1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:05,160 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:11,600 --> 00:00:15,560 Speaker 1: Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:15,640 --> 00:00:19,320 Speaker 1: show that proves there's more than one way to make history. 4 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:25,040 Speaker 1: I'm Gabe Lucier, and today we're exploring the literary roots 5 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:39,440 Speaker 1: of a world famous competition, the much celebrated Jumping Frog Jubilee. 6 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:44,919 Speaker 1: The day was May nineteenth, nineteen twenty eight. More than 7 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:50,240 Speaker 1: fifteen thousand people attended a now annual frog jumping contest 8 00:00:50,560 --> 00:00:55,080 Speaker 1: in Calaveras County, California. The event was organized by the 9 00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:58,600 Speaker 1: Angels Camp Boosters Club as a way to celebrate the 10 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:02,320 Speaker 1: first paving of Maine Street in the town of angels Camp. 11 00:01:02,960 --> 00:01:06,000 Speaker 1: The idea for the contest came from an eighteen sixty 12 00:01:06,040 --> 00:01:09,720 Speaker 1: five short story by Mark Twain, a tall tale about 13 00:01:09,760 --> 00:01:13,480 Speaker 1: a compulsive gambler who wagers that his pet frog can 14 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:18,520 Speaker 1: outjump any other amphibian in the county. Twain's satirical story 15 00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:23,400 Speaker 1: was set in Calaveras and allegedly recounted a real life event. 16 00:01:23,920 --> 00:01:26,920 Speaker 1: Whether that was true or not, the contest became a 17 00:01:26,959 --> 00:01:30,919 Speaker 1: reality in nineteen twenty eight when the Angels Camp Boosters 18 00:01:30,920 --> 00:01:35,000 Speaker 1: decided to stage one for real local residents competed to 19 00:01:35,040 --> 00:01:38,560 Speaker 1: see whose frog could jump the farthest, a pastime that 20 00:01:38,680 --> 00:01:42,480 Speaker 1: proved so enjoyable they repeated the contests the following May 21 00:01:42,920 --> 00:01:46,839 Speaker 1: and every year since. Now known as the Jumping Frog 22 00:01:46,920 --> 00:01:50,720 Speaker 1: Jubilee or simply as the Frog Jump among locals, the 23 00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:54,760 Speaker 1: event continues to draw huge crowds every summer, a testament 24 00:01:54,840 --> 00:01:58,320 Speaker 1: to the enduring appeal of regional traditions and to the 25 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:03,200 Speaker 1: athletic prowess of the hume Umbule bullfrog. The specifics of 26 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:06,920 Speaker 1: Mark Twain's story may have been exaggerated, but betting on 27 00:02:07,080 --> 00:02:10,200 Speaker 1: frogs was absolutely a thing people did during the height 28 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:13,480 Speaker 1: of the California gold Rush in the mid eighteen hundreds. 29 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:18,320 Speaker 1: Working in remote, isolated regions, the prospectors didn't have many 30 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:22,200 Speaker 1: options when it came to entertainment. After a few stiff drinks, 31 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:25,120 Speaker 1: catching some frogs and laying money on how far they 32 00:02:25,160 --> 00:02:28,160 Speaker 1: could jump probably seemed as good an option as any. 33 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:33,679 Speaker 1: Mark Twain aka Samuel Clemens, was introduced to the backwoods 34 00:02:33,720 --> 00:02:37,000 Speaker 1: practice in the eighteen sixties, just as the gold rush 35 00:02:37,080 --> 00:02:40,880 Speaker 1: was winding down. He was twenty nine years old, deeply 36 00:02:40,919 --> 00:02:44,280 Speaker 1: in debt, and unsure of his path in life. Living 37 00:02:44,280 --> 00:02:47,560 Speaker 1: in San Francisco. He had drifted from one newspaper job 38 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:51,320 Speaker 1: to another, all the while hearing reports of lucky forty 39 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:54,280 Speaker 1: nine ers who'd struck it rich just east of the bay. 40 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:58,320 Speaker 1: In eighteen sixty four, Twain decided to try his own luck, 41 00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:01,120 Speaker 1: hoping to find enough gold to pay off his debts 42 00:03:01,280 --> 00:03:03,960 Speaker 1: and by himself some breathing room while he sorted out 43 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:06,960 Speaker 1: what to do for a career. He made arrangements to 44 00:03:07,000 --> 00:03:10,000 Speaker 1: stay at the cabin of Jim Gillis, a friend who 45 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:13,720 Speaker 1: had a pocket gold mine into Loom County. Gold Mining 46 00:03:13,880 --> 00:03:17,280 Speaker 1: never paid off for Mark Twain, but the excursion did 47 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:20,320 Speaker 1: help him find his calling as a fiction writer. On 48 00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:25,359 Speaker 1: January twenty fifth, eighteen sixty five, after another unsuccessful day 49 00:03:25,400 --> 00:03:29,280 Speaker 1: of mining, Twain decided to unwind by writing to Angels 50 00:03:29,320 --> 00:03:33,639 Speaker 1: Camp in nearby Calaveras County. Once he arrived, a heavy 51 00:03:33,720 --> 00:03:36,840 Speaker 1: rainstorm kicked up and wound up stranding him there for 52 00:03:36,880 --> 00:03:40,280 Speaker 1: two weeks. During that time, Twain had little to do 53 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:43,200 Speaker 1: but hang around the bar at the Angels Hotel and 54 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:46,800 Speaker 1: listen to the townspeople swap stories. He wrote down the 55 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:50,840 Speaker 1: ones he liked best, including a highly dubious tale about 56 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:55,840 Speaker 1: an informal frog jumping competition. The colorful story, as recounted 57 00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:59,880 Speaker 1: by Twain, is about a local eccentric named Jim Smiley, 58 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:03,080 Speaker 1: who likes to bet on anything and everything he can, 59 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:06,640 Speaker 1: including minutia like which bird on a fence will fly 60 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:11,440 Speaker 1: away first. Eventually, Smiley turns his attention to frog jumping 61 00:04:11,680 --> 00:04:15,280 Speaker 1: and begins coaching a promising young athlete, whom he names 62 00:04:15,480 --> 00:04:20,120 Speaker 1: Daniel Webster. He catched a frog one day, Twain wrote, 63 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:24,160 Speaker 1: and took him home, and said he calculated to educate him. 64 00:04:24,200 --> 00:04:26,880 Speaker 1: And so he never done nothing for three months but 65 00:04:27,040 --> 00:04:30,080 Speaker 1: set in his back yard and learn that frog to jump. 66 00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:32,960 Speaker 1: And you bet you he did learn him too. He'd 67 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:35,640 Speaker 1: give him a little punch behind, and the next minute 68 00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:38,520 Speaker 1: you'd see that frog whirling in the air like a doughnut. 69 00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:42,200 Speaker 1: See him turn one summerset, or maybe a couple if 70 00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:45,120 Speaker 1: he got a good start, and come down flat footed 71 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:49,280 Speaker 1: and all right like a cat. Smiley was monstrous proud 72 00:04:49,320 --> 00:04:52,360 Speaker 1: of his frog, and well he might be. For fellers 73 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:55,599 Speaker 1: that had traveled and been everywheres, all said he laid 74 00:04:55,600 --> 00:05:00,680 Speaker 1: over any frog that ever they see. Twain's story culminates 75 00:05:00,720 --> 00:05:04,400 Speaker 1: with a wily stranger beating Jim Smiley at his own game. 76 00:05:04,920 --> 00:05:08,159 Speaker 1: He wagers forty dollars that any random frog from the 77 00:05:08,200 --> 00:05:11,760 Speaker 1: forest can jump farther than Daniel Webster, and then make 78 00:05:11,800 --> 00:05:14,800 Speaker 1: sure that's the case by stuffing quail shot in the 79 00:05:14,800 --> 00:05:19,080 Speaker 1: frog's mouth. When Smiley isn't looking. The heavy metal pellets 80 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:21,880 Speaker 1: weigh down Daniel Webster to the point that he can 81 00:05:21,920 --> 00:05:26,000 Speaker 1: barely hop. Smiley is baffled by how his prize frog 82 00:05:26,040 --> 00:05:29,120 Speaker 1: could lose so badly, but he forks over the cash 83 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:32,359 Speaker 1: and only finds the truth out later after the stranger 84 00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:36,839 Speaker 1: has already skipped down. While short on morals or deeper meaning, 85 00:05:37,160 --> 00:05:41,200 Speaker 1: Twain's story offered a rare and hilarious glimpse into the 86 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:44,719 Speaker 1: stranger's side of life during the gold Rush. Believing that 87 00:05:44,800 --> 00:05:48,320 Speaker 1: others might appreciate the insight as well, he submitted his 88 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:52,320 Speaker 1: version of the story, titled Jim Smiley and his Jumping Frog, 89 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:56,200 Speaker 1: to the New York Saturday Press, which promptly accepted it. 90 00:05:56,640 --> 00:05:59,839 Speaker 1: The story was first published that November and was quickly 91 00:05:59,839 --> 00:06:03,440 Speaker 1: reach printed in newspapers across the country. It was the 92 00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:07,040 Speaker 1: first short story Mark Twain had ever published, and almost 93 00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:11,320 Speaker 1: overnight it made him a household name. Two years later, 94 00:06:11,560 --> 00:06:14,880 Speaker 1: the story was featured in Twain's first short story collection, 95 00:06:15,200 --> 00:06:18,560 Speaker 1: where it was given a new title, The Celebrated Jumping 96 00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:23,320 Speaker 1: Frog of Calaveras County. Mark Twain would return to Angels 97 00:06:23,360 --> 00:06:27,200 Speaker 1: Camp several times over the years and formed lasting friendships 98 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:31,480 Speaker 1: with many longtime residents. It's no surprise then, that even 99 00:06:31,520 --> 00:06:34,720 Speaker 1: after the author's passing in nineteen ten, he remained a 100 00:06:34,760 --> 00:06:38,640 Speaker 1: beloved figure in Calaveras County, the namesake of his first 101 00:06:38,680 --> 00:06:42,520 Speaker 1: great literary triumph. It was with that legacy in mind 102 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:46,040 Speaker 1: that the Angels Camp Boosters Club decided to use Twain's 103 00:06:46,040 --> 00:06:49,680 Speaker 1: story as the basis for their event on May nineteenth, 104 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:53,280 Speaker 1: nineteen twenty eight. The festivities kicked off with a parade 105 00:06:53,320 --> 00:06:57,520 Speaker 1: down the newly finished main Street. However, focus quickly shifted 106 00:06:57,560 --> 00:07:01,000 Speaker 1: to the main event, the Jumping Frog. Jew Believe the 107 00:07:01,080 --> 00:07:04,520 Speaker 1: contest was a huge hit, with visitors coming from all 108 00:07:04,600 --> 00:07:07,880 Speaker 1: over the countryside to see it or to take part themselves. 109 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:11,240 Speaker 1: Angels Camp would continue to host the event in town 110 00:07:11,360 --> 00:07:14,440 Speaker 1: for the next decade. After that, it was merged with 111 00:07:14,520 --> 00:07:18,240 Speaker 1: the County Fair and held at the nearby Fairgrounds aka 112 00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:23,240 Speaker 1: Frog Town. From then on today, upwards of fifty thousand 113 00:07:23,280 --> 00:07:26,040 Speaker 1: people turn out for the frog Jump each year, with 114 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:29,480 Speaker 1: some contestants flying in from all over the world. It's 115 00:07:29,560 --> 00:07:33,400 Speaker 1: now a weekend long affair too, complete with other summertime 116 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:38,040 Speaker 1: staples like rodeos, live concerts, craft fairs, and carnival rides. 117 00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:42,080 Speaker 1: Of course, the frogs and their frog jockeys are still 118 00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:45,400 Speaker 1: the stars of the show, which reminds me if you 119 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:48,559 Speaker 1: ever plan to compete yourself, there are a few time 120 00:07:48,640 --> 00:07:52,200 Speaker 1: tested strategies to keep in mind. For starters, you should 121 00:07:52,200 --> 00:07:54,920 Speaker 1: try to keep your frog warm before jump time so 122 00:07:54,960 --> 00:07:58,360 Speaker 1: that its muscles will be nice and limber. The most 123 00:07:58,400 --> 00:08:01,840 Speaker 1: important tip, though, is to avoid getting too chummy with 124 00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:04,920 Speaker 1: your frog. In fact, you should handle it as little 125 00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:08,160 Speaker 1: as possible before the contest. The more time the frog 126 00:08:08,240 --> 00:08:11,160 Speaker 1: spends on its own, the more its natural instincts will 127 00:08:11,160 --> 00:08:15,240 Speaker 1: be preserved, and that's key for ensuring the longest jumps possible. 128 00:08:15,760 --> 00:08:19,480 Speaker 1: Seasoned frog jockeys always drop their frogs a short distance 129 00:08:19,520 --> 00:08:22,400 Speaker 1: to the ground, and then just before the frog lands, 130 00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:25,720 Speaker 1: they startle it, either by making noise or by blowing 131 00:08:25,760 --> 00:08:29,280 Speaker 1: on it from behind. That last second jolt triggers the 132 00:08:29,320 --> 00:08:32,640 Speaker 1: frog's flight instincts, causing it to jump as if its 133 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:35,680 Speaker 1: life depended on it. If you pull off that move 134 00:08:36,040 --> 00:08:38,800 Speaker 1: just right, and your frog happens to be a good hopper, 135 00:08:39,200 --> 00:08:41,480 Speaker 1: you might just have a shot at breaking the world 136 00:08:41,520 --> 00:08:45,520 Speaker 1: record and winning yourself a five thousand dollars prize. It 137 00:08:45,640 --> 00:08:49,200 Speaker 1: won't be easy, though, because at the Jumping Frog Jubilee, 138 00:08:49,360 --> 00:08:52,280 Speaker 1: the length of a frog's jump is actually the combined 139 00:08:52,320 --> 00:08:56,640 Speaker 1: distance of three consecutive jumps measured in a straight line. 140 00:08:57,240 --> 00:09:00,240 Speaker 1: That means your frog has to jump forward as far 141 00:09:00,320 --> 00:09:03,319 Speaker 1: as possible three times in a row, and as you 142 00:09:03,400 --> 00:09:06,240 Speaker 1: might imagine, you have to be a pretty skilled jockey 143 00:09:06,360 --> 00:09:10,480 Speaker 1: to coax that kind of consistency from a frog. Most 144 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:14,200 Speaker 1: frogs that the Jubilee average just under five feet per jump, 145 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:17,760 Speaker 1: while frogs with less experienced jockeys may top out at 146 00:09:17,760 --> 00:09:21,840 Speaker 1: two or three. The current record, however, is seven point 147 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:25,640 Speaker 1: one six feet per jump for a combined total of 148 00:09:25,720 --> 00:09:30,240 Speaker 1: twenty one feet five and three quarter inches. That incredible 149 00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:33,960 Speaker 1: leap was performed way back in nineteen eighty six by 150 00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:39,280 Speaker 1: Rosie the Ribeter and her jockey Lee Giudici. The fact 151 00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:43,480 Speaker 1: that record is still standing nearly forty years later suggests 152 00:09:43,520 --> 00:09:46,440 Speaker 1: that frogs might not be able to jump any farther 153 00:09:46,559 --> 00:09:49,600 Speaker 1: than twenty one feet. Of course, if that sounds like 154 00:09:49,600 --> 00:09:52,000 Speaker 1: a bet you'd be willing to take, then you might 155 00:09:52,040 --> 00:09:55,480 Speaker 1: want to get over to Calaveras County right away. This 156 00:09:55,600 --> 00:10:02,120 Speaker 1: year's jubilee takes place this very weekend. Happy hopping. I'm 157 00:10:02,200 --> 00:10:05,720 Speaker 1: Gabeluesier and hopefully you now know a little more about 158 00:10:05,760 --> 00:10:09,680 Speaker 1: history today than you did yesterday. You can learn even 159 00:10:09,720 --> 00:10:12,880 Speaker 1: more about history by following us on Twitter, Facebook, and 160 00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:17,560 Speaker 1: Instagram at TDI HC Show, and if you have any 161 00:10:17,600 --> 00:10:20,400 Speaker 1: commons or suggestions, you can always send them my way 162 00:10:20,559 --> 00:10:24,880 Speaker 1: by writing to this Day at iHeartMedia dot com. Thanks 163 00:10:24,880 --> 00:10:27,520 Speaker 1: to Chandler Mays and Ben Hackett for producing the show, 164 00:10:27,720 --> 00:10:30,040 Speaker 1: and thanks to you for listening. I'll see you back 165 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:45,200 Speaker 1: here again soon for another day in History class.