This cryptozoologist's dream is said to be a water dweller, has a habit of gobbling down its food, and sprang to life spontaneously on a New York stage.

According to archival records, the Cracker Jack Company called this creature a "Woofenpoof." If you look that word up in an unabridged dictionary though, you won't find it. That's because it is supposed to be "Whiffenpoof." But even if you look that name up in a zoology text, you still won't find a whiffenpoof. You'll need a musical theatre reference instead to track down this animal. Here's why....

In October 1908, an operetta by Victor Herbert debuted called Little Nemo. It was based on Winsor McKay's comic strip, "Little Nemo in Slumberland." In the stage adaption, Little Nemo goes to Slumberland to bring back the elixir of youth, stolen by Dr. Pill's missionary. After returning home, he goes on several other adventures, guided by King Morpheus.

During one comic scene, three hunters try to top each other with stories of the animals they have bagged, exotic game that no one had ever heard of. One tells of the "Peninsula," a bird that lays square eggs. Another boasts of a creature that lives on canned meat; as a result, it has such an Armour and is so Swift that it can only be killed when it is laughed to death.

According to Gerald Bordman in his American Musical Theatre: A Chronicle, there was some sort of problem backstage during one particular performance of Little Nemo. To stall for time, Joseph Cawthorn, the actor who played Dr. Pill, made up a story on the spot of an animal that lived in water and told about how it gobbled its food. Thus, the imaginary "Whiffenpoof" was born!

The next year, 1909, students at Yale formed an a capella singing society and liked the name of the fictitious animal so well that they called their group the Whiffenpoof Society. Soon "The Whiffenpoof Song" was written for them by Meade Minnigerode, George Pomeroy, and Todd Galloway. Rudy Vallee learned the song at Yale, and eventually it became a hit for him in 1936. Commonly referred to as "We're Poor Little Lambs," the song was later recorded by Bing Crosby with the Fred Waring Glee Club in June 1947 and was a Top Ten hit by December. (This version can be heard at Steve Lewis' Bing Crosby Internet Museum, and the lyrics about "Whiffenpoofs assembled" are available there; see "Lyrics to Bing's Hits," #60.) Bob Hope and Bing later sang a portion of the song, accompanied by a flock of sheep, in Road to Bali in 1953.

Could it be that "Woofenpoof" is not a misspelling at all, but rather the name of an evolved species of whiffenpoof that is more selective in what it eats and only gobbles down Cracker Jack? At any rate, the Cracker Jack plastic stand-up is usually marbled, is about 1 7/16" tall and only slightly less wide, and was one of a series of ten prizes supplied by Lind Plastic Products in 1950, with reorders in 1951 and 1954.

These Woofenpoofs are found in a variety of colors, but more darkly hued and earth toned examples seem to have survived (even though lighter ones in blue and coral have been discovered). It may be the darker shadowy colors have aided the Woofenpoofs in evading predators.

More rare than the plastic stand-up versions are those from a 1949 series of 48 embossed paper cut-outs made by the Cardy Lundmark Company. They are red and yellow with striped legs. This one was located at the Cracker Jack Exhibit at COSI, the Center of Science and Industry, in Columbus, Ohio.

And this Woofenpoof was actually captured by Cracker Jack Collectors Association members Julie and Jeff Lallathin. The bright colors made it difficult for the Woofenpoof to hide from the sharp eyes of the Lallathins, even though it was lying as flat as possible. CJCA members have no doubt that this Woofenpoof has loving, caring owners who have given it a good home, even if it is forced to wear ladies' panties on special occasions. Had this bright colored Woofenpoof not already been sighted in the COSI exhibit, some might have wondered if Jeff had forced his Woofenpoof to wear striped leotards.

Image compliments of Julie and Jeff Lallathin

Perhaps Woofenpoofs should be placed on the endangered species list. After all, the only ones known to exist are these plastic ones from mid-twentieth century boxes of Cracker Jack, and a paper one here and there.

Thanks to Bill Markwick, creator of the Folk File, whose guidance led to finally tracking down the elusive Whiffenpoof.