rent-a-frog
n.— «Nowadays, such behavior is strictly prohibited by the fair’s frog welfare policy, a four-page document that outlines rules, including treatment of hundreds of “rent-a-frogs,” which are stored in a cellarlike room under the main jumping stage. There, rules stipulate that frogs are kept cool and in the dark, limited to three jumps daily, and that soothing music, either soft rock or cool jazz, is played at all times.» —“Celebrating, and Quarreling Over, Frogs” by Jesse McKinley in Angels Camp, California New York Times May 20, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Astronauts returning from space say they experience what’s called the overview effect, a new understanding of the fragility of our planet and our need to reflect on what humans all share as a species. A book about the end of the universe...
Amid court-ordered busing in the 1970s, a middle-school teacher tried to distract her nervous students on the first day of class with this strange assignment: find a monarch caterpillar. The result? A memorable lesson in the miracle of metamorphosis...