Just like pretty much every supernatural claim subjected to scientific scrutiny, the newest “Bigfoot” finding has fallen apart.
Two men from Georgia claimed last week to have found the Sasquatch, going so far as to stage a Friday press conference in which they unveiled “DNA evidence” that their creature was part-human, part-opossum. Of course, the two didn’t bring their carcass to the event for scientists to inspect, with good reason: The “Bigfoot” in their freezer was just an empty Halloween costume.
Tom Biscardi, the Bigfoot hunter who paid the men $50,000 for their specimen frozen in ice, finally figured it out after he and another Sasquatch enthusiast melted it and found they’d been had. Understandably, Biscardi wants his money back, but no one is quite sure where the two hoaxers have gone.
Difficult as it was, DISCOVER called this one last week, and we were even correct that the monster hysteria was just Halloween coming early. This story isn’t just fun and games, though—Matthew Whitton, a Georgia police officer who was one of the hoaxers, will probably lose his job. Clayton County Police Chief Jeffrey Turner said Whitton had been a hero—he’d been on medical leave during the Bigfoot affair after being shot in the line of duty. But the nation-wide joke wasn’t funny to Turner, who said it embarrassed the force.
In any case, the attempted tricksters could have done better than just a rubber suit. At least the police officer in Texas who claims to have found the mythical Chupacabras produced a real carcass, although it’s pretty clearly either a dog or one of its relatives, like a coyote.
More DISCOVER phony monster coverage:
We Call Bullsh*t on the Montauk Monster, the Goat-Sucker, Bigfoot, etc.
Science (What Else?) Reveals the Secret of the Montauk Monster
Image: flickr/quaziefoto
August 20th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
In related news:
Tooth-Fairy now thought to be colorful ruse stages by moms and dads throughout the world.
August 20th, 2008 at 4:12 pm
But they’re such trustworthy fellows! I’m sure they just put a rubber suit out by mistake. Will the real Bigfoot be revealed?
August 20th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
i’m still trying to figure out if “Sasquatch” is Bigfoot’s name, or if that’s the name of his species
September 3rd, 2008 at 3:16 pm
[...] than that. Quite how popular Bigfoot is going to be this year after the recent hoax reported on Discover Magazine is another matter. I’m not sure that the Slime family would be any too pleased if I paid out [...]