Bigfoot - Journal PDF

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Kmetz 1 The Bigfoot Hoax Since the dawn of man, claims of paranormal entities have been numerous and wide spread. Be it aliens, Sasquatch, or the Loch Ness monster, non-empirical evidence and delusional sightings continue to perpetuate ideas of mystic beings and supernatural phenomenon. Throughout human civilization, cultural mythologies and regional idioms have been mistakenly disambiguated as factual happenings, disregarding fundamental cognitive and literary archetypes. Furthering the Bigfoot fallacy are myriad pranksters, whose counterfeit prints and bogus videos have embedded the arbitrary notion of Bigfoot into the main stream popular culture; thereby causing citizens to subconsciously contrive fictional and illusory Sasquatch figments. Even the sound science used to prove Bigfoot’s existence is fundamentally flawed, for despite all the feeble attempts of crypto zoologists and amateur hunters alike, Bigfoot is still no more proven then extraterrestrials. From the expertly fabricated Patterson video to the differing shapes and sizes of alleged footprints, the imaginary fable of Bigfoot will live forever, neither proved nor disproved. Believers suggest that Bigfoot may be a descendent of the prehistoric megaherbivore Gigantopithecus blaki, who migrated to North America from Asia over the Bering land bridge. However, the vast, arctic like, conditions of the ice bridge are conducive only to carnivores, as vegetation would surely have been nonexistent. In fact, we humans struggled even with our superior tools and knowledge. “One is led to suspect that the question of Sasquatch . . . is more for comparative mythology, cultural anthropology, or psychology, since an actual creature the size of Gigantopithecus blacki existing in numbers sufficient to qualify as a breeding population would not only leave physical remains, but would have an observable effect on their environment”(Pettiror).

Kmetz 2 One observable effect, supporters claim, is the appearance of footprints. However, even the strongest of proponents admit that the majority of prints found are fraudulent. Some tracks have toes that are aligned, others show splayed toes. Most alleged Bigfoot tracks have five toes, but some casts show creatures with two, three, four, or even six toes. Surely all these tracks can’t come from the same unknown creature, or even species of creatures (Woolheater). Inconsistencies and variations between prints confirm views of the fictitious Bigfoot, and without an unequivocal point of reference, one simply cannot distinguish a hoaxed print from “the real thing.” Furthermore, the dermal ridges found on the prints in Onion Mt. can easily be explained through logic and reasoning – it was simply the work of the master hoaxman Ray Wallace, whose keen attention to detail has deceived even the wisest of scientists. As for the Skookum cast, it is blatantly obvious that the prints were produced by an elk, confirmed by the two hoof marks in the rightmost and frontal regions of the print. Along with prints in the mud, The Patterson video filmed in Northern California also provides pseudo-evidence of Bigfoot. The film is suspect for a number of reasons. First, Patterson told people he was going out with the express purpose of capturing a Bigfoot on camera. Second, a known Bigfoot track hoaxer claimed to have told Patterson exactly where to go to see the Bigfoot on that day (Dennett 1996). Third, Patterson made quite a profit from the film, including publicity for a book he had written on the subject and an organization he had started(Woolheater). Furthermore, in 1999, the acclaimed Bigfoot advocate Cary Crook claimed to have found a fatal flaw in the Patterson video – a bell-shaped fastener on the hip of the alleged Bigfoot.

Kmetz 3 Rather than using relevant evidence from the modern era, some Bigfoot supporters use ta

Works Cited

Pettifor, Eric. 1995. From the Teeth of the Dragon: Gigantopithecus blacki. In Selected Readings in Physical Anthropology. 2000. pp 143-149. Peggy Scully, Ph.D., Editor. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company.

http://bigfootdiscussions.invisionzone.com/forums/index.php? showtopic=2512&st=0&p=1388310&#entry1388310

Kmetz 4

http://www.cryptomundo.com/bigfoot-report/bf-evidence/ -- “In 1999, Crook found what he claims is evidence in the film of a bell-shaped fastener on the hip of the alleged Bigfoot, evidence that he suggests may be holding the ape costume in place” “Some tracks have toes that are aligned, others show splayed toes. Most alleged Bigfoot tracks have five toes, but some casts show creatures with two, three, four, or even six toes. Surely all these tracks can’t come from the same unknown creature, or even species of creatures”.

http://www.isu.edu/~meldd/fxnlmorph.html -- footprint analysis http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/10/1023_031023_bigfoot_2.html -- Body Print in mud. www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Bigfoot http://www.skepdic.com/bigfoot.html -- Ray Wallace http://www.bigfootencounters.com/articles/believers.htm http://www.experiencefestival.com/bigfoot_-_evidence_-_arguments_for_and_against...