He's good enough for one thing,I should judge-he can outjump any frog in Calaveras County," said Smiley in Mark Twain's famous short story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calavers County." This was the inspiration for the Calavers County Jumping Frog Contest, which has taken place since 1928 in the village of Angels Camp in Calavers County, California.The first year,15,000 people attended this unusual event, more than the entire population of Calaveras County at the time.The following year,the crowd doubled, and by 1931,the event was so popular that two additional jumping areas had to be added to accommodate entries from around the world.Today,more than 50,000 spectators attend this even and the frog entries number 1,000.
Although the Calaveras County jumping Frog Contest has gained international attention,the majority of the competitors are still people from County.Anyone who would like to enter goes to the registration table,fills out a form, and pays a modest entry entry fee.The fee includes the cost of renting a frog in case the entrant doesn't already own one.Many people who live in the area go out and catch their frogs the night before, so they are "fresh" and ready to go on the oday of the contest.
After entering the contest,the competitors must decide who will be the "jockey."This is the person the frog on the launching pad and then encourages the frog to jump.The goals of the entrants and their"jockey" are,first of all,to have fun;second, to win a prize; and third, to set a new world frog-jumping record.
The contest starts when the "jockey" positions his or her frog and then yells,screams,jumps up and down,puffs,blows whistles,or does whatever else is necessary to incite the frog to jump.The one thing that is not allowed is any kind of physical contact with the frog.Each frog is given 15 seconds to jump three times.Once a frog has made its three jumps,an official measures the distance from the center of the pad to the spot where the frog landed on its third jump. Naturally, the winning frog is usually the one that jumped in the straightest line rather than