RubySoho
Winston
Bigfoot Capture Imminent! Again. For, like, the 53rd Time.
June 28th 2007 14:47
Yes! We've got him in our sights now. You've eluded us for the last time, you 7-foot tall, supposedly indigenous missing link of a monster, you!
What am I talking about? Only what is sure to be the best scientific discovery ever, the capture of Bigfoot! OK, so maybe 'capture' is the wrong word. As this article from MSNBC.com says, they're going to 'search for evidence' of Bigfoot. Capture just sounds sexier though, doesn't it?
This group, the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, claims that in 30 expeditions they have gotten close enough to have "either glimpsed Bigfoot or gotten close enough to hear the creature" all but 3 times. Really? That's amazing! Actually, I don't know what's more amazing; the idea that they found Bigfoot 27 times, or the fact that they found Bigfoot 27 times and brought back exactly zero solid evidence to back it up.
These cryptozoologists are chasing a dream. Some may be going into this fully aware that it's a scam, but most, I believe, truly see this as a worthy pursuit that will put their names in the history books forever . One of these men, Dr. Grover Krantz, thinks that Bigfoot is a gigantopithecus, one of the many branches of early primitive man that did not succeed. Unless, as Dr. Krantz posits, they really DID succeed....
Of course, in order to have survived for the last 3 million years since their supposed extinction, they would have to have maintained a population in at least the hundreds. If you take into account all the areas where Bigfoot/Sasquatch/Yeti has supposedly been seen, that number goes up into the thousands. So, thousands of 8 foot tall apemen are roaming the wilds of North America and Asia, and we haven't found one. Nor have we found a body, a skeleton, a den with crude tools, or any other slightly persuasive article of information. But we've got casts of big feet! Lot and lots and lots of casts of big feet.
These foot casts are the Bigfoot hunter's chief weapon. The feet are different sizes, are found in different areas, and some even have dermal ridges (essentially fingerprints)! The problem is, almost all of these casts can either be demonstrated to have logical causes, or are the work of admitted hoaxers. Ray Wallace is the godfather of all Bigfoot hoaxers, and could even be said to have started the whole hysteria. Wallace, inspired by old legends of Sasquatch, and by the popularity of the Abominable Snowman in the news at the time (1950's) had some large wooden feet made and planted the tracks as a joke. But the joke took hold in the American consciousness, and gave rise to one of the most famous monsters in the world.
Despite the fact that Wallace admitted his role in creating huge numbers of fake tracks (and the fact that numerous other people have also come clean about similar hoaxes), Bigfoot hunters still treat Bigfoot tracks as strong evidence for existence of the creature. As I mentioned above, they site the fact that some of the tracks show evidence of dermal ridges. How, they ask, could that be faked? Well, as it turns out*, the process of making casts in fine, dry soil creates "casting artifacts", or markings that can resemble dermal ridges. Not only this, but some Bigfoot hunters have stated that they have used wire brushes to remove imperfections from their casts. These brushes leave behind markings that could also be construed as ridges. If one wants to really be a stickler about this, however, Penn and Teller demonstrated on their show, Bullsh#t!, that an experienced person could make a cast of their own foot and enlarge it. Thus, the cast would have true dermal ridges. Clearly, the ways that Bigfoot casts can be mistaken or faked are numerous.
Cryptozoologists do their best to refute the overwhelming evidence that their quarry is simply a ghost of an idea. As is the case with defenses of other ideas that fly in the face of reason, their pronouncements are easily disproved. For example, one theory* about why we have no Bigfoot remains or fossils is because "most Bigfoot fossils are now buried at sea due to recent rises in sea level, and those bones remaining on dry land have been destroyed by the acidic soils of the Pacific Northwest". That sure sounds scientific. I'm aware of sea-level change and acidic soil. However, it also happens to be the case that plenty of fossils from the same time period and before have been found in the Pacific northwest of the U.S. Unless Bigfoot bones are made from some entirely different substance that dissolves almost instantly upon death, that explanation simply holds no water. Such is the case with every idea put forth in defense of Bigfoot critiques.
I love science. Science is about discovery and the search for knowledge. The pursuit of scientific knowledge is a wonderful thing, and indeed may be the most worthy task we can aspire to as human beings. However, what Bigfoot hunters do is not science. They have passion for an idea, and the passion overwhelms reason and evidence. Passion has its place. But so do results. In science, when you get the same result over and over again it's generally a good indication that you're on to something. Ignoring those results, as Bigfoot hunters do, isn't science anymore. It's just sad.
*Lots of good info on this topic, in addition to what I discussed here, can be found in Skeptical Inquirer's June 2007 issue, in the article entitled "The nonsense and non-science of Sasquatch".
What am I talking about? Only what is sure to be the best scientific discovery ever, the capture of Bigfoot! OK, so maybe 'capture' is the wrong word. As this article from MSNBC.com says, they're going to 'search for evidence' of Bigfoot. Capture just sounds sexier though, doesn't it?
This group, the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization, claims that in 30 expeditions they have gotten close enough to have "either glimpsed Bigfoot or gotten close enough to hear the creature" all but 3 times. Really? That's amazing! Actually, I don't know what's more amazing; the idea that they found Bigfoot 27 times, or the fact that they found Bigfoot 27 times and brought back exactly zero solid evidence to back it up.
These cryptozoologists are chasing a dream. Some may be going into this fully aware that it's a scam, but most, I believe, truly see this as a worthy pursuit that will put their names in the history books forever . One of these men, Dr. Grover Krantz, thinks that Bigfoot is a gigantopithecus, one of the many branches of early primitive man that did not succeed. Unless, as Dr. Krantz posits, they really DID succeed....
Of course, in order to have survived for the last 3 million years since their supposed extinction, they would have to have maintained a population in at least the hundreds. If you take into account all the areas where Bigfoot/Sasquatch/Yeti has supposedly been seen, that number goes up into the thousands. So, thousands of 8 foot tall apemen are roaming the wilds of North America and Asia, and we haven't found one. Nor have we found a body, a skeleton, a den with crude tools, or any other slightly persuasive article of information. But we've got casts of big feet! Lot and lots and lots of casts of big feet.
These foot casts are the Bigfoot hunter's chief weapon. The feet are different sizes, are found in different areas, and some even have dermal ridges (essentially fingerprints)! The problem is, almost all of these casts can either be demonstrated to have logical causes, or are the work of admitted hoaxers. Ray Wallace is the godfather of all Bigfoot hoaxers, and could even be said to have started the whole hysteria. Wallace, inspired by old legends of Sasquatch, and by the popularity of the Abominable Snowman in the news at the time (1950's) had some large wooden feet made and planted the tracks as a joke. But the joke took hold in the American consciousness, and gave rise to one of the most famous monsters in the world.
Despite the fact that Wallace admitted his role in creating huge numbers of fake tracks (and the fact that numerous other people have also come clean about similar hoaxes), Bigfoot hunters still treat Bigfoot tracks as strong evidence for existence of the creature. As I mentioned above, they site the fact that some of the tracks show evidence of dermal ridges. How, they ask, could that be faked? Well, as it turns out*, the process of making casts in fine, dry soil creates "casting artifacts", or markings that can resemble dermal ridges. Not only this, but some Bigfoot hunters have stated that they have used wire brushes to remove imperfections from their casts. These brushes leave behind markings that could also be construed as ridges. If one wants to really be a stickler about this, however, Penn and Teller demonstrated on their show, Bullsh#t!, that an experienced person could make a cast of their own foot and enlarge it. Thus, the cast would have true dermal ridges. Clearly, the ways that Bigfoot casts can be mistaken or faked are numerous.
Cryptozoologists do their best to refute the overwhelming evidence that their quarry is simply a ghost of an idea. As is the case with defenses of other ideas that fly in the face of reason, their pronouncements are easily disproved. For example, one theory* about why we have no Bigfoot remains or fossils is because "most Bigfoot fossils are now buried at sea due to recent rises in sea level, and those bones remaining on dry land have been destroyed by the acidic soils of the Pacific Northwest". That sure sounds scientific. I'm aware of sea-level change and acidic soil. However, it also happens to be the case that plenty of fossils from the same time period and before have been found in the Pacific northwest of the U.S. Unless Bigfoot bones are made from some entirely different substance that dissolves almost instantly upon death, that explanation simply holds no water. Such is the case with every idea put forth in defense of Bigfoot critiques.
I love science. Science is about discovery and the search for knowledge. The pursuit of scientific knowledge is a wonderful thing, and indeed may be the most worthy task we can aspire to as human beings. However, what Bigfoot hunters do is not science. They have passion for an idea, and the passion overwhelms reason and evidence. Passion has its place. But so do results. In science, when you get the same result over and over again it's generally a good indication that you're on to something. Ignoring those results, as Bigfoot hunters do, isn't science anymore. It's just sad.
*Lots of good info on this topic, in addition to what I discussed here, can be found in Skeptical Inquirer's June 2007 issue, in the article entitled "The nonsense and non-science of Sasquatch".
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Comment by D. Armenta
The Florida Keys and Everglades
The Black Sheep Chronicles
What constitutes bad manners?
The male mystique
Debate Fan
L.A.M.P.
Gigantopithecus exists. My high school was rife with them..........
D.
Comment by Winston
Small Thoughts on Big Questions
Comment by D. Armenta
The Florida Keys and Everglades
The Black Sheep Chronicles
What constitutes bad manners?
The male mystique
Debate Fan
L.A.M.P.
Yup, central Pennsylvania was crawling with them back then...
Comment by Onesnap
I msyelf did not see Nessie (the Loch Ness Monster) when I was in Scotland in 2005. She did not come out for us and well we were very dissapointed.
However, I have seen odd lights in swamps at night while in Western MA and also screams in the woods while camping...so I'm thinking either big foot or aliens.
All kidding aside, I love your second to last paragraph. As for the odd lights in the woods of the 413, perhaps it's just my parent's neighbors blowing stuff up again.
Comment by katyzzz
Photography Tips
MS Paint Art
Yes, there's nothing new about Bigfoot, please don't mention that I've used his name, there's people making money from this sort of thing. The Orble self appointed blogger police may get me. Hide me, hide me, hide me.
Whew, that was close, the sanctuary of this secret society brings great relief to me.
Well, we can take a break now, I don't thing the breaking news about Bigfoot is going to happen just yet.
You made a great case, it all seems so silly. They are going to try a breeding program with the Loch Ness Monster so at least some hybrid of the two will survive.
Oh, you haven't heard that, I should have put up a breaking post on that one.
Thanks for verifying my sanity, it restoreth my soul.
Good post, Winston, I'll sneak away while it's still dark.
katyzzz
Comment by Damo
I am beginning to think that perhaps bigfoot is not real, just the Muppets and Paris Hilton.
Comment by Winston
Small Thoughts on Big Questions
Comment by Winston
Small Thoughts on Big Questions
Glad you liked enjoyed the post
Comment by Winston
Small Thoughts on Big Questions
Having Muppets running through the woods in the Pacific Northwest would be way cooler than Bigfoot, in my book.
"And they say on dark, still nights, you can hear his eerie cry -- wakka wakka wakka, wakka wakka wakka...."
Comment by katyzzz
Photography Tips
MS Paint Art
It's small matter when I consider what I've been on the receiving end of over just some of those things.
Some people think they created the Universe, it's so refreshing to hear someone challenge these nonsensical ideas.
But when Bigfoot appears I'll happily admit I was wrong.
I thought you'd be delighted with my idea for a hybrid. I was inspired. We all know the Loch Ness Monster is real and clever, it's avoided capture all these years but has added substantially to tourism.
Fun makes the world go around.
Do keep us posted on Bigfoot and I'll keep my eye on Loch Ness.
katyzzz
Comment by James Rickard
unlucky_ fishermen.com
Angling Fish
Check this out...
Comment by Winston
Small Thoughts on Big Questions
Comment by JoshZ
Either the Loch Foot (boring) or the Big Ness (I am giggling evilly right now).
JZ
Comment by youranter
youranter
Opinions
opinionatedranter
Tales From The Green Lantern
Comment by Winston
Small Thoughts on Big Questions
Comment by Winston
Small Thoughts on Big Questions
I am not qualified to write about a topic as involved and mysterious as Elvis. I know my limits.
Comment by youranter
youranter
Opinions
opinionatedranter
Tales From The Green Lantern