The squonk is a mythical creature that is reputed to live in the hemlock forests of northern

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Johnstown, Pennsylvania Johnstown is the largest city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located east of Pittsburgh, it is the principal city of the Metropolitan statistical area ...

celebrates the Squonk at the Squonkapalooza in August.

Origins

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.

Appearance and behavior

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. The given "

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

" 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.

In media

The "squonk's tears" are referenced on

Steely Dan Steely Dan is an American rock band formed in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, in 1971 by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Originally having a traditional band lineup, Becker and Fagen cho ...

's 1974 track Any Major Dude Will Tell You.

Genesis (band) Genesis were an English rock music, rock band formed at Charterhouse School, in Godalming, Surrey, in 1967. The band's longest-lasting and most commercially successful line-up consisted of keyboardist Tony Banks (musician), Tony Banks, bassi ...

included the song "Squonk" on

A Trick of the Tail ''A Trick of the Tail'' is the seventh studio album by English progressive rock band Genesis. It was released on 13 February 1976 on Charisma Records and was the first album to feature drummer Phil Collins as lead vocalist following the depar ...

in 1976. A squonk is used as a monster in the popular audiobook series “Dungeon Crawler Carl”.

In scientific literature

Some substances are stable in solution or some other "wild" form but cannot be isolated or captured without actually catalyzing their own

polymerization In polymer chemistry, polymerization (American English), or polymerisation (British English), is a process of reacting monomer molecules together in a chemical reaction to form polymer chains or three-dimensional networks. There are many fo ...

decomposition Decomposition is the process by which dead organic substances are broken down into simpler organic or inorganic matter such as carbon dioxide, water, simple sugars and mineral salts. The process is a part of the nutrient cycle and is ess ...

("dissolving in their own tears"). For example, a

molecule A molecule is a group of two or more atoms that are held together by Force, attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions that satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemi ...

containing a

carboxylic acid In organic chemistry, a carboxylic acid is an organic acid that contains a carboxyl group () attached to an Substituent, R-group. The general formula of a carboxylic acid is often written as or , sometimes as with R referring to an organyl ...

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".

References

{{American tall tales Fearsome critters Pennsylvania folklore