Old Rip, Famous Texas Horned Lizard

<p>Old Rip was a reptile with quite a legend. Some people believed that he survived a 31-year entombment in a courthouse cornerstone, and he became celebrity, even gaining an audience with President Calvin Coolidge. But was it all a hoax?</p> <p>Research:</p> <ul> <li>“Toad Alive After 31 Years Sealed in Texas Cornerstone.” New York Times. Feb, 20, 1928. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1928/02/20/91477181.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&amp;ip=0</li> <li>“Coolidge Sees Famous Horned Toad of Texas.” The Greenville News. May 4, 1928. https://www.newspapers.com/image/188233123/?terms=toad&amp;match=1</li> <li>“Texas Horned Frog Upsets Scientists.” Times Record News. Feb. 21, 1928. https://www.newspapers.com/image/774886762/</li> <li>“Horned Lizard Facts.” Texas Parks and Wildlife. https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/wildlife_diversity/texas_nature_trackers/horned_lizard/facts/#:~:text=Its%20horny%20appearance%20and%20coloration,(actually%2C%20its%20eyelid).</li> <li>“RipFest.” https://www.eastlandchamber.com/ripfest/</li> <li>“Texas Court Frees Entombed Toad.” New York Times. May 14, 1928. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1928/05/15/91511824.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&amp;ip=0</li> <li>“Experts Are Skeptical About Horned Frog.” Fort Worth Record-Telegram. Feb 21, 1928. https://www.newspapers.com/image/634555101/?terms=Eastland%2C%20Texas&amp;match=1</li> <li>“Old Frog Leaps Back Into Case.” Austin American-Statesman. September 29, 1961. https://www.newspapers.com/image/357861533/</li> <li>House, Boyce. “Amazing Story of Rip Is Told in Its Entirety.” Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Feb, 13, 1938. https://www.newspapers.com/image/636009835/</li> <li>“Texas Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum).” Texas Parks and Wildlife. https://tpwd.texas.gov/huntwild/wild/species/thlizard/</li> <li>“Eastland Asks Old Rip’s Return.” Fort Worth Star-Telegram. April 18, 1972. https://www.newspapers.com/image/644137888/?terms=old%20rip&amp;match=1</li> <li>“Three-corner Fight Rages for Possession of Eastland’s Reptile