I remember being told as a child that if you try to drop a frog in hot water, it will hop out before it dies; if you drop it in cold water and then heat the water up, it will just hang out in there until the water gets too hot and then frog will die. The point was supposed to be about how we don't make bad choice all of a sudden. For instance, if someone offered me a million dollars to kill someone, I wouldn't do it. If they offered me a thousand dollars to kill a rose bush, maybe I would. And then if they offered me 100,000 to kill a dog and then a million to kill a person, maybe that would work.
(Side note: I've always wanted to test this to see if it's true, but no one is ever willing to try it out with me. The frog one. Not the murder one.)
I sometimes get this story mixed up with the one about crabs in a pan. If you put one crab in a pan and start heating it up, the crab runs away; if you put several crabs in a pan, if one tries to run away, the others grab it and pull it back it. As opposed to the other story, this one is supposed to be about fellowshipping I think. Put a bunch of crabs together and they all support eachother getting killed in a pan. Maybe these stories were written by Americans who don't eat frogs but do eat crabs.
I was reminded of these stories because I work in this office which is like the frog pot. When I get there in the morning, it is usually about 80 degrees, so I turn on the AC. After about 30 minutes, I start getting a little cold because it blows right at me, so I turn it off. I usually don't think to turn it on again until someone stops by at 4 or so and points out to me that it is 87 degrees in my office.
I should be getting an office mate any day now, but I don't know that it will help. What if they are a crab and not a frog?
6 comments:
I don't think there is a story about crabs in a pan. I'm pretty sure it's lobsters in a bucket. The lobster just wants to climb out because he wants to be free. And the other lobsters keep pulling him down.
I don't think it's meant to be about fellowshipping - although I guess it could be. If you wanted to say the bucket was actually a good place and it's our job to be like lobsters and keep everyone together. But usually, the moral is "Don't be like lobsters in a bucket" - it's meant to be like a "Don't blow out my candle to make yours shine brighter" kind of deal.
I've always been a little skeptical of the frog in hot water story myself. If you can procure a frog, I'm happy to test it out with you.
I don't think that a lobster feels his "candle" is any brighter by pulling his neighbor back into their death pot. Not unless they are trying to use each other as a step stool to safety.
Maybe the moral is "Misery likes company".
I once saw a kid at scout camp throw a frog into the camp fire. It didn't jump out. It just sizzled.
The subject of this post sounds like a recipe name. I recall "Fig on a Stick". Same format.
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I agree, I was always a little skeptical of the frog in the history of hot water. If you can get a frog, I'm happy to test it with you.
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