1862, September 20 (pre): Samuel Goodwin’s Toad

The Legend:

Sometime previous to September 20, 1862, when an account of this matter was published, a stonemason named Samuel Goodwin stated that he had worked at a quarry at Kettlebrook, where he saw a four-foot thick solid chunk of stone that was discovered to have a toad in the middle of it, the size of his fist, occupying a hole about twice that size. The toad lived about a half-hour after being rescued from its impossible entombment. The stone was later used as a 'plinth' in the Birmingham town hall... which is, by the way, the large slab a pedestal stands upon; I learn something new every day!

Under Investigation

         I currently have only one source for this tale, and even that is referencing to a letter written by someone else who claims that they knew Samuel Goodwin for twenty-five years, and that he was trustworthy. Still, that makes this a tale about a friend of a friend... and so it will remain labeled a 'Unreliable' until I can dig up more information, starting with the original article.