# Toads like to be stroked **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 30, 2006, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toads-like-to-be-stroked/358676 "2006-05-30T00:11:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lillith\_Fair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@Lillith\_Fair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lillith_Fair)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toads-like-to-be-stroked/358676/1 "2006-05-30T00:11:13Z")
We have a big toad in our front yard. I touched it. (I don’t know why.) My daughter touched it. Then she kind of rubbed it on one side and it leaned into it. Then she rubbed it on the other side and it leeeeeaned into it. She kept doing it, one side then the other, and the toad was really liking it. I got it on video. If I was smart enough I would post it somewhere so you could see it. I know, this sounds really creepy, touching a toad. But it was cute the way the toad leaned into it. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toads-like-to-be-stroked/358676/2 "2006-05-30T00:14:25Z")
So I take it the toad didn’t turn into a handsome prince? Rats. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toads-like-to-be-stroked/358676/3 "2006-05-30T00:17:23Z")
And somewhere the toad is telling his pals, “Yeah, I was hoping she’d sprout some warts and have her eyeballs protrude – no such luck.” ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toads-like-to-be-stroked/358676/4 "2006-05-30T00:47:33Z")
I’m all in favor of Toad Stroking. Come on, people. Get to it! ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toads-like-to-be-stroked/358676/5 "2006-05-30T01:06:41Z")
There’s a crude, but funny joke in here, somewhere. But I’ll let someone else say it. ---
**Author:** ![RumMunkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@RumMunkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RumMunkey)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toads-like-to-be-stroked/358676/6 "2006-05-30T12:50:11Z")
Band name? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toads-like-to-be-stroked/358676/7 "2006-05-30T13:05:32Z")
My cat caught a toad in the garden this weekend. She didn’t hurt it. She poked it a few times with a soft paw, then sat on it like it was an egg. Later she trapped it in a corner, poked it again and it _screamed_ in a most shocking manner. I had to bring her inside for the sake of my nerves. Tell me, Clarice - has the toad stopped screaming? ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toads-like-to-be-stroked/358676/8 "2006-05-30T18:25:01Z")
Yeah, toads do like being…uh…fondled. I remember holding one in the palm of my hand when I was a kid, and scritching his back with one finger, and he closed his eyes and craned his little toad head up. He looked just like my cat when I rub her between the ears. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toads-like-to-be-stroked/358676/9 "2006-05-30T20:11:35Z")
Iguanas like cuddling too, by the way. I think it’s a reptile thing. It’s so cute. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toads-like-to-be-stroked/358676/10 "2006-05-30T20:14:14Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > Iguanas like cuddling too, by the way. I think it’s a reptile thing. It’s so cute. Um, except toads are amphibians. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2006, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toads-like-to-be-stroked/358676/11 "2006-05-30T22:57:45Z")
Cold blooded dry critter thing? ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toads-like-to-be-stroked/358676/12 "2006-05-31T02:43:15Z")
So I went over to **Lillith Fair’s** to meet the toad, and he’s adorable! He rocks right over to one side, then back to the other, sort of like a low-rider car! And when you stroke his head he tilts it down to the ground. Plus he closes his eyes when you rub his sides, like he’s really enjoying it. He doesn’t try to hop away at all…in fact, her dog was running all over, excited about nearly catching a squirrel, and nearly stepped on him a few times, and he didn’t even move. And the funniest part is, when he leans all the way over to one side, he stays that way until you touch the other side. ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toads-like-to-be-stroked/358676/13 "2006-05-31T04:21:14Z")
I really do hope that a video of this can be put online somewhere. Too cool. ---
**Author:** ![Mindfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mindfield/32/19759_2.png) [@Mindfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mindfield)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toads-like-to-be-stroked/358676/14 "2006-05-31T11:05:17Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > Cold blooded dry critter thing? Sort of what I was thinking. The “dry” bit probably didn’t have much to do with it, but being cold-blooded would probably make any warm fondling feel quite nice. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toads-like-to-be-stroked/358676/15 "2006-05-31T13:45:02Z")
> [@kittenblue](#): > > So I went over to **Lillith Fair’s** to meet the toad, and he’s adorable! He rocks right over to one side, then back to the other, sort of like a low-rider car! And when you stroke his head he tilts it down to the ground. Plus he closes his eyes when you rub his sides, like he’s really enjoying it. He doesn’t try to hop away at all…in fact, her dog was running all over, excited about nearly catching a squirrel, and nearly stepped on him a few times, and he didn’t even move. And the funniest part is, when he leans all the way over to one side, he stays that way until you touch the other side. How come all the fun is in Cleveland? When you guys go on the road, let me know so I can save the date. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toads-like-to-be-stroked/358676/16 "2006-05-31T13:57:00Z")
> [@kittenblue](#): > > So I went over to **Lillith Fair’s** to meet the toad, and he’s adorable! He rocks right over to one side, then back to the other, sort of like a low-rider car! And when you stroke his head he tilts it down to the ground. Plus he closes his eyes when you rub his sides, like he’s really enjoying it. He doesn’t try to hop away at all…in fact, her dog was running all over, excited about nearly catching a squirrel, and nearly stepped on him a few times, and he didn’t even move. And the funniest part is, when he leans all the way over to one side, he stays that way until you touch the other side. You bringing the toad to the dopefest this Saturday? It sounds like a grade-school insult: “you can just stroke my toad!” ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2006, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/toads-like-to-be-stroked/358676/17 "2006-05-31T16:16:47Z")
Well, frogs don’t lean like that, is what I was thinking, which is why I said dry. Nor do salamanders. I think it’s the naturally moist skin that makes it unpleasant to them.