Holy Shit, Frog Hibernation!

One of the most important things I've learned in life is that frogs are goddamn awesome. All frogs are, and they all have their own reasons to be.

"Similarity to Jabba the Hutt" is one such reason.

Right now I'd like to focus on our friend Wood Frog at the top of this post. Their claim to goddamn awesomeness is found in their hibernation habits. Yes, that's right. They are at their most awesome when they are least active. How can that be?

Because they live in cold weather, that's why. Really cold weather. They don't burrow like a cowardto escape the cold, and being amphibians, they're rather fond of water (which I hear tell is pretty bad for you when you are both drenched in it and experiencing below-freezing temperatures).

These clever little fellas have found a way around suffering hypothermia like mere humans. Their bodies fortify their tissue with urea and glucose and then they...pretty much just fall asleep. And freeze. Solid.

Just part of the scenery

When the weather starts being reasonable again, they thaw out and start hopping around like nothing happened. What you and I call "hypothermia," these frogs call "nap time." You know all those movies where people survive long distance space travel through cryogenic stasis?

You know, like roughly half of science fiction?

That's a fantasy technology for us right now. One we've been dreaming about for at least a century, probably more. Wood frogs have been literally doing that in their sleep for thousands of years.

Holy shit.