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{{short description|Mythical creature from American folklore}} |
{{short description|Mythical creature from American folklore}} |
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A '''joint snake''' is a [[legendary creature]] of the [[Southern United States]], the myth likely having spread elsewhere.<ref>{{cite book|title=Field and Stream|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N0ccAQAAMAAJ|year=1937|publisher=CBS Publications}}</ref> |
A '''joint snake''' is a [[legendary creature]] of the [[Southern United States]], the myth likely having spread elsewhere.<ref>{{cite book|title=Field and Stream|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N0ccAQAAMAAJ|year=1937|publisher=CBS Publications}}</ref> Supposedly, the joint snake can break itself (or be cut) into pieces and will reassemble itself.<ref name="Society1898">{{cite book|author=Edinburgh Field Naturalists' and Microscopical Society|title=Transactions of the Edinburgh Field Naturalists' and Microscopical Society|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YJvVAAAAIAAJ|year=1898}}</ref> It is said that if a piece of the snake is taken and the pocket knife used to cut the snake is set down in the place of the snake's piece, the knife will join up with the whole of the snake. |
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== Description == |
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Supposedly, the snake can break itself (or be cut) into pieces and will reassemble itself.<ref name="Society1898">{{cite book|author=Edinburgh Field Naturalists' and Microscopical Society|title=Transactions of the Edinburgh Field Naturalists' and Microscopical Society|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YJvVAAAAIAAJ|year=1898}}</ref> It is said that if a piece of the snake is taken and the pocket knife used to cut the snake is set down in the place of the snake's piece, the knife will join up with the whole of the snake. |
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== Explanations == |
== Explanations == |
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The myth is probably based on [[Glass lizard|legless lizards]] that can regenerate their tails after they are broken off.<ref>[http://www.mythbeasts.com/creature.php?beast=Joint+Snake "Joint Snake." Myth Beasts. 2011]</ref> Such lizards are often called joint, or, more commonly, glass snakes. According to travelers' accounts, their skin is as hard as parchment and as smooth as glass. It is so stiff that it can hardly bend itself. It is streaked with black and white |
The myth is probably based on [[Glass lizard|legless lizards]] that can regenerate their tails after they are broken off.<ref>[http://www.mythbeasts.com/creature.php?beast=Joint+Snake "Joint Snake." Myth Beasts. 2011]</ref> Such lizards are often called joint, or, more commonly, glass snakes. According to travelers' accounts, their skin is as hard as parchment and as smooth as glass. It is so stiff that it can hardly bend itself. It is streaked with black and white.<ref name="Morse1802">{{cite book|author=Jedidiah Morse|title=The American Universal Geography|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HigwAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA216|year=1802|publisher=Isaiah Thomas and Ebenezer T. Andrews|pages=216–}}</ref> |
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== Depictions == |
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[[File:Benjamin Franklin - Join or Die.jpg|thumb|Franklin's cartoon]] |
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A joint snake symbolizes the [[Thirteen Colonies|American colonies]] in Benjamin Franklin's 1754 political cartoon, "[[Join, or Die]]". |
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==Notes== |
==Notes== |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Joint Snake}} |
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[[Category:American folklore]] |
[[Category:American folklore]] |
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[[Category:Fearsome |
[[Category:Fearsome critters]] |
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Latest revision as of 18:53, 2 November 2021
A joint snake is a legendary creature of the Southern United States, the myth likely having spread elsewhere.[1] Supposedly, the joint snake can break itself (or be cut) into pieces and will reassemble itself.[2] It is said that if a piece of the snake is taken and the pocket knife used to cut the snake is set down in the place of the snake's piece, the knife will join up with the whole of the snake.
Explanations
[edit]The myth is probably based on legless lizards that can regenerate their tails after they are broken off.[3] Such lizards are often called joint, or, more commonly, glass snakes. According to travelers' accounts, their skin is as hard as parchment and as smooth as glass. It is so stiff that it can hardly bend itself. It is streaked with black and white.[4]
Depictions
[edit]
A joint snake symbolizes the American colonies in Benjamin Franklin's 1754 political cartoon, "Join, or Die".
Notes
[edit]- ^ Field and Stream. CBS Publications. 1937.
- ^ Edinburgh Field Naturalists' and Microscopical Society (1898). Transactions of the Edinburgh Field Naturalists' and Microscopical Society.
- ^ "Joint Snake." Myth Beasts. 2011
- ^ Jedidiah Morse (1802). The American Universal Geography. Isaiah Thomas and Ebenezer T. Andrews. pp. 216–.
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