Squonk
Encyclopedia
The Squonk is a legendary creature
reputed to live in the Hemlock
forests of northern Pennsylvania
. Legends of squonks probably originated in the late nineteenth century, at the height of Pennsylvania's importance in the timber
industry.
(1910). Cox's account is reprinted in Jorge Luis Borges
' Book of Imaginary Beings
(1969).
The legend holds that the creature's skin
is ill-fitting, and covered with wart
s and other blemish
es, and so it hides from plain sight and spends much of its time weeping. Hunters who have attempted to catch squonks have found that the creature is capable of evading capture by dissolving completely into a pool of tears and bubbles when cornered. A certain J.P. Wentling is supposed to have coaxed one into a bag, which, while he was carrying it home, suddenly lightened. On inspection, he found that the bag contained only the liquid
remains of the sad animal.
The "scientific name
" of the squonk, Lacrimacorpus dissolvens, comes from Latin words meaning "tear", "body", and "dissolve".
and biology
. Some substances are stable in solution or some other "wild" form but cannot be isolated or captured without actually catalyzing their own polymerization
or decomposition
("dissolving in their own tears"). For example, a molecule
containing a carboxylic acid
moiety
and an acid labile moiety might be stable when initially prepared as the salt (e.g., barium prephenate) but unstable as the free acid (prephenic acid
).
Other examples can be found in: Toby J. Sommer, "Chemical Squonks", Chemical Innovation, 2000, 30 (April 2000), 24-32. ISSN 1527-4799. Chemical Abstracts: 133:73580 ; CAPlus: 2000:254494.
Legendary creature
A legendary creature is a mythological or folkloric creature.-Origin:Some mythical creatures have their origin in traditional mythology and have been believed to be real creatures, for example the dragon, the unicorn, and griffin...
reputed to live in the Hemlock
Tsuga
Tsuga is a genus of conifers in the family Pinaceae. The common name hemlock is derived from a perceived similarity in the smell of its crushed foliage to that of the unrelated plant poison hemlock....
forests of northern Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. Legends of squonks probably originated in the late nineteenth century, at the height of Pennsylvania's importance in the timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
industry.
In folklore
The earliest known written account of squonks comes from a book by William T. Cox called Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods, With a Few Desert and Mountain BeastsFearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods, With a Few Desert and Mountain Beasts
Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods, With a Few Desert and Mountain Beasts is a 1910 fantasy field guide by William Thomas Cox , Minnesota’s first State Forester and Commissioner of Conservation, with illustrations by Coert du Bois and Latin classifications by George Bishop Sudworth Fearsome...
(1910). Cox's account is reprinted in Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo , known as Jorge Luis Borges , was an Argentine writer, essayist, poet and translator born in Buenos Aires. In 1914 his family moved to Switzerland where he attended school, receiving his baccalauréat from the Collège de Genève in 1918. The family...
' Book of Imaginary Beings
Book of Imaginary Beings
Jorge Luis Borges wrote and edited the Book of Imaginary Beings in 1957 as the original Spanish Manual de zoología fantástica, or Handbook of Fantastic Zoology, expanding it in 1967 and 1969 to the final El libro de los seres imaginarios...
(1969).
The legend holds that the creature's skin
Skin
-Dermis:The dermis is the layer of skin beneath the epidermis that consists of connective tissue and cushions the body from stress and strain. The dermis is tightly connected to the epidermis by a basement membrane. It also harbors many Mechanoreceptors that provide the sense of touch and heat...
is ill-fitting, and covered with wart
Wart
A wart is generally a small, rough growth, typically on a human’s hands or feet but often other locations, that can resemble a cauliflower or a solid blister. They are caused by a viral infection, specifically by human papillomavirus 2 and 7. There are as many as 10 varieties of warts, the most...
s and other blemish
Blemish
Blemish may refer to:*A minor imperfection. For skin imperfection, see Acne vulgaris*Blemish a music album from David Sylvian released in 2003.*Blemish a Brazilian alternative rock band...
es, and so it hides from plain sight and spends much of its time weeping. Hunters who have attempted to catch squonks have found that the creature is capable of evading capture by dissolving completely into a pool of tears and bubbles when cornered. A certain J.P. Wentling is supposed to have coaxed one into a bag, which, while he was carrying it home, suddenly lightened. On inspection, he found that the bag contained only the liquid
Liquid
Liquid is one of the three classical states of matter . Like a gas, a liquid is able to flow and take the shape of a container. Some liquids resist compression, while others can be compressed. Unlike a gas, a liquid does not disperse to fill every space of a container, and maintains a fairly...
remains of the sad animal.
The "scientific name
Binomial nomenclature
Binomial nomenclature is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, although they can be based on words from other languages...
" of the squonk, Lacrimacorpus dissolvens, comes from Latin words meaning "tear", "body", and "dissolve".
Cultural references
- Mario BavaMario BavaMario Bava was an Italian director, screenwriter, and cinematographer remembered as one of the greatest names from the "golden age" of Italian horror films.-Biography:Mario Bava was born in San Remo, Liguria, Italy...
's 1971 film, Twitch of the Death NerveTwitch of the Death NerveTwitch of the Death Nerve is a 1971 Italian horror film directed by Mario Bava. Bava cowrote the screenplay with Giuseppe Zaccariello, Filippo Ottoni and Sergio Canevari, with story credit given to Dardano Sacchetti and Franco Barberi. The film stars Claudine Auger, Luigi Pistilli, and Laura...
(aka Carnage), written by Bava, Giuseppe Zaccariello and Filippo Ottoni, features dialogue around the 10-minute mark describing the squonk and its attributes. - Steely DanSteely DanSteely Dan is an American rock band; its core members are Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The band's popularity peaked in the late 1970s, with the release of seven albums blending elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop...
mentioned the creature in the song "Any Major Dude Will Tell You" on their 1974 LP Pretzel LogicPretzel LogicPretzel Logic is the third studio album by the American jazz-rock band Steely Dan, originally released in 1974. The album's opening song, "Rikki Don't Lose That Number", became the band's biggest hit, reaching #4 on the charts soon after the release of the album. The album itself went gold, and...
with the lyric "Have you ever seen a squonk's tears? Well, look at mine."- Michael ChabonMichael ChabonMichael Chabon born May 24, 1963) is an American author and "one of the most celebrated writers of his generation", according to The Virginia Quarterly Review....
's novel Wonder BoysWonder BoysWonder Boys is a 1995 novel by the American writer Michael Chabon. It was adapted into a film in 2000.-Plot summary:Pittsburgh professor and author Grady Tripp is working on an unwieldy 2,611 page manuscript that is meant to be the follow-up to his successful, award-winning novel The Land...
contains a reference to "a certain question in 'Any Major Dude.'"
- Michael Chabon
- The third track on GenesisGenesis (band)Genesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...
's 1976 album A Trick of the TailA Trick of the Tail-B Side:*This is the first song in the Genesis catalogue to feature an ellipsis in its name, used to convey the mysteriousness of the track. All future issues of this track omit the elipsis, however....
is "Squonk". The song recounts the legend of the hunter who captured a squonk, as described above, but the creature was described as having a retiring disposition (not fearsome). - A 2002 short story by Glen David GoldGlen David GoldGlen David Gold is known as the author of Carter Beats the Devil, a fictionalized biography of Charles Joseph Carter , an American illusionist performing from c.1900-1936 and Sunnyside. He writes in a narrative style, and the book was hailed as a very respectable venture into historical fiction...
entitled "The Tears of Squonk, and What Happened Thereafter" alludes to the myth and gives the name to the deceitful clown of the story, who cries "heedless crocodile tearsCrocodile tearsCrocodile tears are a false or insincere display of emotion such as a hypocrite crying fake tears of grief. The phrase gives its name to crocodile tears syndrome, an uncommon consequence of recovery from Bell's palsy where faulty regeneration of the facial nerve causes sufferers to shed tears...
." - Playwright Daniel Caffrey's play Gregor and the Squonk is loosely based on the tale of J.P. Wentling. Initially written for the short play festival at Florida State UniversityFlorida State UniversityThe Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
, it was later mounted at Bailiwick Repertory TheatreBailiwick Repertory TheatreThe Bailiwick Repertory Theatre is a theater company in Chicago founded in 1982 that produces eclectic works. It stages productions at the Bailiwick Arts Center , its home since 1995.In 2007, it presented the American premiere of Jerry Springer - The Opera....
in Fall 2008, by Tympanic Theatre Company. - The PlayStation 2PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
game CuldceptCuldceptis a turn-based strategy video game. It has drawn comparisons to other modern strategy titles, and also shares features with non-video games Monopoly and Magic: The Gathering. The first installment to reach North America was the expanded port of Culdcept Second released for the Sony PlayStation 2,...
features the Squonk as a playable creature card. - A 1996 short story by Nancy Springer titled "Byrd Song" centers around an outcast girl who meets a Squonk, and was published in Bruce Coville's Book of Magic.
- Rapper MC FrontalotMC FrontalotDamian Hess , better known by stage name MC Frontalot, is a Brooklyn-based hip hop musician and self-proclaimed "world's 579th greatest rapper". He is best known in nerdcore hip hop and video game culture, for naming the nerdcore subgenre, and performing at Penny Arcades annual Penny Arcade Expo...
mentions the creature in the song "Scare Goat", with the lines "Got a Mongolian Death WormMongolian Death WormThe Mongolian death worm is a creaturereported to exist in the Gobi Desert. It is generally considered a cryptid: an animal whose sightings and reports are disputed or unconfirmed.It is described as a bright red worm with a wide body that is long....
at my house, right next to Squonk and the Aqueous Mouse..."
Scientific usage
Squonks are also known in chemistryChemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
and biology
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
. Some substances are stable in solution or some other "wild" form but cannot be isolated or captured without actually catalyzing their own polymerization
Polymerization
In polymer chemistry, polymerization is a process of reacting monomer molecules together in a chemical reaction to form three-dimensional networks or polymer chains...
or decomposition
Decomposition
Decomposition is the process by which organic material is broken down into simpler forms of matter. The process is essential for recycling the finite matter that occupies physical space in the biome. Bodies of living organisms begin to decompose shortly after death...
("dissolving in their own tears"). For example, a molecule
Molecule
A molecule is an electrically neutral group of at least two atoms held together by covalent chemical bonds. Molecules are distinguished from ions by their electrical charge...
containing a carboxylic acid
Carboxylic acid
Carboxylic acids are organic acids characterized by the presence of at least one carboxyl group. The general formula of a carboxylic acid is R-COOH, where R is some monovalent functional group...
moiety
Moiety
Moiety may refer to:* Moiety , a part or functional group of a molecule* Moiety , either of two groups into which a society is divided* An Australian Aboriginal kinship group* Native Hawaiian realm ruled by a Mo'i or Ali'i...
and an acid labile moiety might be stable when initially prepared as the salt (e.g., barium prephenate) but unstable as the free acid (prephenic acid
Prephenic acid
Prephenic acid, commonly also known by its anionic form prephenate, is an intermediate in the biosynthesis of the aromatic amino acids phenylalanine and tyrosine.It is synthesized by a [3,3]-sigmatropic Claisen rearrangement of chorismate....
).
Other examples can be found in: Toby J. Sommer, "Chemical Squonks", Chemical Innovation, 2000, 30 (April 2000), 24-32. ISSN 1527-4799. Chemical Abstracts: 133:73580 ; CAPlus: 2000:254494.
See also
- Fearsome crittersFearsome crittersFearsome critter is a term found in early lumberjack folklore for any of the mythical beasts that were said to inhabit the frontier wilderness of North America.- Origins :...
- The alternative theater and performance art company Squonk OperaSquonk OperaSquonk Opera is a group of interdisciplinary performing artists from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Led by artistic directors Jackie Dempsey and Steve O'Hearn, Squonk Opera formed in 1992 and has created ten distinct shows and performed in over 250 venues in the United States...
is not named after the squonk, but as an onomatopoeia of the sounds made by the group's jazz saxophonists.