What's seven feet long, 200 pounds, covered in horns and looks like a lizard?
Many would say that nothing real could meet all that criteria.
Photo courtesy of Wisconsin Dept. of Public Instruction
Well, we're not here to say whether a Hodag is a real creature or a mythical one. What we are here to say is that
Rhinelander (Wis.) has a spectacular mascot name whose origin is clear - it's just the actuality of the namesake that is in doubt.
A Hodag is something that a man called something he allegedly discovered in the Wisconsin woods in 1893,
according to Roadside America. The story goes that Eugene Shepard reported spotting the creature and then knocked one out with a choloform sponge on a pole three years later. Soon after, he had a tent at the local county fair and for a dime, fairgoers could check out the "creature" in the back corner of the dimly lit tent.
The town has embraced the existence - or nonexistence - of the Hodag ever since. It certainly has worked well in terms of tourism for the town located in the northern reaches of the state.
At first glance, Hodags sounds like it's a combination of two words. Or maybe it's something spelled backwards (never heard of Gadohs either).
In actuality, it's just a creature that certainly draws attention - and one that makes Rhinelander High the owner of a mighty cool mascot name.
