Came across a report years very many ago - might have been in "History Today" - about professional toad-eaters who used to go around village fairs. The meat, so to speak, of the article was that contented toads don't produce toxin, and they're also a bit slow on the uptake, so if you keep them happy right up until the moment you swallow them you should be OK, maybe.

[Don't try this at home kids.]

A while before that I was involved in a discussion about the pros and cons of regulating the alternative health market and in particular the risk of creating false assurances that if substance isn't actually banned, it must be safe. The conversation got round to efficacy, and at some point someone asked about "traditional" remedies for impotence (erectile dysfunction). A very quick search found there was some evidence for the effectiveness of several naturally occurring substances, and also that the risks of adverse effects appeared to be interestingly high for most of them. Among these was Bufanolides, from toads.

Unfortunately Medline didn't say what you were actually supposed to do with the toads to get the desired effect but evidently in view of the above you would probably need to annoy them first.

[Er, don't try this either.]

Posted by: Gav | November 16, 2007 1:32 PM

From Mason 'Classical Gas' Williams, and his 1964 "Them Poems" ...

Them Toad Suckers

How about Them Toad Suckers,
Ain't they clods?
Sittin' there suckin'
Them green toady-frogs.

Suckin' them hop-toads,
Suckin' them chunkers,
Suckin' them leapy types,
Suckin' them plunkers.

Look at Them Toad Suckers,
Ain't they snappy?
Suckin' them bog-frogs
Sure makes'em happy.

Them huggermugger Toad Suckers,
Way down south,
Stickin' them sucky-toads
In they mouth.

How to be a Toad Sucker?
No way to duck it.
Gittchyself a toad,
Rare back and suck it!

Posted by: mrG | December 2, 2007 12:55 PM