Bigfoot Body Found - Truth or Hoax

Hispanicgamer · Post by **Hispanicgamer** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 8:05 pm

Pretty creepy if these guys are just going to keep the thing in a freezer.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 8:23 pm

I think it's bullshit.

These guys run organized bigfoot hunts and sell bigfoot hunting gear. One is a cop who got shot in the hand and is killing spare time on leave. The supposedly had the body for a week or more before showing it. They did the classic tease, announcing it, building up hype, and were eventaually called out and forced to show it.

They'd rather let it rot in a broken freezer than submit it to tests? Right.

The bigfoot community is in an uproar and it's hilarious.

Loren Coleman and Nick Redfern are going nuts on talk radio as "experts."

Giles Habibula · Post by **Giles Habibula** » Thu Aug 14, 2008 9:25 pm

TWO US professional Bigfoot hunters

There are people that can actually make a living doing this?
I'd thought it was a hobby kind of thing.
Who pays them?

DD* · Post by DD* » Thu Aug 14, 2008 11:32 pm

The website says they are taking the body for analization. I hope they got it drunk first.

helot2000 · Post by **helot2000** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 12:03 am

That's not Bigfoot...it's Chaka from Land of the Lost. Good lord, that means we've ripped a hole in the Hollywood Space/Time continuum!

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 12:12 am

I'd love for this to be true. So bring on the evidence.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 12:17 am

helot2000 wrote:That's not Bigfoot...it's Chaka from Land of the Lost. Good lord, that means we've ripped a hole in the Hollywood Space/Time continuum!

You going to go all Tommy Westphall on us?

Turtle · Post by **Turtle** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 2:56 am

Show me the evidence.

But this article has a lot of the classic signs of being a hoax, or a bunch of midguided "believers".

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 8:38 am

Reminds me of that big "OMGZ PROOF OF ALIENS" gimmick a few months ago.

What's nice about this one though, is that they're claiming DNA proof. Unlike the alien one, there's no backing out of this. If you say you're going to provide DNA evidence to the scientific community, your back's to the corner.

I'm guessing the "extreme cold" destroyed the DNA evidence, or they'll have a freezer malfunction or something.

Austin · Post by **Austin** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 8:42 am

Or they'll glue gun a human hair and an ape hair together and submit it for testing.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 8:55 am

LOL. That would be classic, Austin. What's sad is that I would not put it past them.

What I do find interesting about the whole thing, however, is that Tom Biscardi endorses the finding. Whether you think the guy is a kook or not, he has made quite a name for himself in the Bigfoot community. Would he risk that "reputation" (deserved or not), on a hoax that should be easily disproven if faked? And as mentioned, these guys make money off of their ventures - if you are going to hoax in order to drum up business, that's a hell of a big gamble to take. If you're found out, there goes your livelihood.

The whole "risk vs. reward" thing is what makes this particularly intriguing. One would think if they were going to hoax, it would be far safer to take a blurry video, some snapshots - anything besides claiming to have a freaking body that can be scientifically tested.

Hiccup · Post by **Hiccup** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 10:25 am

So, if this turns out to be true, do we classify them as an endangered species, or a minority?

Just wondering if I have the opportunity to check "Sasquatch" on surveys.

Mr. Fed · Post by **Mr. Fed** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 10:51 am

Hiccup wrote:So, if this turns out to be true, do we classify them as an endangered species, or a minority?

Just wondering if I have the opportunity to check "Sasquatch" on surveys.

They're definitely going to need an aggressive attorney . . . .

Steron · Post by **Steron** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 10:59 am

I want to believe.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 11:08 am

They're definitely going to need an aggressive attorney . . . .

Looks like a job for..... UNFROZEN CAVEMAN LAWYER!

msduncan · Post by **msduncan** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 11:29 am

I hate hoaxes.

Except when I come here and read the pile-on. That makes them worth it.

Mr. Fed · Post by **Mr. Fed** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 11:35 am

Has anyone considered that it might just be a European woman?

Redfive · Post by **Redfive** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 11:40 am

YellowKing wrote:
They're definitely going to need an aggressive attorney . . . .
Looks like a job for..... UNFROZEN CAVEMAN LAWYER!

But, at the end of the day, I'm just a caveman...your fancy technology and bright lights scare and confuse me.

Phil Hartman

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 12:07 pm

Giles Habibula wrote:
TWO US professional Bigfoot hunters
There are people that can actually make a living doing this?
I'd thought it was a hobby kind of thing.
Who pays them?

There are university professors that do this stuff.

ScientificAmerican.com contacted Jeffrey Meldrum, a prominent researcher on Sasquatch and professor of anatomy and anthropology at Idaho State University in Pocatello, who has studied Bigfoot prints and other clues like hair samples. Meldrum has written a book on the subject of whether or not the mystery beast is real, and has previously said that "the evidence that exists fully justifies the investigation and the pursuit of this question."

...

What do you think of this announcement of a Bigfoot body being found in Georgia?

I'm extremely skeptical about this Bigfoot claim. I haven't been contacted by any of the principal [people] involved in this. I've had interactions with Tom Biscardi [the Bigfoot hunter holding the press conference] in the past, and based on that history, I would say that anything he is involved in is suspect. The fact that the two Georgian men [who said they found the body] turned to him and not anyone with scientific credentials is very questionable.

What about the pictures?

So a picture is worth a 1,000 words. What I've seen so far is not compelling in the least, and I think the pictures cast grave doubts on their claim. It just looks like a costume with some fake guts thrown on top for effect. Even if [the Bigfoot carcass] had have been eviscerated by a predator or a scavenger, [the entrails] wouldn't just be sitting up on top like that. Someone says [on the Internet] that they've found an off-the-shelf costume that looks a lot like the figure in these pictures.

So apparently [the Bigfoot finders] stuffed the body into a freezer. You look at it and there doesn't seem to be any mass there, of muscles and bones and so forth. Also, they tried freezing the corpse in a block of ice—you wouldn't do that if you were trying to preserve a specimen, unless you're trying to hide the details.

So what is the story with the Sasquatch DNA evidence?

All the rumors about the Bigfoot DNA results are just that: rumors. I spoke to Curtis Nelson (a biologist from the University of Minnesota) who is doing the DNA tests, and he all he could say is that there are no results yet—he can't say anything more due to a nondisclosure agreement. Apparently Curt just received a vial of tissue in the mail, and there's no chain of custody, no validation that this tissue came from the corpse in question. Since there is no known Sasquatch genetic material to compare it to, he may just end up with a gene sequence that doesn't match any other primates, at best.

msduncan · Post by **msduncan** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 12:11 pm

YellowKing wrote:
They're definitely going to need an aggressive attorney . . . .
Looks like a job for..... UNFROZEN CAVEMAN LAWYER!

Let's settle this one....

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 12:16 pm

msduncan wrote:
YellowKing wrote:
They're definitely going to need an aggressive attorney . . . .
Looks like a job for..... UNFROZEN CAVEMAN LAWYER!

Let's settle this one....

Yes, unfrozen caveman lawyer is the most powerful coach in sports.

Grifman · Post by **Grifman** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 12:52 pm

Hehehe, I just laugh every time I hear the term "bigfoot community"

Sectoid · Post by **Sectoid** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 1:55 pm

I clicked on this link on the page of the story. "Chupacabra strikes Texas town?"
In that story there is a definition that I was not aware of..."chupacabra (literally "goat sucker")"
Beware dbt...beware.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 3:55 pm

Well apparently my hypothesis that "a guy with a reputation in the Bigfoot community would be stupid to endorse a hoax like this" fell through. Apparently this Tom Biscardi has endorsed many Bigfoot hoaxes over the years. So apparently his reputation is more of the "bad" variety.

The article I read (it's posted over in the GT thread) said that a YouTube video of a scientist claiming to endorse the find turned out to be one of the guy's brother - who had no scientific background whatsoever.

You have to admire the cajones it would take to actually release this transparent a stunt to the press, but I'm still shaking my head in bewilderment at the motive. Did they actually think they'd get away with this and profit from something so easily disproven?

What I also find sad is that if these guys truly do believe in Bigfoot, enough to spend their lives hunting for it, why in the world would they undermine their entire obsession by pulling some stupid prank like this?

Grifman · Post by **Grifman** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 5:09 pm

YellowKing wrote:The article I read (it's posted over in the GT thread) said that a YouTube video of a scientist claiming to endorse the find turned out to be one of the guy's brother - who had no scientific background whatsoever.

Gotta link? I couldn't find anything in the GT thread about what happened today.

Mr. Fed · Post by **Mr. Fed** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 5:10 pm

Grifman wrote:Hehehe, I just laugh every time I hear the term "bigfoot community"

Please. It's the Bigfoot-American community.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 5:14 pm

I believe they prefer the term "Magniped-American"

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 5:54 pm

Here ya go Grif:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... -hoax.html" target="_blank

Sandpuppy · Post by **Sandpuppy** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 6:03 pm

I can debunk this one already. That's actually a picture of me from my last fishing trip. All they did was use Photoshop to replace the Captain Morgan bottle with some pig guts.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 6:06 pm

YellowKing wrote:You have to admire the cajones it would take to actually release this transparent a stunt to the press, but I'm still shaking my head in bewilderment at the motive. Did they actually think they'd get away with this and profit from something so easily disproven?

What I also find sad is that if these guys truly do believe in Bigfoot, enough to spend their lives hunting for it, why in the world would they undermine their entire obsession by pulling some stupid prank like this?

Because regardless of the hoaxes, there are still people willing to believe, willing to spend the money.

Grifman · Post by **Grifman** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 6:20 pm

Mr. Fed wrote:
Grifman wrote:Hehehe, I just laugh every time I hear the term "bigfoot community"

Please. It's the Bigfoot-American community.

Are they related in some way to the Yeti-Tibetan community?

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 6:54 pm

Brock Samson: You coulda ... told me Sasquatch was a... a dude.
Steve Summers: Huh? You couldn't tell?
Brock Samson: Not until I had to... [shudders] shave him.
Steve Summers: What are you, shy? Sasquatch doesn't have anything you haven't seen before.
Brock Samson: Sasquatch IS something I haven't seen before!

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 9:09 pm

YellowKing wrote:why in the world would they undermine their entire obsession by pulling some stupid prank like this?

Maybe people who dedicate their lives to finding Bigfoot don't have very good judgment?

I've got nothing against real, scientifically skeptical cryptozoologists, btw.

WYBaugh · Post by **WYBaugh** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 9:17 pm

First DNA sample was human, the second was 96% opossum.

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-ge ... IGFOOT-DC/" target="_blank

Sandpuppy · Post by **Sandpuppy** » Fri Aug 15, 2008 10:48 pm

WYBaugh wrote:First DNA sample was human, the second was 96% opossum.

Interesting... So Bigfoot is a Were-Possum. So is that white meat or dark meat??

Sectoid · Post by **Sectoid** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 12:47 am

WYBaugh wrote:First DNA sample was human, the second was 96% opossum.

What's the other 4%?

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 7:59 am

Sectoid wrote:
WYBaugh wrote:First DNA sample was human, the second was 96% opossum.
What's the other 4%?

Yeah, 96% opossum is not very much opossum at all. Hell, we're 50% banana.

And while I am sure this is a hoax, it would be nice to see the exact analysis that concluded the sample is human. After all, we're 99.5% chimp and so presumably we'd be more closely related to bigfoot than a chimp. It might take a good amount of analysis to find a difference in our DNA.

silverjon · Post by **silverjon** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 11:21 pm

Well, a tissue sample can be a mix of tissues, therefore a % of this and a % of that.

Fer example, I did a work experience stint with Fish and Wildlife, and my supervisors made the news during that time period because they analyzed a seized sausage to identify meat from 30 different poached waterfowl included therein (not species, but individual birds).

Srsly, DNA isn't as subject to breakdown from temperature extremes as that stupid OJ Simpson trial would have you believe. Protein denatures. DNA is pretty fucking stable.

Giles Habibula · Post by **Giles Habibula** » Sat Aug 16, 2008 11:40 pm

Ralph-Wiggum wrote:
And while I am sure this is a hoax, it would be nice to see the exact analysis that concluded the sample is human. After all, we're 99.5% chimp and so presumably we'd be more closely related to bigfoot than a chimp. It might take a good amount of analysis to find a difference in our DNA.

Seeing the analysis wouldn't make any difference. There was no chain of custody for the sample, which pretty much makes this whole excercise worthess. I'm surprised the guy even agreed to do the analysis under those conditions. They needed to have a reputable skeptic right there from the moment they took the sample from the 'body', and then stay with the sample all the way to the lab.

This just screams 'hoax'.
And a lazy hoax at that.

Terrified · Post by **Terrified** » Sun Aug 17, 2008 11:56 am

Yeah, it's a hoax. It's pretty obvious from the way things have been handled. Not to mention one of the guys is putting out a book in the near future. Can you say free publicity?