Yes, Virginia, There Really Is a Place Called Toad Suck!

If you're a fan of the TV series "Law and Order" you may have laughed yourself off your Barcalounger when a recent episode referred to "Toad Suck, Arkansas." After nearly choking on their Cheetos, most viewers probably assumed the name Toad Suck was the fanciful product of some script writer's imagination. But they would be wrong: Toad Suck, Arkansas does, indeed, exist! Not only is there an actual community called Toad Suck, a festival and a nearby state park bear the name as well.

Each year as we've made our cross country trip to visit family in Oklahoma, we've tried to snap a photo of the Toad Suck exit sign on westbound I-40. And each year, we've driven past it before we could get a picture. But this year, with cellphone camera at the ready, Hubs captured the elusive sign as we headed back to Georgia on eastbound I-40. (Don't worry, he wasn't driving so there was no threat to public safety.)

What does this have to do with art? Not a thing. Consider it your complimentary chuckle for the day. If you want to visit Toad Suck, you'll find it in the vicinity of Conway, Arkansas. Check out Wikipedia's listing on Toad Suck to learn how it (possibly) acquired its curious name. And be sure to follow the link in that same Wikipedia article to "unusual place names." A word of advice: do it before you put those Cheetos into your mouth!

Text and image ©2017 Lynn Edwards