You may have heard the story about the frog, often used to illustrate the powerful affects little things can have in our lives. As the story goes, if you put a frog in a pot of boiling water it will jump right. However, if you put a frog in a pot of lukewarm water and slowly turn it up until it starts to boil, the frog will happily remain in his little hot tub until he is cooked.

I wonder who thought of this experiment to begin with, but my main question was, is it really true? Will a frog really stay in a pot of boiling water if you turn it up gradually?

The answer is short and sweet: No.

It’s just an urban legend, and there’s even a Wikipedia entry on boiling a frog which confirms its legendary (in the sense of not being true) status.