FYI - The History of Michigan J. Frog

"In 1897 a horned lizard (horny toad) was placed in the cornerstone of Eastland County, Texas' third courthouse. When that edifice was demolished in February 1928 to make way for the current Art Deco model, the cornerstone was opened.

According to published accounts, a crowd of three thousand showed up to see the opening of the old building's time capsule. Much to everyone's surprise, when the marble box was opened the interred lizard was still alive ? 31 years later.

Despite skeptics who questioned how the critter could have survived, the lizard was dubbed Old Rip (after Rip Van Winkle) and became an instant celebrity. Town folks took him on a tour of the nation that included a stop in Washington D.C. to meet President Calvin Coolidge.
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Old Rip died about 9 months later and was preserved, enshrined, had a leg broken off by Gubernatorial Candidate Connally, and was eventually even toadnapped and likely switched. He was also the inspiration for Michigan J. Frog, the popular character from the 1955 Warner Brother cartoon which tells the story of a frog who is freed from a cornerstone and sings ragtime jazz when no one is watching."

(from "The History of Old Rip" via linkfilter.net - fresh links daily)