frog to be weighted down by any means, as the frog in the Twain story was by the stranger who cheated in the contest as described.) Participants entering the longest-jumping frog were to win a $750 prize, or $5,000 if their frog were to break the 1986 record of , set by "Rosie the Ribeter."

Bibliography

USA Today article

External links

St. Pierre Frog Follies, St. Pierre, Manitoba

Vanderburgh County Fair, Indiana

Green Camp Firefighters Barbecue Festival, Marion, Oh

Frog Jump Festival, Valley City, Ohio

* ttp://www.hanfordsentinel.com/news/image_893b5e44-29c7-545d-bc8b-67e850ac8d42.html Corcoran YMCA Frog Jumping Contest, Hanford, Ca
Hannibal, Missouri Jaycees

Animal festival or ritual Frogs {{Sport-stub