Exploding toads

This is one of those stories which if it were in a medieval almanac, you'd be tempted to think that it was the work of a lively and superstitious imagination and passed on by ignorance of the laws od nature. When I was an undergraduate a friend of mine poo-pooed the idea of a rain of frogs as reported in some medieval annals. He said it was simply the superstitious medieval mind at work, no such thing could happen. But of course, we now know such things can and do happen and we have worked out the physics ... Interesting reflection. What other things are there that we think unbelievable but which are in fact true? That's not an excuse to believe anything, but it is to reflect that a lot of what we think plausible is culturally conditioned and therefore we should have some humility before writing some things off. Miracles in the Bible are often dismissed, but quite often that dismissal is a cultural prejudice and says nothing of what may or may not have happened. That's not to say either that we should not ask questions of the miracles. Personally I think that there may be quite a lot in the explanations of the plagues of Egypt which suggest a volcanic eruption in the vicinity of Crete; I also think that this is quite consonant with believing that God may have used it to deliver the people of Israel from Egyptian slavery ... but it's something I'm willing to think, rethink and be persuaded over.

I will be interested to know what's causing toads to explode though but.
BBC NEWS | Europe | Mystery of German exploding toads