In Soviet South Africa, frog squeeees at you.
February 15, 2013 9:59 PM   Subscribe

A tiny, sandy, round and loud frog expresses his dismay at your existence.
posted by moneyjane (99 comments total) 59 users marked this as a favorite
 
HE IS SO MAD YOU GUYS
posted by louche mustachio at 10:13 PM on February 15, 2013 [11 favorites]


Okay who brought the dog's squeaky toy to life and how do we shut it up?
posted by The Whelk at 10:14 PM on February 15, 2013 [12 favorites]


Adorable wrath has to be some kind of curse.

I AM SO PESSED OFF SRSLY. STOP. STAAAHHHHP!
posted by louche mustachio at 10:17 PM on February 15, 2013 [16 favorites]


Yes, I would buy this as pet from the blackmarket.
posted by vorpal bunny at 10:19 PM on February 15, 2013 [2 favorites]


squee!
posted by vrakatar at 10:22 PM on February 15, 2013 [2 favorites]


...with fire
posted by aloiv2 at 10:22 PM on February 15, 2013 [1 favorite]


Probably about the same physical mechanism as a squeaky toy, so.
posted by dhartung at 10:29 PM on February 15, 2013 [1 favorite]


WWWAAAAAAAHH.
posted by dephlogisticated at 10:29 PM on February 15, 2013 [14 favorites]


Can someone please identify this frog so I can stea -- er, share this important biological discovery with my friends and relatives?
posted by Apropos of Something at 10:36 PM on February 15, 2013 [2 favorites]


My Kitty Kat just said "WTF was that?"
posted by NorthernLite at 10:37 PM on February 15, 2013 [6 favorites]


Okay who brought the dog's squeaky toy to life and how do we shut it up?

Funny you should say this. My dog started licking the speakers when I played the video.
posted by phunniemee at 10:38 PM on February 15, 2013 [5 favorites]


My dog is now insane. Thanks guys.
posted by fshgrl at 10:45 PM on February 15, 2013 [17 favorites]


My now-spayed, formerly very fertile cat came running in with her RESCUE THE KITTEN expression.
posted by pernoctalian at 10:47 PM on February 15, 2013 [20 favorites]


It's like a little background critter from The Dark Crystal.
posted by sourwookie at 10:54 PM on February 15, 2013 [7 favorites]


Appears to be Breviceps namaquensis aka the Namaqua Rain Frog.
posted by Rhomboid at 10:55 PM on February 15, 2013 [3 favorites]


Can someone please identify this frog so I can stea -- er, share this important biological discovery with my friends and relatives?

Breviceps macrops - I think.
posted by smoothvirus at 11:05 PM on February 15, 2013 [1 favorite]


The amusing/sad thing about frogs in South Africa is they scare the hell out of the indigenous folks. I used to get occasional toads in the house, and if the maid found them, she'd SCREAM. Someone told me they are a sign of death to the Xhosa folks.
posted by Goofyy at 11:09 PM on February 15, 2013 [3 favorites]


Hi, Krang.
posted by cosmic.osmo at 11:16 PM on February 15, 2013 [6 favorites]


Natural selection is a helluva drug.
posted by perhapses at 11:37 PM on February 15, 2013 [9 favorites]


Lil' froggy is a pretty neat guy. You just can't stay mad at a round sandy frog.
posted by BlueHorse at 11:38 PM on February 15, 2013 [1 favorite]


You know that scene in the film adaptation of Fight Club where they talk about who they wish they could fight? I would fight this frog.
posted by Justinian at 11:56 PM on February 15, 2013 [2 favorites]


I think Jim Woodring and Hayao Miyazaki had lunch one day, and this thing was born.
posted by not_on_display at 11:56 PM on February 15, 2013 [13 favorites]


I would fight this frog.

The camera angle obscures the fact that the frog is five stories tall.
posted by justsomebodythatyouusedtoknow at 12:00 AM on February 16, 2013 [4 favorites]


I think Jim Woodring and Hayao Miyazaki had lunch one day, and this thing was born.

Wait a minute, that's not how they make frogs.


Unless "lunch" is code for something.
posted by louche mustachio at 12:14 AM on February 16, 2013 [5 favorites]


Lil’ Al Capone Jr. Needs a cigar and a tommy gun.
Nobody gives me lip! see...?
posted by quazichimp at 12:23 AM on February 16, 2013 [2 favorites]


Okay, you know AstroZombie's girlfriend and how she would cry at how adorable it was when Wall*E said his name?

I'm verrrrry close to being able to make the same video only about this frog.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:29 AM on February 16, 2013 [3 favorites]


Damn that's cute! Can I have one?
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 12:31 AM on February 16, 2013


The filename of the video says "namaqua rainfrog - breviceps namaquensis".
posted by XMLicious at 12:57 AM on February 16, 2013 [1 favorite]




I just wanna squeeze his widdle fa...

He was like that when I got here.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 2:22 AM on February 16, 2013 [17 favorites]



"Shut up and get in the pot, frog."

This stovetop science is nothing more than a conspiracy to embarrass
and humiliate my a cappella friends... and to encourage thirteen year old boys.
The frogs in my neighborhood are quite smart and use drainpipes and down spouts
to amplify their mating calls. Crooning their lonely hearts for all to hear.
They would never be so stubborn as to sit in a pot of boiling water when they
could be singing their love for a mate.
posted by quazichimp at 2:25 AM on February 16, 2013 [3 favorites]


Is his skin changing colors? That's pretty cool.
posted by Philosopher Dirtbike at 3:02 AM on February 16, 2013


Cat said WAT
posted by seanmpuckett at 4:13 AM on February 16, 2013 [2 favorites]


This is really not cool because these frogs have been hunted to near extinction for their use in squeaky toy manufacturing.
posted by orme at 4:47 AM on February 16, 2013 [15 favorites]


This is adorable.

Also frogs have got weird eyes.
posted by anaximander at 4:48 AM on February 16, 2013 [1 favorite]


If you squeeze it hard enough it talks like James Earl Jones.
posted by dobbs at 5:13 AM on February 16, 2013


My two year old said, "I love him! I can hold him!"

I pretty much thought the same thing.
posted by fancyoats at 5:18 AM on February 16, 2013 [6 favorites]


According to the linked Wikipedia article upthread, those frogs inflate themselves to warn away potential predators. That's why he's so round; that genuinely is, as louche moustachio put it, adorable wrath.

"Fear me! If you try to eat me, you will deeply regret it!"

I assume predators must find it at least somewhat convincing, since the frog still exists.
posted by Malor at 5:27 AM on February 16, 2013 [2 favorites]


Also noticed the catwtf behavior. One of mine came running down the hall to check, and these two usually ignore every sound (including cat sounds) that come from the computer.

The printer on the other hand....
posted by CheeseDigestsAll at 5:30 AM on February 16, 2013 [3 favorites]


So. He's not quite two inches long. His method of protection involves making himself look chubby and going "Squee!"

I think we have found our first living Pokemon.
posted by Joe in Australia at 5:38 AM on February 16, 2013 [18 favorites]


Mine just kept sleeping.
posted by MartinWisse at 5:42 AM on February 16, 2013


sandy frog

Oh, sandy... I though he was all breaded and ready for the fryer.
posted by Huck500 at 5:54 AM on February 16, 2013 [3 favorites]




yeah my cats freaked too. how weird is that
posted by angrycat at 6:10 AM on February 16, 2013


WTF, when did the link switch from liveleak to youtube?
posted by Rhomboid at 6:32 AM on February 16, 2013


Yes, one dog and one cat freaked completely out. The last time we had that reaction it was somebody on Askme in like 2005 posting about what the hell is this mysterious noise at night in the country (answer: fox.) Neither my cat nor my dog has ever been to South Africa to my knowledge and they usually are uninterested in amphibians. So go figure.
posted by mygothlaundry at 6:34 AM on February 16, 2013 [1 favorite]


i was expecting the frog to start deflating as it was squeaking...
posted by fuzzypantalones at 6:40 AM on February 16, 2013 [3 favorites]


It's a baby Hypnotoad!
posted by Renoroc at 6:51 AM on February 16, 2013 [8 favorites]


_completely_ freaked out my two dogs. Can't wait to try it on the cat.
posted by achrise at 7:17 AM on February 16, 2013


Nthing kitty distress.
posted by pentagoet at 7:30 AM on February 16, 2013


I thought this was the first discovered pokemon.
posted by ChuraChura at 7:43 AM on February 16, 2013


I had a friend who is utterly adorable when she is angry, and it is indeed a curse. She bristles, her enormous blue eyes sparkle with wroth, and she scolds in her fluting little voice, 'Stop it, you all! I am very angry!' But being told that in such a voice by a fragile person who looks like a china doll come to life was so utterly hysterical we would find tiny ways to make her angry so as to enjoy the spectacle. We stopped once we grew up and realized that however precious it was to us it was serious business to her, but oh it was so hard to quit.

It's a wonder she didn't kill us all in our sleep.
posted by winna at 7:56 AM on February 16, 2013 [15 favorites]


I think this frog also disproves the theory of evolution and survival of the fittest. Don't worry guys, they were just theories.
posted by cjorgensen at 8:18 AM on February 16, 2013


My dog has one squeaky toy. It's an orange doggie thing and he loves it so very much. He'll toss it around and nuzzle it but if he accidentally makes it squeak, he ever-so-gently places it on the ground and gives it a kiss.

When I played the squeaky frog video, the dog was Very, Very Concerned.
posted by cooker girl at 8:50 AM on February 16, 2013 [33 favorites]


You know, it's been observed that the "cheeble" is the name of the war cry of the hamster. But I think this noise is a cheeble if ever I heard one.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 8:56 AM on February 16, 2013 [1 favorite]


My dog has one squeaky toy. It's an orange doggie thing and he loves it so very much. He'll toss it around and nuzzle it but if he accidentally makes it squeak, he ever-so-gently places it on the ground and gives it a kiss.

Oh that was just the sound of my heart breaking.
posted by sweetkid at 9:14 AM on February 16, 2013 [13 favorites]


My dog has one squeaky toy. It's an orange doggie thing and he loves it so very much. He'll toss it around and nuzzle it but if he accidentally makes it squeak, he ever-so-gently places it on the ground and gives it a kiss.

We have a golden retriever that does the same thing, only he sets it down and gets his VERY CONCERNED face and looks as us as if to say "Did....did I hurt it?"

He got that same face when I played this video.
posted by Twain Device at 9:18 AM on February 16, 2013 [4 favorites]


Thats just my uncle Mort...
posted by casual observer at 9:36 AM on February 16, 2013


I did the cat test with the video. Of our three cats, the gray one came running with a Very Concerned wide-eyed look on his face, the black one followed a few seconds later, and the big white fluffy one was a no-show. My working theory is that he thought that if whatever it was was really important, the other two would have come and gotten him. (Apologies for the blurriness--it was hard to get them to hold still long enough to get the picture.)
posted by Mr. Bad Example at 9:45 AM on February 16, 2013


My dog stopped in his tracks, dropped his tennis ball (!!), ran to the window to see if The Squeaky Thing was out there, then stared at the computer, tilting his head to triangulate the sound. When it stopped, he looked at me. WHERE IT GO? DO THAT AGAIN?

Little frog, you made a Labrador-Border Collie drop a tennis ball. You are amazing.
posted by cmyk at 9:48 AM on February 16, 2013 [12 favorites]


> Adorable wrath has to be some kind of curse.

Every dictator is cursed to be reincarnated as this frog. I should overdub the Nuremburg rally footage with this.
posted by scruss at 9:52 AM on February 16, 2013 [9 favorites]


My cat woke out of sound nap and stared at the screen with concern. She ignores almost all other computer noises - although, IIRC, as a kitten she really loved the videos of cats on treadmills.
posted by maryr at 9:54 AM on February 16, 2013


My littler more scaredy cat came running to investigate the noise when I played this, and the bigger one strolled over to see what the commotion was. Then little one looked at big one and smelled his nose, then came over to me and smelled my foot, and then toddled off to the window.
(If you knew him you would know that he toddles. He is very small and not so elegant.)
posted by sweetkid at 10:55 AM on February 16, 2013 [2 favorites]


sweetkid, we need pictures or preferably video of Toddling Cat.
posted by cmyk at 11:05 AM on February 16, 2013 [3 favorites]


Elicited a good 5 minutes of foot thumping from my rabbit, haha!
posted by NorthernAutumn at 11:09 AM on February 16, 2013 [1 favorite]


I don't have a good video of the toddling available, but to tide you over here's a picture of my two. Toddler is the orange one. He's a little over a year old and just never grew! He doesn't even fully meow, just does a little squeaky noise while the bigger one does a full throaty meow you could hear three blocks away.
posted by sweetkid at 11:11 AM on February 16, 2013 [4 favorites]


Cat briefly looked up at me with mild disdain, then went back to sleep. She knows my ways.
posted by homunculus at 11:18 AM on February 16, 2013


When I watched this earlier today, before seeing all these reports of animal responses, I was pretty convinced the sound had brought a pigeon to my windowsill.
posted by chudmonkey at 11:19 AM on February 16, 2013


My cat's ears turned around briefly, but she couldn't be bothered to get up from in front of the fireplace or even look in my direction.
posted by Daily Alice at 11:25 AM on February 16, 2013 [1 favorite]


Dog is no longer impressed by Squee Frog.

I, on the other hand.... THAT IDDLE FACE!
posted by cmyk at 11:41 AM on February 16, 2013 [1 favorite]


I tested it on my teeny parrots, and each frog squee got a little answering chirp!
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 11:50 AM on February 16, 2013 [3 favorites]


This was adorable, as was my cat's reaction. She turned around and opened her mouth like she wanted to ask me what was happening, but no sound came out.
posted by k8lin at 12:29 PM on February 16, 2013 [1 favorite]


I have two female cats that couldn't work together if it meant finding an enormous stash of tuna behind an open cat flap (true story). However, this video had them both so concerned that they united forces to knock my laptop from my lap. Animals are fascinating and weird.
posted by librarianamy at 12:49 PM on February 16, 2013 [1 favorite]


That was the first time my couldn't-care-less boy cat actually tried to look under my laptop. Looking forward to trying it on my couldn't-care-less girl cat.
posted by wallabear at 3:05 PM on February 16, 2013


Couldn't-care-less girl cat couldn't care less.
posted by wallabear at 3:16 PM on February 16, 2013 [3 favorites]


Wow, no synthetic noise has ever elicited any reaction from my cats. As soon as I hit play, both come running in making concerned sounding "where's the kitten" meows. I had to stop halfway through the second playing because of how distressed they looked.

Anybody have the gear to pull the sound out of this and see if there's anything unusual? Maybe the high end BBC mics picked up ultrasound that somehow survived conversion to mp3? But how would my phone speaker even reproduce it?

Fascinating.
posted by PissOnYourParade at 6:14 PM on February 16, 2013


Maybe the high end BBC mics picked up ultrasound that somehow survived conversion to mp3?

MP3 has a hard cutoff at 16KHz, so that can't be it. If the video is, indeed, using MP3, there's no ultrasound to set off your cats.
posted by Malor at 6:17 PM on February 16, 2013


Test #2 of the day on my friend's feisty little tortoiseshell via my iPod failed. Despite trying to eat my feet all afternoon, she didn't budge when the froggie squeaked.
posted by maryr at 7:39 PM on February 16, 2013


Having read the comments, I believe the rain frog's strategy is to chirp and thereby summon larger predators to come running to its aid and take care of the bully.
posted by Devils Slide at 8:08 PM on February 16, 2013 [5 favorites]


MeTa.
posted by Apropos of Something at 8:21 PM on February 16, 2013


Anybody with cats who reacted to this, and who is still running Windows XP, should try holding down the right-hand Shift key for five seconds. Used to drive mine insane looking for the little mousie behind the speakers.

To fix the shift-lock effect that sometimes results from this, press and release the left-hand Shift key.
posted by flabdablet at 8:34 PM on February 16, 2013


Is there a topic that cannot be converted into a cat thread?
posted by she's not there at 9:28 PM on February 16, 2013 [1 favorite]


Malor: "MP3 has a hard cutoff at 16KHz, so that can't be it."

That's not true. In MP3, the upper scalefactor band (21, equivalent to ~16kHz @ 44/48kHz sample rate) actually has no associated scale factor, so is the first to be dropped if the bitrate is insufficient. And certain crap encoders (e.g. Xing, if anyone still uses it) will always cut frequencies above ~16kHz.

However, decent MP3 encoders given plenty of bits are more than capable of encoding frequencies up to the Nyquist limit.
posted by Pinback at 9:35 PM on February 16, 2013 [1 favorite]


It's hard to keep a cat out of thread, she's not there.
posted by maryr at 9:40 PM on February 16, 2013 [3 favorites]




The first time I tried it out on my cat, this afternoon, it brought the sort of anxious attention I had only previously been able to elicit by using the distressed kitten mp3. I just tried it again and she came running all the way from the bedroom to stare up at me in alarm.

Clearly, this is a frog that speaks cat!
posted by tavella at 3:21 AM on February 17, 2013 [1 favorite]


I love Norma's curly tail! Our Remy has such a tail and I'd never seen such a thing in a cat (and man, I've had LOTS of cats) until him.

p.s. Since I neglected to add a photo of Very Concerned Emery before, here you go. He's not Concerned here, but he is Emery.
posted by cooker girl at 7:31 AM on February 17, 2013 [2 favorites]


My four cats all popped up like meerkats coming out of their holes. Dog couldn't care less.


Spell-checker wants to correct meerkats to beermats.
posted by deborah at 1:21 PM on February 17, 2013 [3 favorites]


Emery looks like a little professor, cooker girl.
posted by sweetkid at 1:40 PM on February 17, 2013 [1 favorite]


Another indolent cat roused by mere laptop speaker squeaks.
posted by Dreidl at 3:48 PM on February 17, 2013


HA! our 8 month old (male) kitten immediately stopped playing with his spring toy (you don't know this guy but that is some serious business because his spring toy is for SERIOUS PLAYING) and came running over all OMG WHERE'S THE KITTEN?!?!.

He is still pacing around the livingroom looking for the kitten in, around and under every piece of furniture, and I only played it once and the noise stopped 2 minutes ago.
posted by lonefrontranger at 4:25 PM on February 17, 2013


you guys over on cuteoverload someone posted an even squeakier video in response
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 5:42 PM on February 19, 2013 [4 favorites]


May I have a bucket of sqeeky otters, please?
posted by BlueHorse at 5:50 PM on February 19, 2013


It's like, how much more squeaky could this be? and the answer is none. None more squeaky.
posted by Joe in Australia at 7:00 PM on February 19, 2013


These go to eleven!
posted by flabdablet at 3:39 AM on February 20, 2013


Two much!
posted by flabdablet at 3:45 AM on February 20, 2013


oh make it stop
posted by flabdablet at 4:01 AM on February 20, 2013 [1 favorite]


That guinea pig sounds like it swallowed a signal generator that's stuck in frequency sweep mode.
posted by Rhomboid at 5:54 AM on February 20, 2013 [2 favorites]


Sweetkid, he is a professor. PROFESSOR OF SNUGGLES.
posted by cooker girl at 4:21 PM on February 22, 2013


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