Vicki Black, age 11, of Muncie, Indiana, for her question:

Is it true that toads cause warts?

Andy failed to find out who started this rumor. But there may be a couple of reasons why it was handed down from generation to human generation. Very often, a toad's clammy skin is dotted with bumps that look like warts. What's more, some of these bumpy warts ooze a poisonous liquid. When a dog or some other hungry animal attacks a toad, this poison makes him sick and may prove fatal. This is why badgers, coyotes and other experienced wild animals do not include toad meat on their menus.

It is easy to see how these facts got stretched out of shape. A toad has warty bumps that ooze poison. It seems logical that toads cause warts on human hands. But it is not true. Warts are caused by viruses that set up housekeeping in pores of the skin. If the trouble spots do not fade in a week or two, a doctor can cure them. In the meantime, let's not blame the toads. As a rule, they prefer not to be handled, but they cannot infect us with their warts.