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Jun. 17th, 2006 10:07 pmOnce when I was in 10th grade Earth Science, we watched a documentary on invading species that had this great video sequence.
The camera is looking straight down a long, dusty road in the Australian desert. The pavement is pale with dark patches scattered all over, and there is a large truck coming through the distant haze. It's driving rather erratically. A swerve here, a shift there, change lanes, change back. Swerve again. Always on the road, but definitely not keeping to a straight course.
As it gets closer, we begin to realize there is a method to this; it is attempting to hit as many dark spots as it can. Because there is no one else on the road, the truck is free to veer to and fro, running over patch after patch.
It gets closer. We begin to hear the engine. Amid the growing noise another sound emerges: every time the truck hits a spot, there is a distinct pop, like the bursting of a stiff balloon.
It is around this point that the audience realizes each spot is in fact a fairly large FROG.
And then they interviewed the guy, and he was a farmer, all pissed about these damn huge foreign frogs eating his livelihood. They're the size of toasters! And when you run over the little bastards, they pop! And because this is a class about Saving the Environment and the teacher has a half-dozen frog plushies on her desk, we're all trying very hard not to laugh. Unsuccessfully. But we tried.
*edit: Related video. Oh, those crazy Aussies.
The camera is looking straight down a long, dusty road in the Australian desert. The pavement is pale with dark patches scattered all over, and there is a large truck coming through the distant haze. It's driving rather erratically. A swerve here, a shift there, change lanes, change back. Swerve again. Always on the road, but definitely not keeping to a straight course.
As it gets closer, we begin to realize there is a method to this; it is attempting to hit as many dark spots as it can. Because there is no one else on the road, the truck is free to veer to and fro, running over patch after patch.
It gets closer. We begin to hear the engine. Amid the growing noise another sound emerges: every time the truck hits a spot, there is a distinct pop, like the bursting of a stiff balloon.
It is around this point that the audience realizes each spot is in fact a fairly large FROG.
And then they interviewed the guy, and he was a farmer, all pissed about these damn huge foreign frogs eating his livelihood. They're the size of toasters! And when you run over the little bastards, they pop! And because this is a class about Saving the Environment and the teacher has a half-dozen frog plushies on her desk, we're all trying very hard not to laugh. Unsuccessfully. But we tried.
*edit: Related video. Oh, those crazy Aussies.
