Transcript The Turning Point of the Frog-Prince

The Turning Point
of the Frog-Prince
Dr. Joann Keyton
With assistance from
Dr. Christi Moss
The background
• Was looking for V-day gifts for friends . . .
Saw this frog-prince toy at Borders.
• Looked interesting . . . hmmm . . . Better as
a research project than a gift
• So my sharing these findings is my V-day
gift to you.
Research Questions
1. Can a frog be
turned into a
prince?
2. If so, what kind
of prince would
he be?
Method
Out of box; Sunday 2:38 pm
• Followed
instructions on
box
• Take off pull-tab
• Put in cold water
to cover frog’s
head
• Prince should
arrive in 72 hours
With water
Process
• Frog starts to
bubble,
according to
directions on
box
• Back of frog
turns light
yellow
Back of frog
turning yellow;
Sunday 2:41 pm
Frog bubbling,
like Alka Seltzer dissolving;
Sunday 2:58 pm
Frog back starts to disappear
Frog back
dissolving;
starts on back
side; Sunday
3:02 pm
Frog
dissolving;
50% back
gone; 80% frog
front gone;
Sunday 3:17
pm
95% frog front &
back gone; prince
fully visible; frog
skeleton remains;
Sunday 3:34 pm
Additional Method
• As instructed by box,
water is changed.
• Prince is visible, but
frog skeleton (where
frog back was joined
to frog front)
remains—hanging
limply around prince’s
waist
• Sunday 3:58 pm
Prince and Frog are rejoined
• Sunday, 5:10 pm
• Frog skeleton remains,
but now floats above
prince’s head.
• Provides new metric
for measurement
The boring part
• Sunday
• 5:34 pm;
• no visible change
• 6:14 pm;
• no visible change
• 7:31 pm;
• no visible change
Finally, something happens
• Sunday, 9:24 pm
• Prince is fatter, not
taller
Boring part II--Monday
•
•
•
•
8:59 am
Prince slightly taller, but still in frog shadow
5:04 pm
Prince slightly taller and fatter
Final findings--Tuesday
• 8:47 am; Prince is slightly taller and fatter
• Finally!!!!; Noon; Prince is tall enough to
“see” over frog skeleton
• 4:10 pm; experimental period of 72 hours is
officially over; prince has not having
changed since first observation on Tuesday
Final observation
Results
• RQ1: Yes, a frog can turn into a prince.
• RQ2: He’s not much of a prince. He’s short
and fat. His crown looks like a baseball cap
with twigs in the front.
Interpretation
• Don’t buy into the
fairy tale. The frog
was more of a frog
than the prince was a
prince. Frogs are just
sometimes better.