The Texas horned lizard is a hardy creature, but its hardiness might have been overestimated.
The Native American legend holds that the rugged species could survive up to 100 years in hibernation.
Everyone had forgotten about the horned toad except for Ernest, who told the local newspaper about it.
At exactly four in the afternoon, the brick wall was pulled away from the cornerstone.
The pastor passed the creature to Judge Pritchard who raised the reptile high so that all might see it.
Suddenly the lizards hind leg twitched.
“He’s alive!”
Pritchard yelled, and the crowd roared in admiration.
At the Zoological Gardens in St. Louis, Missouri, Ol Rip was mobbed by forty thousand spectators.
In May 1928, the lizard went to Washington, D.C. to meet President Calvin Coolidge.
Indeed, the typical lifespan of the horned lizard is between five to seven years.
The cornerstone where Old Rip was entombed.
Photo:QuesterMark/Flickr
Demand for horned lizard exploded across the country.
TheTexas Parks and Wildlifemagazine reported that a local gas station offered a horned lizard with each fill-up.
The Dallas Advertising League quickly sold 600 lizards at the International Advertising Association of the World convention in Detroit.
Old Rip in his coffin at the Eastland County Courthouse.
Old Rip became a part of Eastland culture for decades.
Twice Old Rips desiccated body got stolen, and a ransom demanded.
A postcard of Old Rip.
