In September, Bigfoot enthusiasts in upstate New York head to Whitehall for the annual Sasquatch Calling Festival, including a contest to mimic the creature's telltale vocalizations --- from howls and yelps to growls and moans. ESPN visited the tournament. Unfortunately, the winner isn't the person who successfully summons the sasquatch. Not yet anyway.
(via The Anomalist)
In Helena, Montana's North Hills, a man was setting up for (legal) target practice on public land when another gentleman shot at him (and missed) several times. The man confronted the shooter who reportedly told him he was “not wearing orange and (he) thought he was Bigfoot." As if it would be ok to shoot a Sasquatch!
Curiously, the man who dodged the bullets didn't report the matter to police until the next day. According to the police, he "didn’t think it was necessary" but then decided that the shooter needed a lesson in gun safety.
From the Independent Record:
Read the rest(Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo) Dutton noted that despite a desire not to pursue charges, the allegations are serious and could warrant a charge of attempted negligent homicide. Deputies did check the area and no vehicle matching the description was found, he said.
Several years ago, radio journalist Laura Krantz read an article about anthropology professor and pioneering Bigfoot researcher Grover Krantz who died in 2002. Laura was surprised to find out that Grover was her grandfather's cousin. Her interest sparked, she began her own cryptozoological quest. The result is Wild Thing, a fantastic podcast about Bigfoot researchers, Sasquatch and science, legend and myth, pop culture, and other fascinating threads. From the Los Angeles Times:
Read the restKrantz, a self-identified skeptic, says she approached the story from a scientific standpoint like Grover would. For instance, she opted not to talk to people who thought Bigfoot was brought to Earth by aliens or had the ability to move through different dimensions of space and time. Instead, she delves into topics such as evolution, e.g. where Bigfoot would fit on the tree of life. Ultimately, it was the steady stream of wildlife biologists and seasoned outdoorsmen recounting their own Bigfoot sightings that moved the believability needle for Krantz...
The nine central story episodes of “Wild Thing” will be supplemented with intermittent bonus installments, which include in-depth conversations with writer Virginia Wade, who — at her peak — made about $20,000 a month writing Bigfoot erotica, says Krantz. She also talks with William Dear, writer and director of feel-good family flick, “Harry and the Hendersons.” Krantz traveled to Northern California for the 50th anniversary of the quintessential Patterson-Gimlin film, in which grainy imagery captures an up-close Bigfoot sighting that’s long been the source of debate. She also headed back to Los Angeles to speak with experts about the psychology of belief and the “business of Bigfoot” — like why companies use its name and imagery for branding.
Read the rest“William and I were pushing through some thicket, clearing the way, when I sat down to mop my brow. I sat for a spell, watching as William made his good and fine progress. I removed my boots and sat with my rations, thinking the afternoon a fine time to lunch. As the birds whistled and chirped, and I ate my small and meager ration, I tapped my axe upon the opposite end of the felled tree I rested upon.
“Whether it was the axe’s disturbance or possibly the heat of the sun which caused an apparition to slowly form in front of my eyes, I know not. As a Christian man, I swear to you, Abe, that what spirit came upon me was the shape and shade of a large ape man, the likes we might expect among the more bellicose and hostile Indian tribes in the Territories. The shade formed into the most deformed and ugly countenance. Covered in wild hair, with small and needling eyes, large broken rows of teeth, and the height of three foundlings, I spit upon the ground the bread I was eating.
“The monster then addressed a warning to me. Abner, it told me to return from Texas, to flee this Fort and to abandon this lost cause.
San Francisco-based fashion brand Betabrand sent me an important email today. The subject line, "Sasquatch Conquers All!," immediately caught my attention. Inside was a promotion for their new, totally out-there Sasquatch: Apex Predator Shirt:
WATCH him crush God's creatures with ravenous bloodlust! LISTEN as they beg for mercy! ALAS, Sasquatch has none!
Woe be to any man or beast who dares challenge MIGHTY SASQUATCH!
If you thought he was but a shy, woodland herbivore, you'd be wrong. Catastrophically, jaw-rippingly wrong.
Here's a closer look at the art (which totally cracks me up):
It's part of a crowdfunding campaign which makes it available now for $57.80 (prices go up with its popularity over time).
Previously: This 'Clowna Sutra' shirt shows copulating clowns (and non-copulating balloon dogs) Read the rest
Gallup, New Mexico state senator George Munoz is not pleased that a group led by Christopher Dyer, CEO of University New Mexico's Gallup campus, went on a Bigfoot research expedition and racked up $7,000 of expenses that were ultimately paid by taxpayers. The expedition was part of a Bigfoot conference Dyer organized on campus last year that he says "was the largest and most well-attended event in the history of this campus,”.
From KRQE:
In response to what happened, Sen. George Munoz is sponsoring a bill that would ban public funds from being spent on “looking for or catching a fictitious creature.”
“It’s sad that we have to do this, that they don’t have the ethics, that UNM doesn’t have the ethics to stop this,” Sen. Munoz said. “And now we have to draft bills to stop something that is not morally right,” Sen. Munoz said.
The senator had a little fun with the bill. It also bans publicly funded searches for Pokemon, leprechauns and the Bogeyman.
At r/mildlyinteresting, people are suggesting that's either Chewbacca in the background of this photo posted by Redactor lolarsystem, or the back of a hirsute woman's head. Both are incorrect. It's quite clearly a Bigfoot. Read the rest
Idaho State University anthropology/anatomy professor Jeffrey Meldrum 3D printed a scale model of a speculative bigfoot skeleton. Read the rest
Yesterday, I went to a terrific parking lot record swap in San Rafael, California and I regret not purchasing "Bigfoot: (Northwest's Abominable Snowman)," an album of country tunes about my favorite cryptid sung by Don Jones. Check out these two songs from the LP, including the title track that includes the "real scream of the true Bigfoot (Sasquatch.)" Read the rest
ZacWaffle says that what appears to be Bigfoot dropping a deuce in this photo taken in Columbus, Ohio turned out to be "sticks in the perfect formation." But we all know the truth. Read the rest
The world of Bigfoot is no stranger to shysters and hoaxers. In fact, the entire phenomenon could be nothing more than a mix of chicanery, misidentification and gullibility.
Yet the subject is enormously popular, with internet forums, YouTube channels, numerous television programs, and even conservation groups focusing on the possibility of the existence of an undescribed, bipedal, North American ape (or demon, alien, or interdimensional being, depending on your point of view).
Enter Todd Standing, a self-avowed bigfoot researcher. Standing has purportedly had multiple encounters with these creatures and has even published photos and videos of them. Standing's footage aired during an episode of Les Stroud's Survivorman series, and shows a bigfoot peering through the vegetation. The creature even blinks its eyes in the footage (and has become known as "Blinky" as a result). Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and in the eyes of many, Standing's is not only insufficient but downright (and laughably) fake.
Phil Poling, photography expert and former law enforcement official, and Daniel Falconer, a special effects expert, have written a paper refuting Standing's evidence. In it they analyze Standing's photos and video footage, and make some pretty compelling points and discoveries using stills from the video and photos of Standing himself.
It's a fascinating read if you're interested in the subject. If you're a believer, it's a good guide to critically thinking about the subject and how to NOT go about trying to convince others that bigfoot is real.
See Poling and Falconer's full report and visual analysis here. Read the rest
