Jews for centuries have had outstanding people in many fields of science and research. But, in the year 1639, in a small Polish town, a 14-year-old Jewish boy named Sidney started his own scientific investigations. Sidney, with his 12-year-old sister Sophie in tow, caught a large bullfrog in a local pond. Sidney began the experiment with the bullfrog and instructed Sophie to write down the results.
Sidney drew a line in the sand, placed the frog on the line, and prodded the frog with a small twig from the rear, shouting, “Jump frog!” The frog jumped, and Sidney measured the distance. “12 feet. Write that down, Sophie,” he said.
Next, he brought the frog back to the starting point and removed the frog’s right front leg. Again, he prodded the frog and shouted, “Jump frog!” The frog jumped 10 feet, and Sophie noted it down.
The frog was brought back once more, and the left front leg was removed. Again, Sidney said, “Jump frog!” It jumped 6 feet, and Sophie recorded the result.
Sidney tried again, this time removing the large right back leg. “Jump frog! Jump frog!” he shouted and prodded the frog. The frog jumped 8 inches. “Write it down, Sophie.”
Finally, Sidney removed the frog’s remaining back left leg, put it down, and prodded the frog with the twig, shouting, “Jump frog! Jump Frog! JUMP FROG! JUMP, JUMP FROG!” The frog didn’t jump. Sophie looked at Sidney and asked, “So what should I write down?”
Sidney thought for a moment and then told Sophie to write, “When you remove all the legs from a frog, it turns deaf.”
