Anderson Cooper Does Not Know The Difference Between Frogs And Toads

On Monday night’s Anderson Cooper 360, host Anderson Cooper made several interesting confessions during his “Ridiculist” segment. While dissecting the story of a woman who found a little something extra in her canned green beans, the Silver Fox admitted that he doesn’t know the difference between a frog and a toad, while also copping to having the “palate of a five year-old,” which makes him eschew green vegetables. Luckily, both of these problems can be remedied, and I’m happy to help.

In his signature weird news segment, Cooper told the story of Gloria Chubb, who found a mostly-intact toad in a can of green beans last month, and got a check for $50 for her trouble. “Over the years, you’ve probably heard multiple horror stories about gross things being found in fast food,” Cooper began, ticking off popular examples like “fingers in roast beef sandwiches to condoms in french fries,” adding that “It’s enough to make you want to forego eating out…”

I’m going to stop you for a second, Anderson. If this is enough to make someone forego eating out, they probably weren’t doing it right in the first place. Carry on.

Cooper then played some video of Gloria explaining how she found the toad in her green beans, and thought it was bacon, at first. “Hold on, they put bacon sometimes in green beans?” Cooper said. “That just might change my mind about green vegetables. I usually don’t eat them because I have the palate of a 5-year-old. Alas, it wasn’t bacon that lurked in the green beans.”

Chubb then explained, via clip, that the bacon was actually a toad. “Yeah, she says a frog got into the can of green beans, or a toad, frankly, I don’t know the difference,” Cooper said, adding “I don’t want to eat either of them, and I don’t want to eat green beans.”

I’m not gonna lie, I’m not sure what the difference is either, but we’re both about to find out. Before I Google it, I’m going to boldly guess that a frog can breathe underwater, and a toad can’t. Let’s see how I did:

One of the most common questions is, “What is the difference between Frogs and Toads?”

Most are surprised to hear that all Toads actually are Frogs!

D’OH! The site does go on to explain this:

Generally speaking, though, when we think of frogs, we generally picture what are called “True Frogs”…. members of the family Ranidae, containing more than 400 species.

These frogs have the characteristics of:

• two bulging eyes
• strong, long, webbed hind feet that are adapted for leaping and swimming
• smooth or slimy skin (generally, frogs tend to like moister environments)
• Frogs tend to lay eggs in clusters.

The term toads tends to refer to “True Toads”…. members of the family Bufonidae, containing more than 300 species.

• These types of frogs have are characterized by:
• stubby bodies with short hind legs (for walking instead of hopping)
• warty and dry skin (usually preferring dryer climates)
• paratoid (or poison) glands behind the eyes
• The chest cartilage of toads is different also.
• Toads tend to lay eggs in long chains. (There are some toads (genera Nectophrynoides), however, that are the only types of anurans to bear live young!)

Great, now I’ve got imaginary Bell Biv DeVoe hit “That Toad Is Poison…” stuck in my head. Now you know. Yo, Slick, blow.

More importantly, frogs and toads can (sort of) breathe underwater, so I wasn’t completely wrong:

Q. How do frogs breathe?

A. Most frogs and toads breathe (and take in moisture) through their skin through a process called cutaneous gas exchange, but they also have lungs with which they breathe. During the time they stay submerged under water or buried in soil (such as during hibernation) they ONLY breathe through their skin.

As for the green vegetables, here are a couple of tips. Never, ever eat vegetables from a can, they are horrible. Frozen veggies are almost as good as fresh, and a great deal cheaper. For Anderson, I would recommend brussels sprouts. Just thaw them slightly, cut them in half, and brown them in a tablespoon each of butter and olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, tossing them until they’re lightly browned. Alternatively, you can even sauté them with chopped bacon, which is a little less healthy. You’re welcome.

This is an opinion piece. The views expressed in this article are those of just the author.