by Rix Quinn
In my long and unproductive life, I’ve encountered several disgusting things…and I’ve stepped in a few of them.
But few gave me more displeasure than dissecting a frog. This was a school requirement, and I dreaded it for weeks.
My biology teacher, however, seemed to enjoy watching us approach a big vat of formaldehyde, grab a pair of tongs, and fish out a long-deceased amphibian from the stinky liquid.
After this, we chose a partner, then sat next to each other at a lab table. For the dissection, we would share a frog.
Following instructions on a large display in our textbook, we laid the frog on its back and noticed this was not this frog’s first autopsy. The chest was already open, so we did our best to locate the important organs by moving them around with a number-two pencil.
We noticed the position of the heart, lungs, and other disgusting stuff. Each of us attempted to sketch what we saw on a blank sheet of paper.
We noted that some of the frog’s front fingers were missing. Probably the result of a frog-to-frog competition.
We handed in our sketches. Mine looked a little like a goat… but not much.
The teacher gave my artwork an F-minus. I complained to her that nobody deserved below an F.
She told me that this one was so bad, it needed special recognition.
Why have fairy tales been so popular for so many years? Why do we remember them? Order Rix’s essay on this subject: FAIRY TALE WRITING SECRET
