National Frog Jumping Day is a holiday that’s observed annually on May 13th. This holiday encourages people to jump frogs on this day and originated from a Mark Twain story about a competition between two men betting on whose frogs can jump the highest and a pet frog named Dan’l Webster. Actually, the story didn’t originate with Twain but instead was a story he heard at various mining camps prior to him writing it down.

This story was first published as “Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog” but was later published as “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras Country.” Since this holiday originated from that story, it’s probably a good day to do some competitive frog jumping with your friends. Do you agree or simply want to spend the day learning about frogs?

Facts About Frogs

Since this holiday involves competitive frog jumping, then we thought that it might be appropriate to list some of the facts about frogs that people might not know about. So without further delay, below are some of the interesting facts we’ve uncovered about frogs below. We hope that you enjoy them.

• Scientists believe that frogs have roamed the Earth for over 200-million years.
• One of the smallest frogs in the world is the Cuban tree toad. It only grows to be a half-inch long.
• The largest frog in the world is the West African goliath frog. It can grow up to 15-inches and weigh up to 7-pounds.
• There are over 6,000 different frog species around the world. New ones are being found all the time.
• Many frogs can leap up to 20-times their body length.
• The wood frog can live north of the Arctic Circle and can survive with almost 2/3rds of its body frozen for weeks at a time.
• The marsupial frog has a pouch like a kangaroo that can hold her eggs.

Observing National Frog Jumping Day

Organize a frog jumping competition on this day with friends and family members, or bring your pet frog to one of the many competitions held across the U.S on this day. You can also use the hashtag #NationalFrogJumpingDay on your social media accounts to spread the word about this holiday high and low.