| Squonk | |
| Aka: | Lacrimacorpus dissolvens |
| Folklore: | American folklore |
| Grouping: | Fearsome critter |
| Country: | USA |
| Region: | Pennsylvania |
| First Attested: | 1910 |
The squonk is a mythical creature that is reputed to live in the hemlock forests of northern Pennsylvania in the United States.[1]
Johnstown, Pennsylvania celebrates the Squonk at the Squonkapalooza in August.[2]
The first written account of the squonk was from the 1910 book Fearsome Creatures of the Lumberwoods. His provenance was attested in the next written iteration, in the 1939 book Fearsome Critters. This book suggested that the creatures had migrated from deserts to swamps to finally settle in Pennsylvania. As logging camps were continuously moving in the early 20th century, this could explain their migration to Pennsylvania.
Unlike many mythological creatures, the supposed physical characteristics of the squonk remain unchanged from the original written account, which states:
Later retellings included that squonks were slowest on moonlit nights as they try to avoid seeing their ugly appearance in any illuminated bodies of water. In addition to warts and moles, the creatures were given webbed toes on their left feet.[3]
Some substances are stable in solution or some other "wild" form but cannot be isolated or captured without actually catalyzing their own polymerization or decomposition ("dissolving in their own tears"). For example, a molecule containing a carboxylic acid moiety and an acid labile moiety might be stable when initially prepared as the salt (e.g., barium prephenate) but unstable as the free acid (prephenic acid). These have been named "chemical squonks".[5]
"Any Major Dude Will Tell You" is a song written by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker that was first released by Steely Dan on their 1974 album Pretzel Logic and has the line "Have you ever seen a squonk's tears? Well, look at mine".
The progressive rock band Genesis has a song written by bassist Mike Rutherford, about this creature (simply named "Squonk") on their 1976 album A Trick of the Tail.
The given "species" taxonomy of the creature, Lacrimacorpus dissolvens, is made up of the Latin tear, body, and dissolve. These refer to its supposed ability to dissolve when captured.[3]