Lesser Spotted Neopolitan KnickerBocker Glory, Peter Smith (1868)
Location: B Floor, QMC
This Neapolitan tailed hybrid was captured on canvas in 1868 when the creature was seen dining on what could only be described as coloured ice which it dug out of the frozen environment around Popsicle Bay, Iceland.
During the painting's exhibition time in America, it was seen by a young boy called Frank and made such an impact that in 1909 he tried to recreate the coloured water sticks by leaving a glass of soda water powder and water outside in his back porch with a wooden mixing stick in it. When the temperature dropped below freezing, Frank found that the soda water had frozen inside the glass, and that he was able to remove (and eat) the frozen soda.