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Exploding Toads in Germany: |
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Ewan Member Joined: 14 Jul 2003 No. of posts: 21  View other posts by Ewan |
Posted: 27 Apr 2005 It would appear that everyone likes a good exploding toad story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4486247.stm http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200504/s1352292.htm http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1389980/posts Can anyone on the forum shed light on the veracity of the report and, if true, the possible cause? Ewan Ewan Shilland Contract Research Scientist Environmental Change Research Centre University College London |
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Allen Member Joined: 29 Apr 2005 No. of posts: 1 View other posts by Allen |
Posted: 29 Apr 2005 I am an Orthopedic Surgeon in Fort Worth,Texas,USA, and an amateur naturalist. 13 years ago, I rescued a Tiger Salamander on a highway in Colorado which was almost run over by an automobile. I brought it back to Fort Worth where it lived for some 12 years in a terrarium. Like most amphibians it had a voracious appetite, consuming large quantities of insects & worms during the spring, summer, & fall (hibernated in winter). The last 6 -9 months of its life,it's abdomen spontaneously swelled to 3 or 4 times its normal size. During this time its activity level & appetite remained totally normal. Then one morning I opened the terrarium to feed it, and all that was left of its body was a thin gelatinous outline on the soil around its skeletal remnants. I did not witness the "explosion", but my family members & I had commented on numerous occasions prior to its demise, that it was so tightly swollen that it looked as if it would explode at any second. I don't have a scientific or medical explanation for this phenomenom, but am curious if the etiology of the salamander's demise is related to the "Exploding toads of Hamburg". Thank you...any comments are welcome. |
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Caleb Forum Coordinator Joined: 17 Feb 2003 No. of posts: 448 View other posts by Caleb |
Posted: 03 May 2005 There's a thorough wikipedia page on the story here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exploding_toad I think it's highly unlikely myself... people have seen bloated and splattered toads and corpses, but there don't seem to be any reports of someone having actually seen one explode. |
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jopedder Senior Member Joined: 24 Jul 2003 No. of posts: 55 View other posts by jopedder |
Posted: 04 May 2005 My wife keeps Xenopus at work and on a few occasions has reported extremely swollen toads in the tank (think the scene in Shrek with a helium frog on a string  ), she and her colleagues have tried to find a probable cause for this in order to prevent it happening again but have failed. I don't think that they have ever had one explode before and have rather opted to relieve the subject of its probable misery before this happened. I'll find out tonight if sheÆs had any 'bangers' and report back. |
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Donny Senior Member Joined: 11 May 2004 No. of posts: 53 View other posts by Donny |
Posted: 05 May 2005 Well, just to add to the anecdotes: I had some Xenopus that within a week or so all swelled up massively one after the other and died - didn't explode though. Also observed a female palmate newt in our garden pond who was very swollen - not just with eggs, she looked like if you stuck a pin in her, she would burst. She was so fat she couldn't walk on land and lived in the pond like that - even overwintering - for about a year before dissapearing. ??? |
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nao Member Joined: 16 Mar 2007 No. of posts: 1  View other posts by nao |
Posted: 16 Mar 2007 I am sure that toads in Germany was exploded by political weapon some kind of electro magnetic radiation. In Japan, I was targeted by far-left wing violent group associated with North Korea related to adruption (kidnap) problem with Japan. Heavy amount of EM radiation have been attacked upon me. I have been protecting my body by the mean of TEMPUR bed. EM radiation makes my body swelling about to explode/ Such as eyes, internal organ and even penis. I am belonging to conservative faction politically in Japan. Please pay attention to Far-Left wings.
Regards |
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GemmaJF Admin Group Joined: 25 Jan 2003 No. of posts: 2090  View other posts by GemmaJF |
Posted: 16 Mar 2007 Thanks for that nao, I think that puts a much clearer perspective on things. I also have been attacked. My neighbours created a device from a micro-wave oven and directs it at me when I sleep. What has the world come to eh? Gemma Fairchild, Independent Ecological Consultant |
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Vicar Senior Member Joined: 02 Sep 2004 No. of posts: 1181 View other posts by Vicar |
Posted: 17 Mar 2007 I have to apologise for hijacking this thread and bringing it back to a more serious direction :P.... This is an a professional area of work for me. The only biological effects proven so far from EM (RF & microwave) radiation are the well known heating effects. Millions of pounds have been spent on researching this, both for the mobile phone and defence industries. The only reason that research is continuing is that there is a slightly higher-than-expected statistical correlation with incidents of leukaemia and overhead electrical power transmission lines. Anyway, I line my hoodie & pants with tin-foil, so I'm safe ! Steve Langham - Chairman 
Surrey Amphibian & Reptile Group (SARG). |
- Exploding Toads in Germany |