Wednesday, August 17, 2011

“RAISE GIANT FROGS”

[“BIG DEMAND! Good prices year round. Nation-wide markets waiting for all you can ship. WE BUY! Sell to us also. Breeder lays 20,000 eggs yearly. Get ready now for next spawn. Start with small pond, creek, lowland. Free book shows sketch. Men & Women starting in every state and Canada. See what others are doing with our methods. Send no money! Just your name and address on postcard brings special offer to beginners. Write. AMERICAN FROG CANNING CO. (Dept. 133–A) New Orleans, La.” Popular Mechanics, January 1938.]

“Get ready now for next spawn” somehow sounds to my ears like horrorshow, not easy work-at-home business. And if you’re wondering: yes, you’ll have to kill and dress those giant frogs before dropping what’s left of them in the mailbox. Aiiieee.

The American Frog Canning Company’s booklet on raising frogs is available in fascimile. In addition to raising, it covers catching, grading, killing, dressing, and shipping. Aiiieee.

Also from Popular Mechanics
Alkalize with Alka-Seltzer
“HOT PIANO”
“MONEY MAKING FORMULAS”
A mystery EXchange name
“Radios, it is”

[Yes, I’ve eaten frog legs. They tasted, of course, like chicken.]

comments: 3

Elaine said...

I thought the frog legs that I ate tasted like swamp-water, but I didn't mind that. The only chicken I've had that tasted like froglegs was the Scandinavian chickens that I bought in Germany; they fed them fish meal...

Stephen said...

Very amusing! It reminded me of the Coleman Frog, which I saw on a vacation trip some years ago.

And in a more related vein, the book Great Mambo Chicken And The Transhuman Condition, which recounts a plan to use extra G-force to raise giant chickens (as well as many other questionable schemes, such as cryogenic preservation). A great read.

Michael Leddy said...

Elaine, Stephen, everything in your comments is new to me and, I would imagine, new to many other readers. Thanks for the chickens and frogs.