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FOR SALE:

An Awesome Vintage Pair Of Novelty Sasquatch-Themed Slippers

1989 BIG FOOT SLIPPERS BY A.T.S. INC.

DETAILS:

Walk In The Elusive Bigfoot's "Shoes"!

Have you ever wanted to walk in Sasquatch's shoes? Well, now you can....kind of. Manufactured in the late '80s these novelty slippers by American Top Secret (A.T.S. Inc.) aren't only warm and comfortable they also make a ground breaking, crushing sound as you walk in them! How cool is that? Inside a zippered pocket in each slipper is an electronic sound effect device that activates with every step you take. The sound effect sounds like part of a stock sound effect of a bomb, like that used in G.I. Joe vehicles for example. The sound effect devices require 3 "AA" batteries each (not included) and they have no ON/OFF switch because they activate when a step is placed; the batteries must be taken out if you do not want sound. Makes an extraordinarily great and unique gift for cryptid fanatics, especially those who collect everything Sasquatch/ Bigfoot related. This vintage pair of slippers was sold at Michaels arts & crafts stores - the box even has the original Michaels sticker tag from the '80s!

Size:

"Medium" - Adult size 6, 7, 8 / Children's Size 9, 10, 11, 12

The size states "Medium" which covers both some adult sizes and child sizes as they are unisex. The adult sizes can be more accurately considered men's shoe sizes.

Extreme rarity!

We've looked and looked but could not find the existence of any other American Top Secret Bigfoot slippers online - no photos, no information, nothing. In fact, it appears A.T.S. is no longer around and have not been for more than three decades. Our extensive research has lead us to believe we have a novelty, Bigfoot-themed item that is extremely rare. These vintage Bigfoot slippers with sound are definitely hard to find and are a major treasure and must-have collectable for Bigfoot enthusiasts.

CONDITION:

In excellent, pre-owned condition. The condition of these novelty slippers appears close to new but they may have been worn once for a short period. The bottoms seem to have some dust so we assume they were likely tried on and walked in for a moment. The sound effect devices have been tested and they work as they should. The sound device pocket liners have acquired some discoloration (possibly due to age), one much more than the other - doesn't affect usage and the pockets are not visible when the zipper is up. The box has acquired a fair amount of storage wear, especially the handle. Please see photos.

To ensure safe delivery items are carefully packaged before shipping out.

THANK YOU FOR LOOKING. QUESTIONS? JUST ASK.

*ALL PHOTOS AND TEXT ARE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF SIDEWAYS STAIRS CO. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.*

"Bigfoot (/ˈbɪɡfʊt/), also commonly referred to as Sasquatch (/ˈsæskwætʃ, ˈsæskwɒtʃ/), is a large, hairy mythical creature said to inhabit forests in North America, particularly in the Pacific Northwest.[2][3][4] Bigfoot is featured in both American and Canadian folklore, and since the mid-20th century has become a cultural icon, permeating popular culture and becoming the subject of its own distinct subculture.[5][6]

Enthusiasts of Bigfoot, such as those within the pseudoscience of cryptozoology, have offered various forms of dubious evidence to support Bigfoot's existence, including anecdotal claims of sightings as well as supposed photographs, video and audio recordings, hair samples, and casts of large footprints.[7][8][9][10] However the evidence is a combination of folklore, misidentification and hoax, and the creature is not a living animal.[3][7][10][11][12][13]

Folklorists trace the phenomenon of Bigfoot to a combination of factors and sources, including the European wild man figure, folk tales, and indigenous cultures.[14][15] Examples of similar folk tales of wild, hair-covered humanoids exist throughout the world,[16][17] such as the Skunk ape of the southeastern United States, the Almas, Yeren, and Yeti in Asia, the Australian Yowie,[14][18] and creatures in the mythologies of indigenous people.[19][20] Wishful thinking, a cultural increase in environmental concerns, and overall societal awareness of the subject have been cited as additional factors.[21]
Description
"Sassy the Sasquatch" roadside attraction statue in the Garden of the Gods Wilderness within the Shawnee National Forest, Illinois.[22]

Bigfoot is often described as a large, muscular, and bipedal human or ape-like creature covered in black, dark brown, or dark reddish hair.[23][24] Anecdotal descriptions estimate a height of roughly 6–9 feet (1.8–2.7 m), with some descriptions having the creatures standing as tall as 10–15 feet (3.0–4.6 m).[25] Some alleged observations describe Bigfoot as more human than ape,[26] particularly in regard to the face.[27][28] In 1971, multiple people in The Dalles, Oregon, filed a police report describing an "overgrown ape", and one of the men claimed to have sighted the creature in the scope of his rifle but could not bring himself to shoot it because "it looked more human than animal".[29]

Common descriptions include broad shoulders, no visible neck, and long arms, which many skeptics attribute to misidentification of a bear standing upright.[30] Some alleged nighttime sightings have stated the creature's eyes "glowed" yellow or red.[31] However, eyeshine is not present in humans or any other known great apes, and so proposed explanations for observable eyeshine off of the ground in the forest include owls, raccoons, or opossums perched in foliage.[32]

Michael Rugg, the owner of the Bigfoot Discovery Museum, claims to have smelled Bigfoot, stating, "Imagine a skunk that had rolled around in dead animals and had hung around the garbage pits."[33]

The enormous footprints for which the creature is named are claimed to be as large as 24 inches (610 mm) long and 8 inches (200 mm) wide.[24] Some footprint casts have also contained claw marks, making it likely that they came from known animals such as bears, which have five toes and claws.[34][35]
History
Folklore and early records

Ecologist Robert Pyle argues that most cultures have accounts of human-like giants in their folk history, expressing a need for "some larger-than-life creature".[36] Each language had its name for the creature featured in the local version of such legends. Many names mean something like "wild man" or "hairy man", although other names described common actions that it was said to perform, such as eating clams or shaking trees.[37] European folklore traditionally had many instances of the "wild man of the woods," or "wild people," often described as "a naked creature covered in hair, with only the face, feet and hands (and in some cases the knees, elbows, or breasts) remaining bare"[2][14] These European wild people ranged from human hermits, to human-like monsters.[2] Upon migrating to North America, myths of the "wild people" persisted, with documented sightings of "wild people" reported in what is now New York state and Pennsylvania.[2] In a 2007 paper titled "Images of the Wildman Inside and Outside Europe" it stated:

    "To be sure, the modern sasquatch is largely the product of a European-derived culture, as possibly to an even greater extent is the Australian yahoo; accordingly, traces of the European wildman are discernible in both figures. Yet the sasquatch is partly rooted in Amerindian representations of hairy hominoids, even though the relationship between these, which are often described as small, and the giant sasquatch of the popular Canadian and American imagination is hardly straightforward"
    — Gregory Forth, [14]

Many of the indigenous cultures across the North American continent include tales of mysterious hair-covered creatures living in forests,[38] and according to anthropologist David Daegling, these legends existed long before contemporary reports of the creature described as Bigfoot. These stories differed in their details regionally and between families in the same community and are particularly prevalent in the Pacific Northwest.[39] Chief Mischelle of the Nlaka'pamux at Lytton, British Columbia, told such a story to Charles Hill-Tout in 1898.[40]

On the Tule River Indian Reservation, petroglyphs created by a tribe of Yokuts at a site called Painted Rock are alleged by Kathy Moskowitz Strain, author of the 2008 book Giants, Cannibals, Monsters: Bigfoot in Native Culture, to depict a group of Bigfoots called "the Family".[41] The largest glyph is called "Hairy Man", and they are estimated to be 1,000 years old.[42] According to the Tulare County Board of Education in 1975, "Big Foot, the Hairy Man, was a creature that was like a great big giant with long, shaggy hair. His long shaggy hair made him look like a big animal. He was good in a way, because he ate the animals that might harm people", and Yokuts parents warned their children not to venture near the river at night or they may encounter the creature.[43]

16th-century Spanish explorers and Mexican settlers told tales of the los Vigilantes Oscuros, or "Dark Watchers", large creatures alleged to stalk their camps at night.[44] In the region that is now Mississippi, a Jesuit priest was living with the Natchez in 1721 and reported stories of hairy creatures in the forest known to scream loudly and steal livestock.[45]

In 1929, Indian agent and teacher J.W. Burns, who lived and worked with the Sts'ailes Nation (then called the Chehalis First Nation), published a collection of stories titled, Introducing B.C.'s Hairy Giants: A collection of strange tales about British Columbia's wild men as told by those who say they have seen them, in Maclean's magazine.[46] The stories offered various anecdotal reports of wild people; including an encounter a tribal member had with a hairy wild woman who could speak the language of the Douglas First Nation. Burns coined the term "Sasquatch", believed to be the anglicized version of sasq'ets (sas-kets), roughly translating to "hairy man" in the Halq'emeylem language.[47] Burns describes the Sasquatch as, "a tribe of hairy people whom they claim have always lived in the mountains – in tunnels and caves".

The folklore of the Cherokee includes tales of the Tsul 'Kalu, who were described as "slant-eyed giants" that resided in the Appalachian Mountains, and is sometimes associated with Bigfoot.[48]

Members of the Lummi tell tales about creatures known as Ts'emekwes. The stories are similar to each other in the general descriptions of Ts'emekwes, but details differed among various family accounts concerning the creature's diet and activities.[49] Some regional versions tell of more threatening creatures: the stiyaha or kwi-kwiyai were a nocturnal race, and children were warned against saying the names so that the "monsters" would not come and carry them off to be killed.[50] The Iroquois tell of an aggressive, hair covered giant with rock-hard skin known as the Ot ne yar heh or "Stone Giant", more commonly referred to as the Genoskwa.[51] In 1847, Paul Kane reported stories by the natives about skoocooms, a race of cannibalistic wild men living on the peak of Mount St. Helens. U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, in his 1893 book, The Wilderness Hunter, writes of a story he was told by an elderly mountain man named Bauman in which a foul-smelling, bipedal creature ransacked his beaver trapping camp, stalked him, and later became hostile when it fatally broke his companion's neck.[52] Roosevelt notes that Bauman appeared fearful while telling the story but attributed the trapper's German ancestry to have potentially influenced him.[53]

The Alutiiq of the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska tell of the Nantinaq, a Bigfoot-like creature.[54] This folklore was featured in the Discovery+ television series, Alaskan Killer Bigfoot, which claims the Nantinaq was responsible for the population decrease of Portlock in the 1940s.[55]

Less menacing versions have been recorded, such as one by Reverend Elkanah Walker in 1840. Walker was a Protestant missionary who recorded stories of giants among the natives living near Spokane, Washington. These giants were said to live on and around the peaks of the nearby mountains, stealing salmon from the fishermen's nets.[56]
Ape Canyon incident

On July 16, 1924, an article in The Oregonian made national news when a story was published describing a conflict between a group of gold prospectors and a group of "ape-men" in a gorge near Mount St. Helens.[57] The prospectors reported encountering "gorilla men" near their remote cabin. One of the men, Fred Beck, indicated that he shot one of the creatures with a rifle. That night, they reported coming under attack by the creatures, who were said to have thrown large rocks at the cabin, damaging the roof and knocking Beck unconscious. The men fled the area the following morning. The U.S. Forest Service investigated the site of the alleged incident. The investigators found no compelling evidence of the event and concluded it was likely a fabrication. Stories of large, hair covered bipedal ape-men or "mountain devils" had been a persistent piece of folklore in the area for centuries prior to the alleged incident. Today, the area is known as Ape Canyon and is cemented within Bigfoot-related folklore.[58]
Origin of the "Bigfoot" name
Jerry Crew and Andrew Genzoli

In 1958, Jerry Crew, bulldozer operator for a logging company in Humboldt County, California, discovered a set of large, 16 inches (410 mm) human-like footprints sunk deep within the mud in the Six Rivers National Forest.[59] Upon informing his coworkers, many claimed to have seen similar tracks on previous job sites as well as telling of odd incidents such as an oil drum weighing 450 pounds (200 kg) having been moved without explanation. The logging company men soon began using the word "Bigfoot" to describe the apparent culprit.[60] Crew and others initially believed someone was playing a prank on them. After observing more of these massive footprints, he contacted reporter Andrew Genzoli of the Humboldt Times newspaper. Genzoli interviewed lumber workers and wrote articles about the mysterious footprints, introducing the name "Bigfoot" in relation to the tracks and the local tales of large, hairy wild men.[61] A plaster cast was made of the footprints and Crew appeared, holding one of the casts, on the front page of the newspaper on October 6, 1958. The story spread rapidly as Genzoli began to receive correspondence from major media outlets including the New York Times and Los Angeles Times.[62] As a result, the term Bigfoot became widespread as a reference to an apparently large, unknown creature leaving massive footprints in Northern California.[63]
Ray Wallace and Rant Mullens

In 2002, the family of Jerry Crew's deceased coworker Ray Wallace revealed a collection of large, carved wooden feet stored in his basement. They stated that Wallace had been secretly making the footprints and was responsible for the tracks discovered by Crew.[64]

Wallace was inspired by another hoaxer, Rant Mullens, who revealed information about his hoaxes in 1982. In the 1930s in Toledo, Washington, Mullens and a group of other foresters carved pairs of large feet made of wood and used them to create footprints in the mud to scare huckleberry pickers in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest.[65] The group would also claim to be responsible for hoaxing the alleged Ape Canyon incident in 1924.[66] Mullens and the group of foresters began referring to themselves as the St. Helens Apes, and would later have a cave dedicated to them.[67]

Wallace, also from Toledo, knew Mullens and stated he collaborated with him to obtain a pair of the large wooden feet and subsequently used them to create footprints on the 1958 construction site as a means to scare away potential thieves.[68]
Other historical uses of "Bigfoot"

In the 1830s, a Wyandot chief was nicknamed "Big Foot" due to his significant size, strength and large feet.[69] Potawatomi Chief Maumksuck, known as Chief "Big Foot", is today synonymous with the area of Walworth County, Wisconsin, and has a state park and school named for him.[70] William A. A. Wallace, a famous 19th century Texas Ranger, was nicknamed "Bigfoot" due to his large feet and today has a town named for him: Bigfoot, Texas.[71] Lakota leader Spotted Elk was also called "Chief Big Foot". In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, at least two enormous marauding grizzly bears were widely noted in the press and each nicknamed "Bigfoot." The first grizzly bear called "Bigfoot" was reportedly killed near Fresno, California, in 1895 after killing sheep for 15 years; his weight was estimated at 2,000 pounds (900 kg).[72] The second one was active in Idaho in the 1890s and 1900s between the Snake and Salmon rivers, and supernatural powers were attributed to it.[73]
Regional and other names
"Bigfoot" carving at the Crystal Creek Reservoir in Colorado.

Many regions throughout North America have differentiating names for Bigfoot.[74] In Canada, the name Sasquatch is widely used in addition to Bigfoot.[75] The United States uses both of these names but also has numerous names and descriptions of the creatures depending on the region and area in which they are allegedly sighted.[76] These include the Skunk ape in Florida and other southern states,[77] the Ohio Grassman in Ohio,[78] Fouke Monster in Arkansas,[79] Wood Booger in Virginia,[80] the Monster of Whitehall in Whitehall, New York,[81] Momo in Missouri,[82] Honey Island Swamp Monster in Louisiana,[83] Dewey Lake Monster in Michigan,[84] Mogollon Monster in Arizona,[85] the Big Muddy Monster in southern Illinois,[86] and The Old Men of the Mountain in West Virginia.[87] The term Wood Ape is also used by some as a means to deviate from the perceived mythical connotation surrounding the name "Bigfoot".[88] Other names include Bushman, Treeman, and Wildman.

Patterson-Gimlin film

On October 20, 1967, Bigfoot enthusiast Roger Patterson and his partner Robert "Bob" Gimlin were filming a Bigfoot docudrama in an area called Bluff Creek in Northern California. The pair claimed they came upon a Bigfoot and filmed the encounter. The 59.5-second-long video, dubbed the Patterson-Gimlin film (PGF), has become iconic in popular culture and Bigfoot-related history and lore. The PGF continues to be a highly scrutinized, analyzed, and debated subject.[90]

Academic experts from related fields have typically judged the film as providing no supportive data of any scientific value,[91] with perhaps the most common proposed explanation being that it was a hoax.[92]
Proposed explanations

Various explanations have been suggested for sightings and to offer conjecture on what existing animal has been misidentified in supposed sightings of Bigfoot. Scientists typically attribute sightings to hoaxes or misidentifications of known animals and their tracks, particularly black bears.[93][94]
Misidentification
Bears

Scientists theorize that mistaken identification of American black bears as Bigfoot are a likely explanation for most reported sightings, particularly when observers view a subject from afar, are in dense foliage, or there are poor lighting conditions.[95] Additionally, black bears have been observed and recorded walking upright, often as the result of an injury.[96] While upright, adult black bears stand roughly 5–7 feet (1.5–2.1 m),[97] and grizzly bears roughly 8–9 feet (2.4–2.7 m).[98]

According to data scientist Floe Foxon, more people report seeing Bigfoot in areas with documented black bear populations. Foxon concludes, "If bigfoot is there, it may be many bears".[99] Foxon acknowledges that alleged Bigfoot sightings have been reported in areas with minimal or no known black bear populations. She states, "Although this may be interpreted as evidence for the existence of an unknown hominid in North America, it is also explained by misidentification of other animals (including humans), among other possibilities".[100]
Escaped apes

Some have proposed that sightings of Bigfoot may simply be people observing and misidentifying known great apes such as chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans that have escaped from captivity such as zoos, circuses, and exotic pets belonging to private owners.[101] This explanation is often proposed in relation to the Skunk ape, as some scientists argue the humid subtropical climate of the southeastern United States could potentially support a population of escaped apes.[102]
Humans

Humans have been mistaken for Bigfoot, with some incidents leading to injuries. In 2013, a 21-year-old man in Oklahoma was arrested after he told law enforcement he accidentally shot his friend in the back while their group was allegedly hunting for Bigfoot.[103] In 2017, a shamanist wearing clothing made of animal furs was vacationing in a North Carolina forest when local reports of alleged Bigfoot sightings flooded in. The Greenville Police Department issued a public notice not to shoot Bigfoot for fear of mistakenly injuring or killing someone in a fur suit.[104] In 2018, a person was shot multiple times by a hunter near Helena, Montana, who claimed he mistook him for a Bigfoot.[105]

Additionally, some have attributed feral humans or hermits living in the wilderness as being another explanation for alleged Bigfoot sightings.[106][107] One story, the Wild Man of the Navidad, tells of a wild ape-man who roamed the wilderness of eastern Texas in the mid-19th century, stealing food and goods from residents. A search party allegedly captured an escaped African slave attributed to the story.[108] During the 1980s, several psychologically damaged American Vietnam veterans were stated by the state of Washington's veterans' affairs director, Randy Fisher, to have been living in remote wooded areas of the state.[109]
Pareidolia

Some have proposed that pareidolia may explain Bigfoot sightings, specifically the tendency to observe human-like faces and figures within the natural environment.[110][111] Photos and videos of poor quality alleged to depict Bigfoots are often attributed to this phenomenon and commonly referred to as "Blobsquatch".[112]
Misidentified vocalizations

The majority of mainstream scientists maintain that the source of the sounds often attributed to Bigfoot are either hoaxes, anthropomorphization, or likely misidentified and produced by known animals such as owl, wolf, coyote, and fox.[113][114][115]
Hoaxes

Both Bigfoot believers and non-believers agree that many reported sightings are hoaxes.

Gigantopithecus

Bigfoot proponents Grover Krantz and Geoffrey H. Bourne both believed that Bigfoot could be a relict population of the extinct southeast Asian ape species Gigantopithecus blacki. According to Bourne, G. blacki may have followed the many other species of animals that migrated across the Bering land bridge to the Americas.[117] To date, no Gigantopithecus fossils have been found in the Americas. In Asia, the only recovered fossils have been of mandibles and teeth, leaving uncertainty about G. blacki's locomotion. Krantz has argued that G. blacki could have been bipedal, based on his extrapolation from the shape of its mandible. However, the relevant part of the mandible is not present in any fossils.[118] The consensus view is that G. blacki was quadrupedal, as its enormous mass would have made it difficult for it to adopt a bipedal gait.[119]

Anthropologist Matt Cartmill criticizes the G. blacki hypothesis:

    The trouble with this account is that Gigantopithecus was not a hominin and maybe not even a crown group hominoid; yet the physical evidence implies that Bigfoot is an upright biped with buttocks and a long, stout, permanently adducted hallux. These are hominin autapomorphies, not found in other mammals or other bipeds. It seems unlikely that Gigantopithecus would have evolved these uniquely hominin traits in parallel.[120]

Paleoanthropologist Bernard G. Campbell writes: "That Gigantopithecus is in fact extinct has been questioned by those who believe it survives as the Yeti of the Himalayas and the Sasquatch of the north-west American coast. But the evidence for these creatures is not convincing."[121]
Extinct hominidae

Primatologist John R. Napier and anthropologist Gordon Strasenburg have suggested a species of Paranthropus as a possible candidate for Bigfoot's identity, such as Paranthropus robustus, with its gorilla-like crested skull and bipedal gait[122] —despite the fact that fossils of Paranthropus are found only in Africa.[123]

Michael Rugg of the Bigfoot Discovery Museum presented a comparison between human, Gigantopithecus, and Meganthropus skulls (reconstructions made by Grover Krantz) in episodes 131 and 132 of the Bigfoot Discovery Museum Show.[124] Bigfoot enthusiasts that think Bigfoot may be the "missing link" between apes and humans have promoted the idea that Bigfoot is a descendant of Gigantopithecus blacki, but that ape diverged from orangutans around 12 million years ago and is not related to humans.[125]

Some suggest Neanderthal, Homo erectus, or Homo heidelbergensis to be the creature, but, like all other great apes, no remains of any of those species have been found in the Americas.

Scientific view

Expert consensus is that allegations of the existence of Bigfoot are not credible.[7][127] Belief in the existence of such a large, ape-like creature is more often attributed to hoaxes, confusion, or delusion rather than to sightings of a genuine creature.[23] In a 1996 USA Today article, Washington State zoologist John Crane said, "There is no such thing as Bigfoot. No data other than material that's clearly been fabricated has ever been presented."[36] The author of one review article states that, in their opinion, it is impossible even to consider cryptozoology a science if it continues to consider Bigfoot seriously.[7]

As with other similar beings, climate and food supply issues would make such a creature's survival in reported habitats unlikely.[7][128] Bigfoot is alleged to live in regions unusual for a large, nonhuman primate, i.e., temperate latitudes in the northern hemisphere; all recognized nonhuman apes are found in the tropics of Africa and Asia. Great apes have not been found in the fossil record in the Americas, and no Bigfoot remains are known to have been found. Phillips Stevens, a cultural anthropologist at the University at Buffalo, summarized the scientific consensus as follows:

    It defies all logic that there is a population of these things sufficient to keep them going. What it takes to maintain any species, especially a long-lived species, is having a breeding population. That requires a substantial number, spread out over a fairly wide area where they can find sufficient food and shelter to keep hidden from all the investigators.[129]

In the 1970s, when Bigfoot "experts" were frequently given high-profile media coverage, McLeod writes that the scientific community generally avoided lending credence to such fringe theories by refusing even to debate them.[130]

Primatologist Jane Goodall was asked for her personal opinion of Bigfoot in a 2002 interview on National Public Radio's "Science Friday". Goodall responded saying, "Well, now you will be amazed when I tell you that I'm sure that they exist."[131] She later added, "Well, I'm a romantic, so I always wanted them to exist," and "Of course, the big, the big criticism of all this is, "Where is the body?" You know, why isn't there a body? I can't answer that, and maybe they don't exist, but I want them to."[131][132] In 2012, when asked again by the Huffington Post, Goodall said "I'm fascinated and would actually love them to exist," adding, "Of course, it's strange that there has never been a single authentic hide or hair of the Bigfoot, but I've read all the accounts."[132]

Paleontologist and author Darren Naish states in a 2016 article for Scientific American that if "Bigfoot" existed, an abundance of evidence would also exist that cannot be found anywhere today, making the existence of such a creature exceedingly unlikely.[133]

Naish summarizes the evidence for "Bigfoot" that would exist if the creature itself existed:

    If "Bigfoot" existed, so would consistent reports of uniform vocalizations throughout North America as can be identified for any existing large animal in the region, rather than the scattered and widely varied "Bigfoot" sounds haphazardly reported;
    If "Bigfoot" existed, so would many tracks that would be easy for experts to find, just as they easily find tracks for other rare megafauna in North America, rather than a complete lack of such tracks alongside "tracks" that experts agree are fraudulent;
    Finally, if "Bigfoot" existed, an abundance of "Bigfoot" DNA would already have been found, again as it has been found for similar animals, instead of the current state of affairs, where there is no confirmed DNA for such a creature whatsoever.[133]

Researchers

Ivan T. Sanderson and Bernard Heuvelmans, founders of the study of cryptozoology, spent parts of their career searching for Bigfoot.[134] Later scientists who researched the topic included Jason Jarvis, Carleton S. Coon, George Allen Agogino and William Charles Osman Hill, though they later stopped their research due to lack of evidence for the alleged creature.[135]

John Napier asserts that the scientific community's attitude towards Bigfoot stems primarily from insufficient evidence.[136][page needed] Other scientists who have shown varying degrees of interest in the creature are Grover Krantz, Jeffrey Meldrum, John Bindernagel, David J. Daegling,[137] George Schaller,[36][138][139] Russell Mittermeier, Daris Swindler, Esteban Sarmiento,[140] and Mireya Mayor.[141]
Formal studies
2007 photograph of the Bigfoot trap within the Rogue River–Siskiyou National Forest.

One study was conducted by John Napier and published in his book Bigfoot: The Yeti and Sasquatch in Myth and Reality in 1973.[142] Napier wrote that if a conclusion is to be reached based on scant extant "'hard' evidence," science must declare "Bigfoot does not exist."[143] However, he found it difficult to entirely reject thousands of alleged tracks, "scattered over 125,000 square miles" (325,000 km2) or to dismiss all "the many hundreds" of eyewitness accounts. Napier concluded, "I am convinced that Sasquatch exists, but whether it is all it is cracked up to be is another matter altogether. There must be something in north-west America that needs explaining, and that something leaves man-like footprints."[144]

In 1974, the National Wildlife Federation funded a field study seeking Bigfoot evidence. No formal federation members were involved and the study made no notable discoveries.[145] Also in 1974, the now defunct North American Wildlife Research Team constructed a "Bigfoot trap" in the Rogue River–Siskiyou National Forest. It was baited with animal carcasses and captured multiple bears, but no Bigfoot.[146] Upkeep of the trap ended in the early 1980s, but in 2006 the United States Forest Service repaired the trap, which today is a tourist destination along the Collings Mountain hiking trail.[147]

Beginning in the late 1970s, physical anthropologist Grover Krantz published several articles and four book-length treatments of Bigfoot. However, his work was found to contain multiple scientific failings including falling for hoaxes.[148]

A study published in the Journal of Biogeography in 2009 by J.D. Lozier et al. used ecological niche modeling on reported sightings of Bigfoot, using their locations to infer preferred ecological parameters. They found a very close match with the ecological parameters of the American black bear. They also note that an upright bear looks much like a Bigfoot's purported appearance and consider it highly improbable that two species should have very similar ecological preferences, concluding that Bigfoot sightings are likely misidentified sightings of black bears.[149]

In the first systematic genetic analysis of 30 hair samples that were suspected to be from Bigfoot-like creatures, only one was found to be primate in origin, and that was identified as human. A joint study by the University of Oxford and Lausanne's Cantonal Museum of Zoology and published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B in 2014, the team used a previously published cleaning method to remove all surface contamination and the ribosomal mitochondrial DNA 12S fragment of the sample. The sample was sequenced and then compared to GenBank to identify the species origin. The samples submitted were from different parts of the world, including the United States, Russia, the Himalayas, and Sumatra. Other than one sample of human origin, all but two are from common animals. Black and brown bears accounted for most of the samples, other animals include cow, horse, dog/wolf/coyote, sheep, goat, deer, raccoon, porcupine, and tapir. The last two samples were thought to match a fossilized genetic sample of a 40,000 year old polar bear of the Pleistocene epoch;[150] a second test identified these hairs as being from a rare type of brown bear.[151][152]

In 2019, the FBI declassified an analysis it conducted on alleged Bigfoot hairs in 1976. Bigfoot researcher Peter Byrne sent the FBI 15 hairs attached to a small skin fragment and asked if the bureau could assist him in identifying it. Jay Cochran Jr., assistant director of the FBI's Scientific and Technical Services division responded in 1977 that the hairs were of deer family origin.[153][154]
Claims
An artist's depiction of Bigfoot.

Claims about the origins and characteristics of Bigfoot vary. Thomas Sewid, a Bigfoot researcher and member of the Kwakwakaʼwakw tribe claims, "They're just the other tribe. They're just big, hairy humans with nocturnal vision that choose not to have weapons or fire or permanent shelters".[155]

The subject of Bigfoot has also crossed over with other paranormal claims, including that Bigfoot, extraterrestrials, and UFOs are related or that Bigfoot are psychic, can shapeshift, are able to cross into different dimensions, or are completely supernatural in origin.[63] Additionally, claims regarding Bigfoot have been associated with conspiracy theories including a government cover-up.[156]

There have also been claims that Bigfoot is responsible for the disappearances of people in the wilderness, such as the 1969 disappearance of Dennis Martin in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.[157]

Additionally, there have been claims that Bigfoot has been responsible for vehicle accidents, vandalizing property, delaying construction, and killing people.[158] In 2022, a man from Oklahoma claimed he killed his friend because he believed he had summoned Bigfoot and was going to be sacrificed to the creature.[159]
Sightings

According to Live Science, there have been over 10,000 reported Bigfoot sightings in the continental United States.[160] About one-third of all claims of Bigfoot sightings are located in the Pacific Northwest, with the remaining reports spread throughout the rest of North America.[34][161][162] Most reports are considered mistakes or hoaxes, even by those researchers who claim Bigfoot exists.[163]

Sightings predominantly occur in the northwestern region of Washington state, Oregon, Northern California, and British Columbia. According to data collected from the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization's (BFRO) Bigfoot sightings database in 2019, Washington has over 2,000 reported sightings, California over 1,600, Pennsylvania over 1,300, New York and Oregon over 1,000, and Texas has just over 800.[164] The debate over the legitimacy of Bigfoot sightings reached a peak in the 1970s, and Bigfoot has been regarded as the first widely popularized example of pseudoscience in American culture.[130]

Reports of alleged Bigfoot sightings are often featured in news stories throughout the United States.[165][166][167][168]
Alleged behavior

Some Bigfoot researchers allege that Bigfoot throws rocks as territorial displays and for communication.[169][170][171] Other alleged behaviors include audible blows struck against trees or "wood knocking", further alleged to be communicative.[172][173][174] Skeptics argue that these behaviors are easily hoaxed.[175] Additionally, structures of broken and twisted foliage seemingly placed in specific areas have been attributed by some to Bigfoot behavior.[176] In some reports, lodgepole pine and other small trees have been observed bent, uprooted, or stacked in patterns such as weaved and crisscrossed, leading some to theorize that they are potential territorial markings.[177] Some instances have also included entire deer skeletons being suspended high in trees.[178] Some researchers and enthusiasts believe Bigfoot construct teepee-like structures out of dead trees and foliage.[179] In Washington state, a team of amateur Bigfoot researchers called the Olympic Project claimed to have discovered a collection of nests. The group brought in primatologists to study them, with the conclusion being that they appear to have been created by a primate.[180]

Jeremiah Byron, host of the Bigfoot Society Podcast, believes Bigfoot are omnivores, stating, "They eat both plants and meat. I've seen accounts that they eat everything from berries, leaves, nuts, and fruit to salmon, rabbit, elk, and bear. Ronny Le Blanc, host of Expedition Bigfoot on the Travel Channel indicated he has heard anecdotal reports of Bigfoot allegedly hunting and consuming deer.[181] In the 2001 nature documentary Great North, a dark bipedal figure was captured on film while the filmmakers were recording a herd of caribou. The footage has sparked debate, as some Bigfoot researchers claim the figure is a Bigfoot stalking the caribou. In 2016, Bigfoot researcher ThinkerThunker released a YouTube video in which he interviewed one of the Great North directors, William Reeve, who claims it could not have been a human but was possibly a bear, although he and his crew denied seeing any bears while filming.[182]

Some Bigfoot researchers have reported the creatures moving or taking possession of intentional "gifts" left by humans such as food and jewelry, and leaving items in their places such as rocks and twigs.[183]

Many alleged sightings are reported to occur at night leading some cryptozoologists to hypothesize that Bigfoot may possess nocturnal tendencies.[184] However, experts find such behavior untenable in a supposed ape- or human-like creature, as all known apes, including humans, are diurnal, with only lesser primates exhibiting nocturnality.[185] Most anecdotal sightings of Bigfoot describe the creatures allegedly observed as solitary, although some reports have described groups being allegedly observed together.[186]
Alleged vocalizations

Alleged vocalizations such as howls, screams, moans, grunts, whistles, and even a form of supposed language have been reported and allegedly recorded.[187][188] Some of these alleged vocalization recordings have been analyzed by individuals such as retired U.S. Navy cryptologic linguist Scott Nelson. He analyzed audio recordings from the early 1970s said to be recorded in the Sierra Nevada mountains dubbed the "Sierra Sounds" and stated, "It is definitely a language, it is definitely not human in origin, and it could not have been faked".[189] Les Stroud has spoken of a strange vocalization he heard in the wilderness while filming Survivorman that he stated sounded primate in origin.[190] A number of anecdotal reports of Bigfoot encounters have resulted in witnesses claiming to be disoriented, dizzy and anxious. Some Bigfoot researchers, such as paranormal author Nick Redfern, have proposed that Bigfoot may produce infrasound, which could explain reports of this nature.[191]
Alleged encounters

In Fouke, Arkansas, in 1971, a family reported that a large, hair-covered creature startled a woman after reaching through a window. This alleged incident caused hysteria in the Fouke area and inspired the horror movie, The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972). The report was later deemed a hoax.[192]

In 1974, the New York Times presented the dubious tale of Albert Ostman, a Canadian prospector, who stated that he was kidnapped and held captive by a family of Bigfoot for six days in 1924.[193]

In 1994, former U.S. Forest Service ranger Paul Freeman, a Bigfoot researcher, videotaped an alleged Bigfoot he reportedly encountered in the Blue Mountains in Oregon. The tape, often referred to as the Freeman footage, continues to be scrutinized and its authenticity debated.[194] Freeman had previously gained media recognition in the 1980s for documenting alleged Bigfoot tracks, claiming they possessed dermal ridges.[195]

On May 26, 1996, Lori Pate, who was on a camping trip near the Washington state-Canada border, videotaped a dark subject she reported encountering running across a field and claimed it was Bigfoot. The film, dubbed the Memorial Day Bigfoot footage, is often depicted in Bigfoot-related media, most notably in the 2003 documentary, Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science. In his research, Daniel Perez of the Skeptical Inquirer concluded that the footage was likely a hoax perpetuated by a human in a gorilla costume.[196]

In 2018, Bigfoot researcher Claudia Ackley garnered international attention after filing a lawsuit with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) for failing to acknowledge the existence of Bigfoot. Ackley claimed to have encountered and filmed a Bigfoot in the San Bernardino Mountains in 2017, describing what she saw as a "Neanderthal man with a lot of hair". Ackley contacted emergency services as well as the CDFW; a state investigator concluded that she encountered a bear.[197] Until her death in 2023, Ackley also ran an online support group for individuals claiming to experience psychological trauma as a result of alleged Bigfoot encounters.[198]

In October 2023, a woman named Shannon Parker uploaded a video of an alleged Bigfoot to Facebook. The footage went viral on social media and was shared via various news publications. Shannon Parker reported she and others observed the subject while riding a train on the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad in the San Juan Mountains in Colorado. The authenticity of the video was debated across social media.[199] Skeptics on Reddit speculated it was a publicity hoax perpetrated by an RV company located the area, Sasquatch Expedition Campers. The company denied the allegations.[200]

Anthropologist Jeffrey Meldrum notes that any large predatory animal is potentially dangerous, specifically if provoked, but indicates that most anecdotal accounts of Bigfoot encounter result in the creatures hiding or fleeing from people.[201] The 2021 Hulu documentary series, Sasquatch, describes marijuana farmers telling stories of Bigfoots harassing and killing people within the Emerald Triangle region in the 1970s through the 1990s; and specifically the alleged murder of three migrant workers in 1993.[202] Investigative journalist David Holthouse attributes the stories to illegal drug operations using the local Bigfoot lore to scare away the competition, specifically superstitious immigrants, and that the high rate of murder and missing persons in the area is attributed to human actions.[203]

Skeptics argue that many of these alleged encounters are easily hoaxed, the result of misidentification, or are outright fabrications.[204]
Evidence claims

A body print taken in the year 2000 from the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in Washington state dubbed the Skookum cast is also believed by some to have been made by a Bigfoot that sat down in the mud to eat fruit left out by researchers during the filming of an episode of the Animal X television show. Skeptics believe the cast to have been made by a known animal such as an elk.[205]

Alleged Bigfoot footprints are often suggested by Bigfoot enthusiasts as evidence for the creature's existence. Anthropologist Jeffrey Meldrum, who specializes in the study of primate bipedalism, possesses over 300 footprint casts that he maintains could not be made by wood carvings or human feet based on their anatomy, but instead are evidence of a large, non-human primate present today in North America.[206] In 2005, Matt Crowley obtained a copy of an alleged Bigfoot footprint cast, called the "Onion Mountain Cast", and was able to painstakingly recreate the dermal ridges. Michael Dennett of the Skeptical Inquirer spoke to police investigator and primate fingerprint expert Jimmy Chilcutt in 2006 for comment on the replica and he stated, "Matt has shown artifacts can be created, at least under laboratory conditions, and field researchers need to take precautions".[207] Chilcutt had previously stated that some of the alleged Bigfoot footprint plaster casts he examined were genuine due to the presence of "unique dermal ridges".[208] Dennett states that Chilcutt published nothing to substantiate his claims, nor had anyone else published anything on that topic, with Chilcutt making his statements solely through a posting on the Internet.[207] Dennett states further that no reviews on Chilcutt's statements had been performed beyond those by what Dennett states to be, "other Bigfoot enthusiasts".[207]
2007 photograph alleged by the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization to depict a juvenile Bigfoot.

In 2007, the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization claimed to have photographs depicting a juvenile Bigfoot allegedly captured on a camera trap in the Allegheny National Forest. The Pennsylvania Game Commission, however, stated that the photos were of a bear with mange.[209] The Pennsylvania Game Commission unsuccessfully attempted to locate the suspected mangey bear. Scientist Vanessa Woods, after estimating that the subject in the photo had approximately 22 inches (560 mm) long arms and a 18.75 inches (476 mm) torso, concluded it was more comparable to a chimpanzee.[210]

In 2015, Centralia College professor Michael Townsend claimed to have discovered prey bones with "human-like" bite impressions on the southside of Mount St. Helens. Townsend claimed the bites were over two times wider than a human bite, and that he and two of his students also found 16-inch footprints in the area.[211]
Melba Ketchum press release

After what The Huffington Post described as "a five-year study of purported Bigfoot (also known as Sasquatch) DNA samples",[212] but prior to peer review of the work, DNA Diagnostics, a veterinary laboratory headed by veterinarian Melba Ketchum issued a press release on November 24, 2012, claiming that they had found proof that the Sasquatch "is a human relative that arose approximately 15,000 years ago as a hybrid cross of modern Homo sapiens with an unknown primate species." Ketchum called for this to be recognized officially, saying that "Government at all levels must recognize them as an indigenous people and immediately protect their human and Constitutional rights against those who would see in their physical and cultural differences a 'license' to hunt, trap, or kill them."[213] Failing to find a scientific journal that would publish their results, Ketchum announced on February 13, 2013, that their research had been published in the DeNovo Journal of Science.[213][214][215] The title "DeNovo: Journal of Science" in which the paper was published was found to be a Web site—registered anonymously only nine days before the paper was announced—whose first and only "journal" issue contained nothing but the "Sasquatch" article.[213][215] Shortly after publication, the paper was analyzed and outlined by Sharon Hill of Doubtful News for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. Hill reported on the questionable journal, mismanaged DNA testing and poor quality paper, stating that "The few experienced geneticists who viewed the paper reported a dismal opinion of it noting it made little sense."[216] The Scientist magazine also analyzed the paper, reporting that:

    Geneticists who have seen the paper are not impressed. "To state the obvious, no data or analyses are presented that in any way support the claim that their samples come from a new primate or human-primate hybrid," Leonid Kruglyak of Princeton University told the Houston Chronicle. "Instead, analyses either come back as 100 percent human, or fail in ways that suggest technical artifacts." The website for the DeNovo Journal of Science was setup [sic] on February 4, and there is no indication that Ketchum's work, the only study it has published, was peer-reviewed.[217]

Documented hoaxes

    In 1968, the frozen corpse of a supposed hair-covered hominid measuring 5 feet 11 inches (1.8 m) was paraded around the United States as part of a traveling exhibition. Many stories surfaced as to its origin, such as its having been killed by hunters in Minnesota or American soldiers near Da Nang during the Vietnam War. It was attributed by some to be proof of Bigfoot-like creatures. Primatologist John R. Napier studied the subject and concluded it was a hoax made of latex. Others disputed this, claiming Napier did not study the original subject. As of 2013, the subject, dubbed the Minnesota Iceman, was on display at the "Museum of the Weird" in Austin, Texas.[218]
    Tom Biscardi, long-time Bigfoot enthusiast and CEO of "Searching for Bigfoot, Inc.", appeared on the Coast to Coast AM paranormal radio show on July 14, 2005, and said that he was "98% sure that his group will be able to capture a Bigfoot which they had been tracking in the Happy Camp, California, area."[219] A month later, he announced on the same radio show that he had access to a captured Bigfoot and was arranging a pay-per-view event for people to see it. He appeared on Coast to Coast AM again a few days later to announce that there was no captive Bigfoot. He blamed an unnamed woman for misleading him, and said that the show's audience was gullible.[219]
    On July 9, 2008, Rick Dyer and Matthew Whitton posted a video to YouTube, claiming that they had discovered the body of a dead Bigfoot in a forest in northern Georgia, which they named "Rickmat".[220] Tom Biscardi was contacted to investigate. Dyer and Whitton received $50,000 from "Searching for Bigfoot, Inc."[221] The story was covered by many major news networks, including BBC,[222] CNN,[223] ABC News,[224] and Fox News.[225] Soon after a press conference, the alleged Bigfoot body was delivered in a block of ice in a freezer with the Searching for Bigfoot team. When the contents were thawed, observers found that the hair was not real, the head was hollow, and the feet were rubber.[226] Dyer and Whitton admitted that it was a hoax after being confronted by Steve Kulls, executive director of SquatchDetective.com.[227]
    In August 2012, a man in Montana was killed by a car while perpetrating a Bigfoot hoax using a ghillie suit.[228][229]
    In January 2014, Rick Dyer, perpetrator of a previous Bigfoot hoax, said that he had killed a Bigfoot in September 2012 outside San Antonio, Texas. He claimed to have had scientific tests conducted on the body, "from DNA tests to 3D optical scans to body scans. It is the real deal. It's Bigfoot, and Bigfoot's here, and I shot it, and now I'm proving it to the world."[230][231] He said that he had kept the body in a hidden location, and he intended to take it on tour across North America in 2014. He released photos of the body and a video showing a few individuals' reactions to seeing it,[232] but never released any of the tests or scans. He refused to disclose the test results or to provide biological samples. He said that the DNA results were done by an undisclosed lab and could not be matched to identify any known animal.[233] Dyer said that he would reveal the body and tests on February 9, 2014, at a news conference at Washington University,[234] but he never made the test results available.[235] After the tour, the Bigfoot body was taken to Houston, Texas.[236]
    On March 28, 2014, Dyer admitted on his Facebook page that his "Bigfoot corpse" was another hoax. He had paid Chris Russel of "Twisted Toybox" to manufacture the prop from latex, foam, and camel hair, which he nicknamed "Hank". Dyer earned approximately US$60,000 from the tour of this second fake Bigfoot corpse. He stated that he did kill a Bigfoot, but did not take the real body on tour for fear that it would be stolen.[237][238]
    In April 2022, a man in Mobile, Alabama posted photos he claimed were of a Bigfoot to his Facebook page, indicating the Mobile County Sheriff's Office validated their authenticity and the team from Finding Bigfoot was being dispatched. The photos circulated on social media, attracting the attention of NBC 15. The man admitted the photos were an April Fools' Day hoax.[239]
    On July 7, 2022, wildlife educator and media personality Coyote Peterson released a Facebook post in which he claimed to have excavated a large primate skull in British Columbia and smuggled it into the United States, further claiming to have initially hidden the discovery due to concerns of government intervention. The post went viral, garnering the attention of multiple scientists who dismissed the finding as a likely replica gorilla skull. Darren Naish, a vertebrate paleontologist, stated, "I'm told that Coyote Peterson does this sort of thing fairly often as clickbait, and that this is a stunt done to promote an upcoming video. Maybe this is meant to be taken as harmless fun. But in an age where anti-scientific feelings and conspiracy culture are a serious problem it—again—really isn't a good look. I think this stunt has backfired".[240] In a follow-up video, Peterson claimed the situation was staged as a hypothetical example of what not to do in response to such a discovery.[241]

In popular culture
Main article: Bigfoot in popular culture
A tongue-in-cheek sign warning of Bigfoot crossings on Pikes Peak Highway in Colorado.

Bigfoot has a demonstrable impact in popular culture,[242] and has been compared to Michael Jordan as a cultural icon.[243] In 2018, Smithsonian magazine declared, "Interest in the existence of the creature is at an all-time high".[244] A poll in 2020 suggested that about 1 in 10 American adults believe Bigfoot to be "a real, living creature".[245] According to a May 2023 data study, the terms "Bigfoot" and "Sasquatch" are inputted via internet search engines over 200,000 times annually in the United States, and over 660,000 times worldwide.[246]

The creature has inspired the naming of a medical company, music festival, amusement park ride, monster truck, and a Marvel Comics superhero. Some commentators have been critical of Bigfoot's rise to fame, arguing that the appearance of the creatures in cartoons, reality shows, and advertisements trivialize the potential validity of serious scientific research into their supposed existence. Others propose that society's fascination with the concept of Bigfoot stems from human interest in mystery, the paranormal, and loneliness. In a 2022 article discussing recent Bigfoot sightings, journalist John Keilman of the Chicago Tribune states, "As UFOs have gained newfound respect, becoming the subject of a Pentagon investigative panel, the alleged Bigfoot sighting is a reminder that other paranormal phenomena are still out there, entrancing true believers and amusing skeptics".[247]
In the Pacific Northwest

Bigfoot and its likeness is symbolic with the Pacific Northwest and its culture, including the Cascadia movement.[248] Two National Basketball Association teams located in the Pacific Northwest have used Bigfoot as a mascot; Squatch of the now-defunct Seattle SuperSonics from 1993 until 2008, and Douglas Fur of the Portland Trail Blazers.[249] Legend the Bigfoot was selected as the official mascot for the 2022 World Athletics Championships held in Eugene, Oregon.[250] In 2024, the United Soccer League (USL) announced the Bigfoot Football Club based in Maple Valley, Washington will begin competing in 2025.[251]

There are laws and ordinances regarding harming or killing Bigfoot in the state of Washington. In 1969, a law was passed that criminalized killing a Bigfoot, making the act a felony, that upon conviction was punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 or by five years imprisonment. In 1984, the law was amended to make the crime a misdemeanor and the entire county was declared a "Sasquatch refuge". Whatcom County followed suit in 1991, declaring the county a "Sasquatch Protection and Refuge Area".[252][253] In 2022, Grays Harbor County, Washington, passed a similar resolution after a local elementary school in Hoquiam submitted a classroom project asking for a "Sasquatch Protection and Refuge Area" to be granted.[254]
In media

Bigfoot is featured in various films.[255] It is often depicted as the antagonist in low budget monster movies,[256] but has also been depicted as intelligent and friendly, with a notable example being Harry and the Hendersons (1987).[257] Sasquatch Sunset (2024) depicts a family of Bigfoot engaging in alleged behaviors reported by Bigfoot enthusiasts and researchers.[258] Bigfoot is also featured in television, notably as a subject of reality and paranormal television series, with notable examples being Finding Bigfoot (2011), Mountain Monsters (2013), 10 Million Dollar Bigfoot Bounty (2014), Expedition Bigfoot (2019), and Alaskan Killer Bigfoot (2021).
In advocacy
A post shared on Twitter in 2022 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture that depicts Bigfoot and a UFO to promote responsible conduct in national forests.

Bigfoot has been used for environmental protection and nature conservation campaigns and advocacy. Bigfoot was used in an environmental protection campaign, albeit comedically, by the U.S. Forest Service in 2015.[259] Bigfoot is a mascot for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's "Leave No Trace Principles", a national educational program to inform the public about reducing the damage caused by outdoor activities.[260] The 360 mile "Bigfoot Trail" in Oregon, is named for the creature.[261] Environmental organization Oregon Wild also uses Bigfoot to promote its nature advocacy, stating, "If there really is a Sasquatch out there, there is definitely more than one, and in order to maintain a healthy breeding population a species of hominid (as Sasquatch is assumed to be) would need extremely vast expanses of uninterrupted forest. Remote Wilderness areas would be prime habitat for Sasquatch, so if there are any out there to protect, making sure Oregon's forests get the protections they need to stay untrammeled is of the utmost importance".[262] In 2024, Bigfoot was used as a mascot for a government recycling campaign in Whitfield County, Georgia.[263]

In the 2018 podcast Wild Thing, creator and journalist Laura Krantz argues that the concept of Bigfoot can be an important part of environmental interest and protection, stating, "If you look at it from the angle that Bigfoot is a creature that has eluded capture or hasn't left any concrete evidence behind, then you just have a group of people who are curious about the environment and want to know more about it, which isn't that far off from what naturalists have done for centuries".[264][265]

Bigfoot subculture

There is an entire subculture surrounding Bigfoot.[268] The act of searching for the creatures is often referred to as "Squatching", "Squatchin'" or "Squatch'n",[269] popularized by the Animal Planet series, Finding Bigfoot.[270] Bigfoot researchers and believers are often called "Bigfooters" or "Squatchers".[271] 20th century Bigfooters Peter C. Byrne, René Dahinden, John Green and Grover Krantz have been dubbed by cryptozoologist and author Loren Coleman as the "Four Horsemen of Sasquatchery".[272] The 2024 book The Secret History of Bigfoot by journalist John O'Connor explores this subculture of Bigfooters, particularly the wide assortment of beliefs enthusiasts of the subject hold. In 2004, David Fahrenthold of The Washington Post published an article describing a feud between Bigfoot researchers in the eastern and western United States. Fahrenthold writes, "On the one hand, East Coast Bigfooters say they have to fight discrimination from Western counterparts who think the creature does not live east of the Rocky Mountains. On the other, they have to deal with reports from a more urban population, which includes some who are unfamiliar with wildlife and apt to mistake a black bear for the missing link".[273]

People have been injured or killed while searching for Bigfoot in the wilderness. On December 28, 2024, two men were found deceased in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest in Washington state after setting off on Christmas to search for Bigfoot. Their disappearance prompted a large scale search and rescue effort, with the Skamania County Sheriff's Office concluding they were likely not prepared for the inclement weather.[274]

October 20, the anniversary of the Patterson-Gimlin film recording, is considered by some enthusiasts as "National Sasquatch Awareness Day".[275] In 2015, World Champion taxidermist Ken Walker completed what he believes to be a lifelike Bigfoot model based on the subject in the Patterson–Gimlin film.[276] He entered it into the 2015 World Taxidermy & Fish Carving Championships in Missouri and was the subject of Dan Wayne's 2019 documentary Big Fur.[277]
Tourism and events
Remer, Minnesota uses local Bigfoot folklore as a means of attracting tourism to the area.[278]

Bigfoot and related folklore has an impact on tourism.[279] Willow Creek, California, considers itself the "Bigfoot Capital of the World".[280] The Willow Creek Chamber of Commerce has hosted the "Bigfoot Daze" festival annually since the 1960s, drawing on the popularity of the local folklore, notably that of the Patterson-Gimlin film.[281] Jefferson, Texas proclaimed itself the "Bigfoot Capital of Texas" in 2018.[282] The city has hosted the Texas Bigfoot Conference since 2000.[283]

In 2021, U.S. Representative Justin Humphrey, in an effort to bolster tourism, proposed an official Bigfoot hunting season in Oklahoma, indicating that the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation would regulate permits and the state would offer a $3 million bounty if such a creature was captured alive and unharmed.[284][285] In 2024, mayor Grant Nicely of Derry, Pennsylvania declared Bigfoot the "official cryptid" of the borough and stated, "Willful harm or capture of the species will be punishable by law." Council Vice-president Nathan Bundy stated, "By proclaiming Bigfoot as our official cryptid and establishing Derry as a sanctuary, we are embracing our local folklore and the rich history that makes our community unique".[286]

Events such as conferences and festivals dedicated to Bigfoot draw thousands of attendees and contribute to the economies of areas in which they are held.[287][288][289] These events commonly include guest speakers, research and lore presentations, and sometimes live music, vendors, food trucks, and other activities such as costume contests and "Bigfoot howl" competitions.[290][291] Some receive collaboration between local government and corporations, such as the Smoky Mountain Bigfoot Festival in Townsend, Tennessee, which is sponsored by Monster Energy.[292] The 2023 Bigfoot Festival in Marion, North Carolina, saw approximately 40,000 people in attendance, resulting in a large economic boost for the small town of less than 8,000 residents.[293] In February 2016, the University of New Mexico at Gallup held a two-day Bigfoot conference at a cost of $7,000 in university funds.[294] Bigfoot is also featured in events alongside other famous cryptids such as the Loch Ness Monster, Mothman, and Chupacabra.[295][296]

There are museums dedicated to Bigfoot.[297][298] In 2019, Bigfoot researcher Cliff Barackman, notable for his role on Finding Bigfoot, opened the North American Bigfoot Center in Boring, Oregon.[299] In 2022, The Bigfoot Crossroads of America Museum and Research Center in Hastings, Nebraska, was selected for addition into the archives of the U.S. Library of Congress.[300] The High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon features an exhibit called Sensing Sasquatch, which presents the subject from an Indigenous point-of-view. According to Executive Director Dana Whitelaw, "Rather than the popular, mainstream view of Sasquatch, this exhibition shows Sasquatch as a protective entity for many Indigenous peoples of the High Desert. The exhibit reflects the reverence that Native peoples have for Sasquatch and will be centered on Indigenous art, voices and storytelling".[301]
Organizations

There are several organizations dedicated to Bigfoot. The oldest and largest is the Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (BFRO).[302] The BFRO also provides a free database to individuals and other organizations. Their website includes reports from across North America that have been investigated by BFRO researchers. Other similar organizations exist throughout many U.S. states and their members come from a variety of backgrounds.[303][304]

The North American Wood Ape Conservancy (NAWAC), a nonprofit organization, states its mission is to "ultimately have the wood ape species documented, protected, and the land they inhabit protected.[305] Author Mike Mays of NAWAC states, "If just anyone hauled in a Bigfoot carcass the blowback from animal rights groups and beyond would be ruinous"." (wikipedia)

"Slippers are light footwear that are easy to put on and off and are intended to be worn indoors, particularly at home. [1] They provide comfort and protection for the feet when walking indoors....

History

The recorded history of slippers can be traced back to the 12th century when the Vietnamese had been wearing slippers. But in the West, the record can only be traced to 1478.[2][3]
Peranakan Chinese wedding slippers from the late 19th century

Slippers were worn in China very early on. They were made of cotton or woven rush, had leather linings, and featured symbols of power, such as dragons. Native American moccasins were also highly decorative. They depicted nature scenes and were embellished with beadwork and fringing, their soft sure-footedness made them suitable for indoors appropriation. Inuit and Aleut people made shoes from smoked hare hide to protect their feet against the frozen ground inside their homes.[citation needed]

Victorian men needed such shoes to keep the dust and gravel outside their homes. For Victorian ladies slippers were an opportunity to show off their needlepoint skills and use embroidery as decoration.[4]
Types
   
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Types of slippers include:

    Open-heel slippers – usually made with a fabric upper layer that encloses the top of the foot and the toes, but leaves the heel open. These are often distributed in expensive hotels, included with the cost of the room.
    Closed slippers – slippers with a heel guard that prevents the foot from sliding out.
    Slipper boots – slippers meant to look like boots. Often favored by women, they are typically furry boots with a fleece or soft lining, and a soft rubber sole. Modeled after sheepskin boots, they may be worn outside.
    Sandal slippers – cushioned sandals with soft rubber or fabric soles, similar to Birkenstock's cushioned sandals.
    Evening slipper, also known as the "Prince Albert" slipper in reference to Albert, Prince Consort. It is made of velvet with leather soles and features a grosgrain bow or the wearer’s initials embroidered in gold.

Novelty animal-feet slippers

Some slippers are made to resemble something other than a slipper and are sold as a novelty item. The slippers are usually made from soft and colorful materials and may come in the shapes of animals, animal paws, vehicles, cartoon characters, etc.

Not all shoes with a soft fluffy interior are slippers. Any shoe with a rubber sole and laces is a normal outdoor shoe. In India, rubber chappals (flip-flops) are worn as indoor shoes.[5]
In popular culture

The fictional character Cinderella is said to have worn glass slippers; in modern parlance, they would probably be called glass high heels. This motif was introduced in Charles Perrault's 1697 version of the fairy tale, "Cendrillon ou la petite pantoufle de verre" "Cinderella, or The Little Glass Slipper". For some years it was debated that this detail was a mistranslation and the slippers in the story were instead made of fur (French: vair), but this interpretation has since been discredited by folklorists.[6]

Derek "The Slipper Man" Fan holds the Guinness World Records record for wearing a pair of dress slippers for 23 years straight as of June 30, 2007.[7][dubious – discuss]

A pair of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz sold at Christie's in June 1988 for $165,000. The same pair was resold in May 2000 for $666,000. On both occasions they were the most expensive shoes from a film to be sold at auction.[8]

In Hawaii and many islands of The Caribbean, slippers, or "slippahs" is used for describing flip-flops.[citation needed]

The term 'house shoes' (elided into how-shuze) is common in the American South." (wikipedia.)

"Novelty (derived from Latin word novus for "new") is the quality of being new, or following from that, of being striking, original or unusual.[1] Novelty may be the shared experience of a new cultural phenomenon or the subjective perception of an individual.

From the meaning of being unusual usage is derived the concept of the novelty dance (a type of dance that is popular for being unusual or humorous); the novelty song (a musical item that capitalizes on something new, unusual, or a current fad); the novelty show (a competition or display in which exhibits or specimens are in way some novel); and novelty architecture (a building or other structure that is interesting because it has an amusing design). It is also this sense that applies to a novelty item, a small manufactured adornment, toy or collectible. These, in turn are often used as promotional merchandise in marketing.[2] The chess term, novelty, is used for a move in chess which has never been played before in a recorded game.[3]

The term can have pejorative sense and refer to a mere innovation. However, novelty in patent law is part of the legal test to determine whether an invention is patentable.[4] A novelty effect is the tendency for performance to initially improve when new technology is instituted." (wikipedia.)

"Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience and subculture that aims to prove the existence of entities from the folklore record, such as Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster, Yeti, the chupacabra, the Jersey Devil, or the Mokele-mbembe. Cryptozoologists refer to these entities as cryptids, a term coined by the subculture. Because it does not follow the scientific method, cryptozoology is considered a pseudoscience by mainstream science: it is neither a branch of zoology nor folklore studies. It was originally founded in the 1950s by zoologists Bernard Heuvelmans and Ivan T. Sanderson.

Scholars have noted that the subculture rejected mainstream approaches from an early date, and that adherents often express hostility to mainstream science. Scholars have studied cryptozoologists and their influence (including the pseudoscience's association with Young Earth creationism), noted parallels in cryptozoology and other pseudosciences such as ghost hunting and ufology, and highlighted uncritical media propagation of cryptozoologist claims....

Terminology, history, and approach

As a field, cryptozoology originates from the works of Bernard Heuvelmans, a Belgian zoologist, and Ivan T. Sanderson, a Scottish zoologist. Notably, Heuvelmans published On the Track of Unknown Animals (French Sur la Piste des Bêtes Ignorées) in 1955, a landmark work among cryptozoologists that was followed by numerous other like works. Similarly, Sanderson published a series of books that assisted in developing hallmarks of cryptozoology, including Abominable Snowmen: Legend Come to Life (1961).[1][2]

The term cryptozoology dates from 1959 or before – Heuvelmans attributes the coinage of the term cryptozoology 'the study of hidden animals' (from Ancient Greek: κρυπτός, kryptós "hidden, secret"; Ancient Greek ζῷον, zōion "animal", and λόγος, logos, i.e. "knowledge, study") to Sanderson.[1][3] Patterned after cryptozoology, the term cryptid was coined in 1983 by cryptozoologist J. E. Wall in the summer issue of the International Society of Cryptozoology newsletter.[4] According to Wall "[It has been] suggested that new terms be coined to replace sensational and often misleading terms like 'monster'. My suggestion is 'cryptid', meaning a living thing having the quality of being hidden or unknown ... describing those creatures which are (or may be) subjects of cryptozoological investigation."[5] The Oxford English Dictionary defines the noun cryptid as "an animal whose existence or survival to the present day is disputed or unsubstantiated; any animal of interest to a cryptozoologist".[6] While used by most cryptozoologists, the term cryptid is not used by academic zoologists.[7] In a textbook aimed at undergraduates, academics Caleb W. Lack and Jacques Rousseau note that the subculture's focus on what it deems to be "cryptids" is a pseudoscientic extension of older belief in monsters and other similar entities from the folklore record, yet with a "new, more scientific-sounding name: cryptids".[8]

While biologists regularly identify new species, cryptozoologists often focus on creatures from the folklore record. Most famously, these include the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, the chupacabra, as well as other "imposing beasts that could be labeled as monsters". In their search for these entities, cryptozoologists may employ devices such as motion-sensitive cameras, night-vision equipment, and audio-recording equipment. While there have been attempts to codify cryptozoological approaches, unlike biologists, zoologists, botanists, and other academic disciplines, however, "there are no accepted, uniform, or successful methods for pursuing cryptids".[1] Some scholars have identified precursors to modern cryptozoology in certain medieval approaches to the folklore record, and the psychology behind the cryptozoology approach has been the subject of academic study.[1]

Few cryptozoologists have a formal science education, and fewer still have a science background directly relevant to cryptozoology. Adherents often misrepresent the academic backgrounds of cryptozoologists. According to writer Daniel Loxton and paleontologist Donald Prothero, "Cryptozoologists have often promoted 'Professor Roy Mackal, PhD.' as one of their leading figures and one of the few with a legitimate doctorate in biology. What is rarely mentioned, however, is that he had no training that would qualify him to undertake competent research on exotic animals. This raises the specter of 'credential mongering', by which an individual or organization feints a person's graduate degree as proof of expertise, even though his or her training is not specifically relevant to the field under consideration." Besides Heuvalmans, Sanderson, and Mackal, other notable cryptozoologists with academic backgrounds include Grover Krantz, Karl Shuker, and Richard Greenwell.[9]

Historically, notable cryptozoologists have often identified instances featuring "irrefutable evidence" (such as Sanderson and Krantz), only for the evidence to be revealed as the product of a hoax. This may occur during a closer examination by experts or upon confession of the hoaxer.[10]
Young Earth creationism

A subset of cryptozoology promotes the pseudoscience of Young Earth creationism, rejecting conventional science in favor of a Biblical interpretation and promoting concepts such as "living dinosaurs". Science writer Sharon A. Hill observes that the Young Earth creationist segment of cryptozoology is "well-funded and able to conduct expeditions with a goal of finding a living dinosaur that they think would invalidate evolution."[11] Anthropologist Jeb J. Card says that "Creationists have embraced cryptozoology and some cryptozoological expeditions are funded by and conducted by creationists hoping to disprove evolution."[12] In a 2013 interview, paleontologist Donald Prothero notes an uptick in creationist cryptozoologists. He observes that "[p]eople who actively search for Loch Ness monsters or Mokele Mbembe do it entirely as creationist ministers. They think that if they found a dinosaur in the Congo it would overturn all of evolution. It wouldn't. It would just be a late-occurring dinosaur, but that's their mistaken notion of evolution."[13]

Citing a 2013 exhibit at the Petersburg, Kentucky-based Creation Museum, which claimed that dragons were once biological creatures who walked the earth alongside humanity and is broadly dedicated to Young Earth creationism, religious studies academic Justin Mullis notes that "Cryptozoology has a long and curious history with Young Earth Creationism, with this new exhibit being just one of the most recent examples".[14] Academic Paul Thomas analyzes the influence and connections between cryptoozology in his 2020 study of the Creation Museum and the creationist theme park Ark Encounter. Thomas comments that, "while the Creation Museum and the Ark Encounter are flirting with pseudoarchaeology, coquettishly whispering pseudoarchaeological rhetoric, they are each fully in bed with cryptozoology" and observes that "Young-earth creationists and cryptozoologists make natural bed fellows. As with pseudoarchaeology, both young-earth creationists and cryptozoologists bristle at the rejection of mainstream secular science and lament a seeming conspiracy to prevent serious consideration of their claims."[15]
Lack of critical media coverage

Media outlets have often uncritically disseminated information from cryptozoologist sources, including newspapers that repeat false claims made by cryptozoologists or television shows that feature cryptozoologists as monster hunters (such as the popular and purportedly nonfiction American television show MonsterQuest, which aired from 2007 to 2010). Media coverage of purported "cryptids" often fails to provide more likely explanations, further propagating claims made by cryptozoologists.[16]
Reception and pseudoscience

There is a broad consensus among academics that cryptozoology is a pseudoscience.[17][18][19][20][21][22][23] The subculture is regularly criticized for reliance on anecdotal information[24] and because in the course of investigating animals that most scientists believe are unlikely to have existed, cryptozoologists do not follow the scientific method.[25] No academic course of study nor university degree program grants the status of cryptozoologist and the subculture is primarily the domain of individuals without training in the natural sciences.[26][27][28]

Anthropologist Jeb J. Card summarizes cryptozoology in a survey of pseudoscience and pseudoarchaeology:

    Cryptozoology purports to be the study of previously unidentified animal species. At first glance, this would seem to differ little from zoology. New species are discovered by field and museum zoologists every year. Cryptozoologists cite these discoveries as justification of their search but often minimize or omit the fact that the discoverers do not identify as cryptozoologists and are academically trained zoologists working in an ecological paradigm rather than organizing expeditions to seek out supposed examples of unusual and large creatures.[29]

Card notes that "cryptozoologists often show their disdain and even hatred for professional scientists, including those who enthusiastically participated in cryptozoology", which he traces back to Heuvelmans's early "rage against critics of cryptozoology". He finds parallels with cryptozoology and other pseudosciences, such as ghost hunting and ufology, and compares the approach of cryptozoologists to colonial big-game hunters, and to aspects of European imperialism. According to Card, "Most cryptids are framed as the subject of indigenous legends typically collected in the heyday of comparative folklore, though such legends may be heavily modified or worse. Cryptozoology's complicated mix of sympathy, interest, and appropriation of indigenous culture (or non-indigenous construction of it) is also found in New Age circles and dubious "Indian burial grounds" and other legends...invoked in hauntings such as the "Amityville" hoax ...".[30]

In a 2011 foreword for The American Biology Teacher, then National Association of Biology Teachers president Dan Ward uses cryptozoology as an example of "technological pseudoscience" that may confuse students about the scientific method. Ward says that "Cryptozoology ... is not valid science or even science at all. It is monster hunting."[31] Historian of science Brian Regal includes an entry for cryptozoology in his Pseudoscience: A Critical Encyclopedia (2009). Regal says that "as an intellectual endeavor, cryptozoology has been studied as much as cryptozoologists have sought hidden animals".[32]

In a 1992 issue of Folklore, folklorist Véronique Campion-Vincent says:

        Unexplained appearances of mystery animals are reported all over the world today. Beliefs in the existence of fabulous and supernatural animals are ubiquitous and timeless. In the continents discovered by Europe indigenous beliefs and tales have strongly influenced the perceptions of the conquered confronted by a new natural environment. In parallel with the growing importance of the scientific approach, these traditional mythical tales have been endowed with sometimes highly artificial precision and have given birth to contemporary legends solidly entrenched in their territories. The belief self-perpetuates today through multiple observations enhanced by the media and encouraged (largely with the aim of gain for touristic promotion) by the local population, often genuinely convinced of the reality of this profitable phenomenon."[33]

Campion-Vincent says that "four currents can be distinguished in the study of mysterious animal appearances": "Forteans" ("compiler[s] of anomalies" such as via publications like the Fortean Times), "occultists" (which she describes as related to "Forteans"), "folklorists", and "cryptozoologists". Regarding cryptozoologists, Campion-Vincent says that "this movement seems to deserve the appellation of parascience, like parapsychology: the same corpus is reviewed; many scientists participate, but for those who have an official status of university professor or researcher, the participation is a private hobby".[33]

In her Encyclopedia of American Folklore, academic Linda Watts says that "folklore concerning unreal animals or beings, sometimes called monsters, is a popular field of inquiry" and describes cryptozoology as an example of "American narrative traditions" that "feature many monsters".[34]

In his analysis of cryptozoology, folklorist Peter Dendle says that "cryptozoology devotees consciously position themselves in defiance of mainstream science" and that:

        The psychological significance of cryptozoology in the modern world...serves to channel guilt over the decimation of species and destruction of the natural habitat; to recapture a sense of mysticism and danger in a world now perceived as fully charted and over-explored; and to articulate resentment of and defiance against a scientific community perceived as monopolising the pool of culturally acceptable beliefs.[35]

In a paper published in 2013, Dendle refers to cryptozoologists as "contemporary monster hunters" that "keep alive a sense of wonder in a world that has been very thoroughly charted, mapped, and tracked, and that is largely available for close scrutiny on Google Earth and satellite imaging" and that "on the whole the devotion of substantial resources for this pursuit betrays a lack of awareness of the basis for scholarly consensus (largely ignoring, for instance, evidence of evolutionary biology and the fossil record)."[36]

According to historian Mike Dash, few scientists doubt there are thousands of unknown animals, particularly invertebrates, awaiting discovery; however, cryptozoologists are largely uninterested in researching and cataloging newly discovered species of ants or beetles, instead focusing their efforts towards "more elusive" creatures that have often defied decades of work aimed at confirming their existence.[25]

Paleontologist George Gaylord Simpson (1984) lists cryptozoology among examples of human gullibility, along with creationism:

        Humans are the most inventive, deceptive, and gullible of all animals. Only those characteristics can explain the belief of some humans in creationism, in the arrival of UFOs with extraterrestrial beings, or in some aspects of cryptozoology. ...In several respects the discussion and practice of cryptozoology sometimes, although not invariably, has demonstrated both deception and gullibility. An example seems to merit the old Latin saying 'I believe because it is incredible,' although Tertullian, its author, applied it in a way more applicable to the present day creationists.[37]

Paleontologist Donald Prothero (2007) cites cryptozoology as an example of pseudoscience and categorizes it, along with Holocaust denial and UFO abductions claims, as aspects of American culture that are "clearly baloney".[38]

In Scientifical Americans: The Culture of Amateur Paranormal Researchers (2017), Hill surveys the field and discusses aspects of the subculture, noting internal attempts at creating more scientific approaches and the involvement of Young Earth creationists and a prevalence of hoaxes. She concludes that many cryptozoologists are "passionate and sincere in their belief that mystery animals exist. As such, they give deference to every report of a sighting, often without critical questioning. As with the ghost seekers, cryptozoologists are convinced that they will be the ones to solve the mystery and make history. With the lure of mystery and money undermining diligent and ethical research, the field of cryptozoology has serious credibility problems."[39]
Organizations

There have been several organizations, of varying types, dedicated or related to cryptozoology. These include:
   
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (May 2018)

    International Fortean Organization – a network of professional Fortean researchers and writers based in the United States
    International Society of Cryptozoology – an American organisation that existed from 1982 to 1998
    Kosmopoisk – a Russian organisation whose interests include cryptozoology and Ufology

Museums and exhibitions

The zoological and cryptozoological collection and archive of Bernard Heuvelmans is held at the Musée Cantonal de Zoologie in Lausanne and consists of around "1,000 books, 25,000 files, 25,000 photographs, correspondence, and artifacts".[40]: 19 

In 2006, the Bates College Museum of Art held the "Cryptozoology: Out of Time Place Scale" exhibition, which compared cryptozoological creatures with recently extinct animals like the thylacine and extant taxa like the coelacanth, once thought long extinct (living fossils). The following year, the American Museum of Natural History put on a mixed exhibition of imaginary and extinct animals, including the elephant bird Aepyornis maximus and the great ape Gigantopithecus blacki, under the name "Mythic Creatures: Dragons, Unicorns and Mermaids"." (wikipedia.)

"A hoax is a falsehood deliberately fabricated to masquerade as the truth. It is distinguishable from errors in observation or judgment,[1] rumors, urban legends, pseudosciences, and April Fools' Day events that are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes....

History
See also: History of propaganda

Zhang Yingyu's The Book of Swindles (c. 1617), published during the late Ming dynasty, is said to be China's first collection of stories about fraud, swindles, hoaxes, and other forms of deception.[3] Although practical jokes have likely existed for thousands of years, one of the earliest recorded hoaxes in Western history was the drummer of Tedworth in 1661.[4] The communication of hoaxes can be accomplished in almost any manner that a fictional story can be communicated: in person, via word of mouth, via words printed on paper, and so on. As communications technology has advanced, the speed at which hoaxes spread has also advanced: a rumor about a ghostly drummer, spread by word of mouth, will impact a relatively small area at first, then grow gradually. However, hoaxes could also be spread via chain letters, which became easier as the cost of mailing a letter dropped. The invention of the printing press in the 15th century brought down the cost of a mass-produced books and pamphlets, and the rotary printing press of the 19th century reduced the price even further (see yellow journalism). During the 20th century, the hoax found a mass market in the form of supermarket tabloids, and by the 21st century there were fake news websites which spread hoaxes via social networking websites (in addition to the use of email for a modern type of chain letter).
Etymology

The English philologist Robert Nares (1753–1829) says that the word hoax was coined in the late 18th century as a contraction of the verb hocus, which means "to cheat," "to impose upon"[5] or (according to Merriam-Webster) "to befuddle often with drugged liquor."[6] Hocus is a shortening of the magic incantation hocus pocus,[6] whose origin is disputed.[7][better source needed]
Definition
Thomas Ady's A candle in the dark ... (1656) contains one of the earliest mentions of hocus pocus, the origin of the word hoax.[8]

Robert Nares defined the word hoax as meaning "to cheat," dating from Thomas Ady's 1656 book A candle in the dark, or a treatise on the nature of witches and witchcraft.[8]

The term hoax is occasionally used in reference to urban legends and rumors, but the folklorist Jan Harold Brunvand argues that most of them lack evidence of deliberate creations of falsehood and are passed along in good faith by believers or as jokes, so the term should be used for only those with a probable conscious attempt to deceive.[2] As for the closely related terms practical joke and prank, Brunvand states that although there are instances where they overlap, hoax tends to indicate "relatively complex and large-scale fabrications" and includes deceptions that go beyond the merely playful and "cause material loss or harm to the victim."[9]

According to Professor Lynda Walsh of the University of Nevada, Reno, some hoaxes—such as the Great Stock Exchange Fraud of 1814, labeled as a hoax by contemporary commentators—are financial in nature, and successful hoaxers—such as P. T. Barnum, whose Fiji mermaid contributed to his wealth—often acquire monetary gain or fame through their fabrications, so the distinction between hoax and fraud is not necessarily clear.[10] Alex Boese, the creator of the Museum of Hoaxes, states that the only distinction between them is the reaction of the public, because a fraud can be classified as a hoax when its method of acquiring financial gain creates a broad public impact or captures the imagination of the masses.[11]

One of the earliest recorded media hoaxes is a fake almanac published by Jonathan Swift under the pseudonym of Isaac Bickerstaff in 1708.[12] Swift predicted the death of John Partridge, one of the leading astrologers in England at that time, in the almanac and later issued an elegy on the day Partridge was supposed to have died. Partridge's reputation was damaged as a result and his astrological almanac was not published for the next six years.[12]

It is possible to perpetrate a hoax by making only true statements using unfamiliar wording or context, such as in the Dihydrogen monoxide hoax. Political hoaxes are sometimes motivated by the desire to ridicule or besmirch opposing politicians or political institutions, often before elections.

A hoax differs from a magic trick or from fiction (books, film, theatre, radio, television, etc.) in that the audience is unaware of being deceived, whereas in watching a magician perform an illusion the audience expects to be tricked.

A hoax is often intended as a practical joke or to cause embarrassment, or to provoke social or political change by raising people's awareness of something. It can also emerge from a marketing or advertising purpose. For example, to market a romantic comedy film, a director staged a phony "incident" during a supposed wedding, which showed a bride and preacher getting knocked into a pool by a clumsy fall from a best man.[13] A resulting video clip of Chloe and Keith's Wedding was uploaded to YouTube and was viewed by over 30 million people and the couple was interviewed by numerous talk shows.[13] Viewers were deluded into thinking that it was an authentic clip of a real accident at a real wedding; but a story in USA Today in 2009 revealed it was a hoax.[13]
Great Moon Hoax

Governments sometimes spread false information to facilitate their objectives, such as going to war. These often come under the heading of black propaganda. There is often a mixture of outright hoax and suppression and management of information to give the desired impression. In wartime and times of international tension rumors abound, some of which may be deliberate hoaxes.

Examples of politics-related hoaxes:

    Belgium is a country with a Flemish-speaking region and a French-speaking region. In 2006, French-speaking television channel RTBF interrupted programming with a spoof report claiming that the country had split in two and the royal family had fled.
    On 13 March 2010, the Imedi television station in Georgia broadcast a false announcement that Russia had invaded Georgia.[14]

Psychologist Peter Hancock has identified six steps which characterise a truly successful hoax:[15]

    Identify a constituency—a person or group of people who, for reasons such as piety or patriotism, or greed, will truly care about your creation.
    Identify a particular dream which will make your hoax appeal to your constituency.
    Create an appealing but "under-specified" hoax, with ambiguities
    Have your creation discovered.
    Find at least one champion who will actively support your hoax.
    Make people care, either positively or negatively—the ambiguities encourage interest and debate

Types
Graphic showing differences between misinformation, disinformation, and hoax, presented for Wikimedia Research (2015)

Hoaxes vary widely in their processes of creation, propagation, and entrenchment over time. Examples include:

    Academic hoaxes
        The Sokal affair
        The Grievance studies affair
    Art-world hoaxes:
        The "Bruno Hat" art hoax, arranged in London in July 1929, involved staging a convincing public exhibition of paintings by an imaginary reclusive artist, Bruno Hat. All the perpetrators were well-educated and did not intend a fraud, as the newspapers were informed the next day. Those involved included Brian Howard, Evelyn Waugh, Bryan Guinness, John Banting and Tom Mitford.[16]
        Nat Tate: An American Artist 1928-1960: a 1998 art world hoax, by William Boyd
        Disumbrationism: a modern art hoax
        Pierre Brassau: exposing art critics to "modern paintings" made by a chimpanzee
        Spectra: A Book of Poetic Experiments: a modernist poetry hoax
        Ern Malley, the popular but fictitious Australian poet.
    Apocryphal claims that originate as a hoax gain widespread belief among members of a culture or organization, become entrenched as persons who believe it repeat it in good faith to others, and continue to command that belief after the hoax's originators have died or departed
    Computer virus hoaxes became widespread as viruses themselves began to spread. A typical hoax is an email message warning recipients of a non-existent threat, usually forging quotes supposedly from authorities such as Microsoft and IBM. In most cases the payload is an exhortation to distribute the message to everyone in the recipient's address book. Thus the e-mail "warning" is itself the "virus." Sometimes the hoax is more harmful, e.g., telling the recipient to seek a particular file (usually in a Microsoft Windows operating system); if the file is found, the computer is deemed to be infected unless it is deleted. In reality the file is one required by the operating system for correct functioning of the computer.
    Criminal Hoaxing, such as the case of John Samuel Humble, aka Wearside Jack. Criminal hoaxing diverts time and money of police investigations with communications purporting to come from the actual criminal. Once caught, hoaxers are charged under criminal codes such as Perverting the course of justice
    Factoids
    Hoaxes formed by making minor or gradually increasing changes to a warning or other claim widely circulated for legitimate purposes
    Hoax of exposure is a semi-comical or private sting operation. It usually encourages people to act foolishly or credulously by falling for patent nonsense that the hoaxer deliberately presents as reality. A related activity is culture jamming.
    Hoax news
    Hoaxes perpetrated by "scare tactics" appealing to the audience's subjectively rational belief that the expected cost of not believing the hoax (the cost if its assertions are true times the likelihood of their truth) outweighs the expected cost of believing the hoax (cost if false times likelihood of falsity), such as claims that a non-malicious but unfamiliar program on one's computer is malware
    Hoaxes perpetrated on occasions when their initiation is considered socially appropriate, such as April Fools' Day
    Humbugs
    Internet hoaxes became more common after the start of social media. Some websites have been used to hoax millions of people on the Web[17]
    Paleoanthropological hoaxes, anthropologists were taken in by the "Piltdown Man discovery" that was widely believed from 1913 to 1953
    Religious hoaxes
    UFO hoaxes
    Urban legends and rumors with a probable conscious attempt to deceive[2]

Hoax news
Main article: Fake news

Hoax news (also referred to as fake news[18][19]) is a news containing facts that are either inaccurate or false but which are presented as genuine.[20] A hoax news conveys a half-truth used deliberately to mislead the public.[21]

Hoax may serve the goal of propaganda or disinformation — using social media to drive web traffic and amplify their effect.[22][23][24] Unlike news satire, fake news websites seek to mislead, rather than entertain, readers for financial or political gain.[25][23]

Hoax news is usually released with the intention of misleading to injure an organization, individual, or person, and/or benefit financially or politically, sometimes utilizing sensationalist, deceptive, or simply invented headlines to maximize readership. Likewise, clickbait reports and articles from this operation gain advertisement revenue." (wikipedia.)

"A sound effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media. Traditionally, in the twentieth century, they were created with foley. In motion picture and television production, a sound effect is a sound recorded and presented to make a specific storytelling or creative point without the use of dialogue or music. The term often refers to a process applied to a recording, without necessarily referring to the recording itself. In professional motion picture and television production, dialogue, music, and sound effects recordings are treated as separate elements. Dialogue and music recordings are never referred to as sound effects, even though the processes applied to such as reverberation or flanging effects, often are called "sound effects".

This area and sound design have been slowly merged since the late-twentieth century....

History
A live rooster in the Yle recording studio in 1930s Finland

The term sound effect ranges back to the early days of radio. In its Year Book 1931 the BBC published a major article about "The Use of Sound Effects". It considers sounds effect deeply linked with broadcasting and states: "It would be a great mistake to think of them as anologous to punctuation marks and accents in print. They should never be inserted into a programme already existing. The author of a broadcast play or broadcast construction ought to have used Sound Effects as bricks with which to build, treating them as of equal value with speech and music." It lists six "totally different primary genres of Sound Effect":

        Realistic, confirmatory effect
        Realistic, evocative effect
        Symbolic, evocative effect
        Conventionalised effect
        Impressionistic effect
        Music as an effect

According to the author, "It is axiomatic that every Sound Effect, to whatever category it belongs, must register in the listener's mind instantaneously. If it fails to do so its presence could not be justified."[1]
Film

In the context of motion pictures and television, sound effects refers to an entire hierarchy of sound elements, whose production encompasses many different disciplines, including:

    Hard sound effects are common sounds that appear on screen, such as door alarms, weapons firing, and cars driving by.
    Background (or BG) sound effects are sounds that do not explicitly synchronize with the picture, but indicate setting to the audience, such as forest sounds, the buzzing of fluorescent lights, and car interiors. The sound of people talking in the background is also considered a "BG," but only if the speaker is unintelligible and the language is unrecognizable (this is known as walla). These background noises are also called ambience or atmos ("atmosphere").
    Foley sound effects are sounds that synchronize on screen, and require the expertise of a foley artist to record properly. Footsteps, the movement of hand props (e.g., a tea cup and saucer), and the rustling of cloth are common foley units.
    Design sound effects are sounds that do not normally occur in nature, or are impossible to record in nature. These sounds are used to suggest futuristic technology in a science fiction film, or are used in a musical fashion to create an emotional mood.

Each of these sound effect categories is specialized, with sound editors known as specialists in an area of sound effects (e.g. a "Car cutter" or "Guns cutter").

Foley is another method of adding sound effects. Foley is more of a technique for creating sound effects than a type of sound effect, but it is often used for creating the incidental real world sounds that are very specific to what is going on onscreen, such as footsteps. With this technique the action onscreen is essentially recreated to try to match it as closely as possible. If done correctly it is very hard for audiences to tell what sounds were added and what sounds were originally recorded (location sound).

In the early days of film and radio, foley artists would add sounds in realtime or pre-recorded sound effects would be played back from analogue discs in realtime (while watching the picture). Today, with effects held in digital format, it is easy to create any required sequence to be played in any desired timeline.

In the days of silent film, sound effects were added by the operator of a theater organ or photoplayer, both of which also supplied the soundtrack of the film. Theater organ sound effects are usually electric or electro-pneumatic, and activated by a button pressed with the hand or foot. Photoplayer operators activate sound effects either by flipping switches on the machine or pulling "cow-tail" pull-strings, which hang above. Sounds like bells and drums are made mechanically, sirens and horns electronically. Due to its smaller size, a photoplayer usually has fewer special effects than a theater organ, or less complex ones.
Video games

The principles involved with modern video game sound effects (since the introduction of sample playback) are essentially the same as those of motion pictures. Typically a game project requires two jobs to be completed: sounds must be recorded or selected from a library and a sound engine must be programmed so that those sounds can be incorporated into the game's interactive environment.

In earlier computers and video game systems, sound effects were typically produced using sound synthesis. In modern systems, the increases in storage capacity and playback quality has allowed sampled sound to be used. The modern systems also frequently utilize positional audio, often with hardware acceleration, and real-time audio post-processing, which can also be tied to the 3D graphics development. Based on the internal state of the game, multiple different calculations can be made. This will allow for, for example, realistic sound dampening, echoes and doppler effect.

Historically the simplicity of game environments reduced the required number of sounds needed, and thus only one or two people were directly responsible for the sound recording and design. As the video game business has grown and computer sound reproduction quality has increased, however, the team of sound designers dedicated to game projects has likewise grown and the demands placed on them may now approach those of mid-budget motion pictures.
Music

Some pieces of music use sound effects that are made by a musical instrument or by other means. An early example is the 18th century Toy Symphony. Richard Wagner in the opera Das Rheingold (1869) lets a choir of anvils introduce the scene of the dwarfs who have to work in the mines, similar to the introduction of the dwarfs in the 1937 Disney movie Snow White. Klaus Doldingers soundtrack for the 1981 movie Das Boot includes a title score with a sonar sound to reflect the U-boat setting. John Barry integrated into the title song of Moonraker (1979) a sound representing the beep of a Sputnik like satellite.
Recording
A man recording the sound of a saw in the 1930s

The most realistic sound effects may originate from original sources; the closest sound to machine-gun fire could be an original recording of actual machine guns.

Despite this, real life and actual practice do not always coincide with theory. When recordings of real life do not sound realistic on playback, Foley and f/x are used to create more convincing sounds. For example, the realistic sound of bacon frying can be the crumpling of cellophane, while rain may be recorded as salt falling on a piece of tinfoil.

Less realistic sound effects are digitally synthesized or sampled and sequenced (the same recording played repeatedly using a sequencer). When the producer or content creator demands high-fidelity sound effects, the sound editor usually must augment his available library with new sound effects recorded in the field.

When the required sound effect is of a small subject, such as scissors cutting, cloth ripping, or footsteps, the sound effect is best recorded in a studio, under controlled conditions in a process known as foley. Many sound effects cannot be recorded in a studio, such as explosions, gunfire, and automobile or aircraft maneuvers. These effects must be recorded by a professional audio engineer.

When such "big" sounds are required, the recordist will begin contacting professionals or technicians in the same way a producer may arrange a crew; if the recordist needs an explosion, he may contact a demolition company to see if any buildings are scheduled to be destroyed with explosives in the near future. If the recordist requires a volley of cannon fire, he may contact historical re-enactors or gun enthusiasts.

Depending on the effect, recordists may use several DAT, hard disk, or Nagra recorders and a large number of microphones. During a cannon- and musket-fire recording session for the 2003 film The Alamo, conducted by Jon Johnson and Charles Maynes, two to three DAT machines were used. One machine was stationed near the cannon itself, so it could record the actual firing. Another was stationed several hundred yards away, below the trajectory of the ball, to record the sound of the cannonball passing by. When the crew recorded musket-fire, a set of microphones were arrayed close to the target (in this case a swine carcass) to record the musket-ball impacts.

A counter-example is the common technique for recording an automobile. For recording "Onboard" car sounds (which include the car interiors), a three-microphone technique is common. Two microphones record the engine directly: one is taped to the underside of the hood, near the engine block. The second microphone is covered in a wind screen and tightly attached to the rear bumper, within an inch or so of the tail pipe. The third microphone, which is often a stereo microphone, is stationed inside the car to get the car interior.

Having all of these tracks at once gives a sound designer or audio engineer a great deal of control over how he wants the car to sound. In order to make the car more ominous or low, he can mix in more of the tailpipe recording; if he wants the car to sound like it is running full throttle, he can mix in more of the engine recording and reduce the interior perspective. In cartoons, a pencil being dragged down a washboard may be used to simulate the sound of a sputtering engine.

What is considered today to be the first recorded sound effect was of Big Ben striking 10:30, 10:45, and 11:00. It was recorded on a brown wax cylinder by technicians at Edison House in London on July 16, 1890. This recording is currently in the public domain.
Processing effects

As the car example demonstrates, the ability to make multiple simultaneous recordings of the same subject—through the use of several DAT or multitrack recorders—has made sound recording into a sophisticated craft. The sound effect can be shaped by the sound editor or sound designer, not just for realism, but for emotional effect.

Once the sound effects are recorded or captured, they are usually loaded into a computer integrated with an audio non-linear editing system. This allows a sound editor or sound designer to heavily manipulate a sound to meet his or her needs.

The most common sound design tool is the use of layering to create a new, interesting sound out of two or three old, average sounds. For example, the sound of a bullet impact into a pig carcass may be mixed with the sound of a melon being gouged to add to the "stickiness" or "gore" of the effect. If the effect is featured in a close-up, the designer may also add an "impact sweetener" from his or her library. The sweetener may simply be the sound of a hammer pounding hardwood, equalized so that only the low-end can be heard. The low end gives the three sounds together added weight, so that the audience actually "feels" the weight of the bullet hit the victim.

If the victim is the villain, and his death is climactic, the sound designer may add reverb to the impact, in order to enhance the dramatic beat. And then, as the victim falls over in slow motion, the sound editor may add the sound of a broom whooshing by a microphone, pitch-shifted down and time-expanded to further emphasize the death. If the film is science-fiction, the designer may phaser the "whoosh" to give it a more sci-fi feel. (For a list of many sound effects processes available to a sound designer, see the bottom of this article.)
Aesthetics

When creating sound effects for films, sound recordists and editors do not generally concern themselves with the verisimilitude or accuracy of the sounds they present. The sound of a bullet entering a person from a close distance may sound nothing like the sound designed in the above example, but since very few people are aware of how such a thing actually sounds, the job of designing the effect is mainly an issue of creating a conjectural sound which feeds the audience's expectations while still suspending disbelief.

In the previous example, the phased 'whoosh' of the victim's fall has no analogue in real life experience, but it is emotionally immediate. If a sound editor uses such sounds in the context of emotional climax or a character's subjective experience, they can add to the drama of a situation in a way visuals simply cannot. If a visual effects artist were to do something similar to the 'whooshing fall' example, it would probably look ridiculous or at least excessively melodramatic.

The "Conjectural Sound" principle applies even to happenstance sounds, such as tires squealing, doorknobs turning or people walking. If the sound editor wants to communicate that a driver is in a hurry to leave, he will cut the sound of tires squealing when the car accelerates from a stop; even if the car is on a dirt road, the effect will work if the audience is dramatically engaged. If a character is afraid of someone on the other side of a door, the turning of the doorknob can take a second or more, and the mechanism of the knob can possess dozens of clicking parts. A skillful Foley artist can make someone walking calmly across the screen seem terrified simply by giving the actor a different gait." (wikipedia.)

"A stock sound effect is a prerecorded sound effect intended to be reused with an entertainment product, as opposed to creating a new and unique sound effect. It is intended to work within a sound effect library....

History

As far back as Ancient Greece, sound effects have been used in entertainment productions. Sound effects (also known as sound FX, SFX, or simply FX) are used to enhance theatre, radio, film, television, video games and online media.

Sound effects were originally added to productions by creating the sounds needed in real-time. Various devices and props were utilized to approximate the actual sounds, including coconut shells for horse hooves, and a sheet of metal for thunder. With the advent of radio and specifically radio dramas, the role of sound effects became more important. When cinema went from silent to "talkies", sound effects became a large part of this new medium, too.

Audio recording technology continued to evolve, making it easier to record and replay sound. As this happened, the more commonly used and harder-to-replicate sound effects were pre-recorded to make them more accessible. Prerecording also allowed the same sound effect to be used many times.

Both producers' and listeners' sensibilities began evolving with the technology, and the need for more realistic sound effects or for using the "real" sound increased. Therefore, a more urgent need developed for prerecorded sound effects.

Over time, the quality of audio recording and playback increased, as did the demand for a wider variety of highly specific sounds. For example, rather than use a generic gunshot, a producer might request a gunshot from a specific type of gun, shot under precise conditions. Access to "real" sound effects became increasingly important to producers.

These collections of prerecorded sound effects, both real and artificial, began to be referred to as stock sound effects and were organized into libraries. As their usage increased, stock sound effects libraries became the valuable assets of sound design artists and production companies. Some stock sound effects have been reused so many times that they have become easily recognizable and even cliché. Examples of these include the scream of a red-tailed hawk, castle thunder, or the Wilhelm and Howie screams.

Many of the original sound effects libraries originated from film and television studios that employed the artists who created them, such as Warner Bros. and Hanna-Barbera. Over time, independent companies such as Sound Ideas and Hollywood Edge became involved, both distributing the major studios' libraries as well as making their own available to the public.

The internet ushered in a new generation of technology, entertainment media, and sound effects libraries. Sounddogs became the first to distribute sound effects libraries over the internet and Soundrangers became the first to create an all-new sound effects library for internet-based entertainment. Dozens of other websites now provide stock sounds for movies, video games, and software. Others such as Freesound aim to provide free sound effects under the public domain.

Over the years, with the evolution of sound recording technology and new formats, the format used for sound effects libraries also evolved. Sound libraries are now available on many types of media, including vinyl records, reel-to-reel tape, cassette tapes, compact discs, hard drives and via the internet. Sound effects libraries now include more complex, layered, and mixed sounds along with a wider variety of incidental real-world sounds." (wikipedia.)

"A novelty item is an object which is specifically designed to serve no practical purpose, and is sold for its uniqueness, humor, or simply as something new (hence "novelty", or newness). The term also applies to practical items with fanciful or nonfunctional additions, such as novelty aprons, slippers, or toilet paper. The term is normally applied to small objects, and is generally not used to describe larger items such as roadside attractions. Items may have an advertising or promotional purpose, or be a souvenir....

Usage

This term covers a range of small manufactured goods, such as collectables, gadgets and executive toys. Novelty items are generally devices that do not primarily have a practical function. Toys for adults are often classed as novelties. Some products have a brief period as a novelty item when they are actually new, only to become an established, commonly used product, such as the Hula Hoop or the Frisbee.

Others may have an educational element, such as a Crookes radiometer, Newton's cradle, or drinking bird... Some food products may be considered novelty items, especially when first introduced, such as deep-fried Mars bars.

History
Pet rocks with googly eyes, popularized during the 1970s
A 3D printed Penrose triangle
Humorous novelty signs

The French mathematician and astronomer Pierre Hérigone (1580–1643) describes a novelty item that was a camera obscura in the form of a goblet. Hérigone's device was constructed so that the user could spy on others while taking a drink. Its 45-degree mirror had a stylized opening for the lens and the lid bore a magnifying lens at the top.

Lenticular printing was developed in the 1940s, and is used extensively in the production of novelty items. Paper clothing, which has some practical purpose, was briefly novel in the United States in the 1960s.

One of the more popular novelty items in recent history was the singing Big Mouth Billy Bass, manufactured by Gemmy Industries. It is estimated that over 20 million original pieces were sold in 12 months during 2000 and 2001.

Novelty items based on mathematical objects, such as Klein bottles and Penrose triangles, have been manufactured. Models of Möbius strips are sometimes made in place of regular bands, such as rings.
List of novelty items

    Big Mouth Billy Bass
    Bobblehead
    Bubble pipe
    BunaB
    Chattering teeth
    Cheesehead
    Chinese finger trap
    Crookes radiometer
    Deely bobber
    Drinking bird
    Dehydrated water
    Expandable water toy
    Garden gnome
    Groucho glasses
    Horse head mask
    Joy buzzer
    Kit-Cat Klock
    Lava lamp
    Magic 8-Ball
    Mexican jumping bean
    New Year's glasses
    Newton's cradle
    Novelty lighter
    Pet Rock
    Plasma globe
    Plastic flamingo
    Propeller beanie
    Radio hat, while a practical item, was a novelty when it first appeared
    Silly Putty
    Slime
    Slinky
    Snow globe
    Squirmle
    Talking clock
    Toffee hammer
    Trammel of Archimedes
    Umbrella hat
    Useless machine
    Whoopee cushion
    X-Ray specs" (wikipedia)

"Cryptids are animals or other beings that cryptozoologists believe may exist somewhere in the wild, but whose present existence is disputed or unsubstantiated by science. Cryptozoology is a pseudoscience and has been widely critiqued by scientists.[1][2][3][4] The subculture is regularly criticized for reliance on anecdotal information[5] and because in the course of investigating animals that most scientists believe are unlikely to have existed, cryptozoologists do not follow the scientific method.[6] Many scientists have criticized the plausibility of cryptids due to lack of physical evidence,[7] likely misidentifications[8] and misinterpretation of stories from folklore.[9] While biologists regularly identify new species following established scientific methodology, cryptozoologists focus on entities mentioned in the folklore record and rumor....

Hominid
See also: Wild man
Name     Other names     Description     Purported location     Depiction
Almas[13]     Abnauayu, almasty, albasty, bekk-bok,
biabin-guli, golub-yavan, gul-biavan, auli-avan,
kaptar, kra-dhun, ksy-giik, ksy-gyik, ochokochi,
mirygdy, mulen, voita, wind-man, Zana     Non-human ape or hominid     Asia/Caucasus    
Amomongo[49]     Orang Mawas, Impakta     Ape or hominid     Negros Occidental, Philippines    
Bigfoot[50]     Sasquatch     Large and hairy ape-like creature     United States and Canada    
Bukit Timah Monkey Man[51]     BTM, BTMM     Forest-dwelling hominid or other primate     Singapore    
Chatawa Monster[52][53]         Large ape-like creature     Mississippi, United States    
Chuchunya[54]         Large hominid     Russia    
Fouke Monster[55][56]     Jonesville Monster, Southern Sasquatch, Boggy Creek Monster     Hominid or other primate     Arkansas, United States    
Honey Island Swamp monster[57]     Letiche, Tainted Keitre     Hominid or other primate     Louisiana, United States    
Orang Pendek         Small hominid     Sumatra    
Nittaewo[58]     Nittevo     Small hominids     Sri Lanka    
Skunk ape[59]     Stink Ape, Myakka Ape, Myakka Skunk Ape     Primate     Florida, United States    
Yeren[60][59]     Yiren, Yeh Ren, Chinese Wildman     Primate (possible hominin)     China    
Yeti[61]     Abominable Snowman     Large and hairy human-like entity, various other descriptions     Himalayas (Asia)    
Yowie[58]         Large and hairy human-like entity, various other descriptions     Australia" (wikipedia)

"A legendary creature is a type of extraordinary or supernatural being that is described in folklore (including myths and legends) and may be featured in historical accounts before modernity, but this has not been scientifically proven.

In the classical era, monstrous creatures such as the Cyclops and the Minotaur appear in heroic tales for the protagonist to destroy. Other creatures, such as the unicorn, were claimed in accounts of natural history by various scholars of antiquity.[1][2][3] Some legendary creatures are hybrid beasts.

Some legendary creatures originated in traditional mythology and were believed to be real creatures--for example, dragons, griffins and unicorns. Others are based on real encounters or garbled accounts of travellers' tales, such as the Vegetable Lamb of Tartary, a sheeplike animal which supposedly grew tethered to the earth.[4]

Some animals, such as the gorilla, the kangaroo, the okapi, the Komodo dragon, the giant squid, and the platypus, were thought to be mythical before they were discovered by science." (wikipedia)

"Mythic humanoids are legendary, folkloric, or mythological creatures that are part human, or that resemble humans through appearance or character. Each culture has different mythical creatures that come from many different origins, and many of these creatures are humanoids. They are often able to talk and in many stories they guide the hero on their journey." (wikipedia)

"The Yeti (/ˈjɛti/)[2] is an ape-like creature purported to inhabit the Himalayan mountain range in Asia. In Western popular culture, the creature is commonly referred to as the Abominable Snowman. Many dubious articles have been offered in an attempt to prove the existence of the Yeti, including anecdotal visual sightings, disputed video recordings, photographs, and plaster casts of large footprints. Some of these are speculated or known to be hoaxes.

Folklorists trace the origin of the Yeti to a combination of factors, including Sherpa folklore and misidentified fauna such as bear or yak.[3] The Yeti is commonly compared to Bigfoot of North America, as the two subjects often have similar physical descriptions.[4]
Description

The Yeti is often described as being a large, bipedal ape-like creature that is covered with brown, grey, or white hair, and it is sometimes depicted as having large, sharp teeth.[5]
Etymology and alternative names
This section contains Tibetan script. Without proper rendering support, you may see very small fonts, misplaced vowels or missing conjuncts instead of Tibetan characters.

The word Yeti is derived from Tibetan: གཡའ་དྲེད་, Wylie: g.ya' dred, ZYPY: Yachê, a compound of the words Tibetan: གཡའ་, Wylie: g.ya', ZYPY: ya "rocky", "rocky place" and (Tibetan: དྲེད་, Wylie: dred, ZYPY: chê) "bear".[6][7][8][9] Pranavananda[6] states that the words "ti", "te" and "teh" are derived from the spoken word 'tre' (spelled "dred"), Tibetan for bear, with the 'r' so softly pronounced as to be almost inaudible, thus making it "te" or "teh".[6][10][11]

Tibetan lore describes three main varieties of Yetis—the Nyalmo, which has black fur and is the largest and fiercest, standing around fifteen feet tall; the Chuti, which stands around eight feet tall and lives 8,000 and 10,000 ft (2,400 and 3,000 m) above sea level; and the Rang Shim Bombo, which has reddish-brown fur and is only 3 and 5 ft (0.91 and 1.52 m) tall.[12]

Other terms used by Himalayan peoples do not translate exactly the same, but refer to legendary and indigenous wildlife:

    Michê (Tibetan: མི་དྲེད་, Wylie: mi dred, ZYPY: Michê) translates as "man-bear".[8][13]
    Dzu-teh – 'dzu' translates as "cattle" and the full meaning translates as "cattle bear", referring to the Himalayan brown bear.[7][10][14][15]
    Migoi or Mi-go (Tibetan: མི་རྒོད་, Wylie: mi rgod, ZYPY: Migö/Mirgö) translates as "wild man".[10][15]
    Bun Manchi – Nepali for "jungle man" that is used outside Sherpa communities where yeti is the common name.[16]
    Mirka – Another name for "wild-man". Local legend holds that "anyone who sees one dies or is killed". The latter is taken from a written statement by Frank Smythe's sherpas in 1937.[17]
    Kang Admi – "Snow Man".[15]
    Jungli Admi – "Wild Man".[18]
    Xueren (Chinese: 雪人) - "Snow Man"

Other names and locations

In Russian folklore, the Chuchuna is an entity said to dwell in Siberia. It has been described as six to seven feet tall and covered with dark hair.[citation needed] According to the native accounts from the nomadic Yakut and Tungus tribes, it is a well built, Neanderthal-like man wearing pelts and bearing a white patch of fur on its forearms. It is said to occasionally consume human flesh, unlike their close cousins, the Almastis. Some witnesses reported seeing a tail on the creature's corpse. It is described as being roughly six to seven feet tall.[citation needed] There are additional tales of large, reclusive, bipedal creatures worldwide, notably including both "Bigfoot" and the "Abominable Snowman."
The Abominable Snowman

The name Abominable Snowman was coined in 1921, the year Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Howard-Bury led the 1921 British Mount Everest reconnaissance expedition,[19][20] which he chronicled in Mount Everest The Reconnaissance, 1921.[21] In the book, Howard-Bury includes an account of crossing the Lhagpa La at 21,000 ft (6,400 m) where he found footprints that he believed "were probably caused by a large 'loping' grey wolf, which in the soft snow formed double tracks rather like those of a bare-footed man". He adds that his Sherpa guides "at once volunteered that the tracks must be that of 'The Wild Man of the Snows', to which they gave the name 'metoh-kangmi'".[21] "Metoh" translates as "man-bear" and "kang-mi" translates as "snowman".[6][8][15][22]

Confusion exists between Howard-Bury's recitation of the term "metoh-kangmi"[19][21] and the term used in Bill Tilman's book Mount Everest, 1938[23] where Tilman had used the words "metch", which does not exist in the Tibetan language,[24] and "kangmi" when relating the coining of the term "Abominable Snowman".[8][15][23][25] Further evidence of "metch" being a misnomer is provided by Tibetan language authority Professor David Snellgrove from the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London (ca. 1956), who dismissed the word "metch" as impossible, because the consonants "t-c-h" cannot be conjoined in the Tibetan language.[24] Documentation suggests that the term "metch-kangmi" is derived from one source (from the year 1921).[23] It has been suggested that "metch" is simply a misspelling of "metoh".

The use of "Abominable Snowman" began when Henry Newman, a longtime contributor to The Statesman in Calcutta, writing under the pen name "Kim",[9] interviewed the porters of the "Everest Reconnaissance expedition" on their return to Darjeeling.[23][26][27] Newman mistranslated the word "metoh" as "filthy", substituting the term "abominable", perhaps out of artistic licence.[28] As author Bill Tilman recounts, "[Newman] wrote long after in a letter to The Times: The whole story seemed such a joyous creation I sent it to one or two newspapers".[23]
History and sightings
Pre-19th century

According to H. Siiger, the Yeti was a part of the pre-Buddhist beliefs of several Himalayan people. He was told that the Lepcha people worshipped a "Glacier Being" as a God of the Hunt. He also reported that followers of the Bön religion once believed the blood of the "mi rgod" or "wild man" had use in certain spiritual ceremonies. The being was depicted as an ape-like creature who carries a large stone as a weapon and makes a whistling swoosh sound.[29]

Yeti was adopted into Tibetan Buddhism, where it is considered a nonhuman animal (tiragyoni) that is nonetheless human enough to sometimes be able to follow Dharma. Several stories feature Yetis becoming helpers and disciples to religious figures. In Tibet, images of Yetis are paraded and occasionally worshipped as guardians against evil spirits. However, because Yetis sometimes act as enforcers of Dharma, hearing or seeing one is often considered a bad omen, for which the witness must accumulate merit.

19th century

In 1832, James Prinsep's Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal published trekker B. H. Hodgson's account of his experiences in northern Nepal. His local guides spotted a tall bipedal creature covered with long dark hair, which seemed to flee in fear. Hodgson concluded it was an orangutan.

An early record of reported footprints appeared in 1899 in Laurence Waddell's Among the Himalayas. Waddell reported his guide's description of a large apelike creature that left the prints, which Waddell thought were made by a bear. Waddell heard stories of bipedal, apelike creatures but wrote that "none, however, of the many Tibetans I have interrogated on this subject could ever give me an authentic case. On the most superficial investigation, it always resolved into something that somebody heard tell of."[31]
20th century

The frequency of reports increased during the early 20th century when Westerners began making determined attempts to scale the many mountains in the area and occasionally reported seeing odd creatures or strange tracks.
Purported Yeti footprint taken by C.R. Cooke in 1944

In 1925, N. A. Tombazi, a photographer and member of the Royal Geographical Society, writes that he saw a creature at about 15,000 ft (4,600 m) near Zemu Glacier. Tombazi later wrote that he observed the creature from about 200 to 300 yd (180 to 270 m), for about a minute. "Unquestionably, the figure in outline was exactly like a human being, walking upright and stopping occasionally to pull at some dwarf rhododendron bushes. It showed up dark against the snow, and as far as I could make out, wore no clothes." About two hours later, Tombazi and his companions descended the mountain and saw the creature's prints, described as "similar in shape to those of a man, but only 6 to 7 in (150 to 180 mm) long by 4 in (100 mm) wide...[32] The prints were undoubtedly those of a biped."[33]
Purported Yeti footprint taken by C.R. Cooke in 1944

During the autumn of 1937, John Hunt and Pasang Sherpa (later Pasang Dawa Lama) encountered footprints on the approaches to and at the Zemu Gap above the Zemu Glacier that were thought to belong to a pair of Yetis.[34]

In June 1944, C.R. Cooke, his wife Maragaret, and a group of porters encountered very large bipedal prints in soft mud at 14,000 ft (4,300 m) just below the Singalila Ridge, which the porters said were of the "Jungli Admi" (wild man). The creature had come up through bushes on the steep hillside from Nepal and crossed the track before continuing up to the ridge. Cooke wrote "We laid Maragaret's sunglasses beside each print to indicate its size and took photographs. These prints were strange and larger than any normal human foot, 14 in (360 mm) heel to toe, with the great toe set back to one side, a first toe, also large, and three little toes closely bunched together."[35]

Peter Byrne reported finding a yeti footprint in 1948, in northern Sikkim, India near the Zemu Glacier, while on holiday from a Royal Air Force assignment in India.

Western interest in the Yeti peaked dramatically in the 1950s. While attempting to scale Mount Everest in 1951, Eric Shipton took photographs of a number of large prints in the snow, at about 6,000 m (20,000 ft) above sea level. Shipton took three photographs, one depicting the tracks, and other two of one particular print which was size compared by a pickaxe, and boot. The footprints had distinct two large toes, and three smaller digits close together. These photos have been subject to intense scrutiny and debate. Some argue they are the best evidence of Yeti's existence, while others contend the prints are those of a mundane creature that have been distorted by the melting snow. Jeffrey Meldrum examined a reconstructed form of the print in 2008, noting that one of the large toes was the result of Macrodactyly. He also stated the alignment of the toes matched that of a great ape, and the Yeti would likely spend more time in the subtropical region of the Himalayas. Meldrum stated it was hard to conclusively say the prints were genuine since Shipton only took two photos of a single track.[37][1]

In 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reported seeing large footprints while scaling Mount Everest. Hillary would later discount Yeti reports as unreliable. In his first autobiography Tenzing said that he believed the Yeti was a large ape, and although he had never seen it himself his father had seen one twice, but in his second autobiography he said he had become much more sceptical about its existence.

During the Daily Mail Snowman Expedition of 1954,[39] the mountaineering leader John Angelo Jackson made the first trek from Everest to Kanchenjunga in the course of which he photographed symbolic paintings of the Yeti at Tengboche gompa.[40] Jackson tracked and photographed many footprints in the snow, most of which were identifiable. However, there were many large footprints which could not be identified. These flattened footprint-like indentations were attributed to erosion and subsequent widening of the original footprint by wind and particles.

On 19 March 1954, the Daily Mail printed an article which described expedition teams obtaining hair specimens from what was alleged to be a Yeti scalp found in the Pangboche monastery. The hairs were black to dark brown in colour in dim light, and fox red in sunlight. The hair was analysed by Professor Frederic Wood Jones,[41][42] an expert in human and comparative anatomy. During the study, the hairs were bleached, cut into sections and analysed microscopically. The research consisted of taking microphotographs of the hairs and comparing them with hairs from known animals such as bears and orangutans. Jones concluded that the hairs were not actually from a scalp. He contended that while some animals do have a ridge of hair extending from the pate to the back, no animals have a ridge (as in the Pangboche scalp) running from the base of the forehead across the pate and ending at the nape of the neck. Jones was unable to pinpoint exactly the animal from which the Pangboche hairs were taken. He was, however, convinced that the hairs were not from a bear or anthropoid ape, but instead from the shoulder of a coarse-haired hoofed animal.[43]

Sławomir Rawicz claimed in his book The Long Walk, published in 1956, that as he and some others were crossing the Himalayas in the winter of 1940, their path was blocked for hours by two bipedal animals that were doing seemingly nothing but shuffling around in the snow.[44]

Beginning in 1957, the Texas oil businessman and adventurer Tom Slick led an expedition to the Nepal Himalayas to investigate Yeti reports, with the anthropologist prof. Carleton S. Coon as one of its members.[45] In 1959, supposed Yeti feces were collected by one of Slick's expeditions; fecal analysis found a parasite which could not be classified.[citation needed] The United States government thought that finding the Yeti was likely enough to create three rules for American expeditions searching for it: obtain a Nepalese permit, do not harm the Yeti except in self-defense, and let the Nepalese government approve any news reporting on the animal's discovery.[46] In 1959, actor James Stewart, while visiting India, reportedly smuggled the so-called Pangboche Hand, by concealing it in his luggage when he flew from India to London.[47]

In 1960, Sir Edmund Hillary mounted the 1960–61 Silver Hut expedition to the Himalayas, which was to collect and analyse physical evidence of the Yeti. Hillary borrowed a supposed Yeti scalp from the Khumjung monastery then himself and Khumjo Chumbi (the village headman), brought the scalp back to London[48] where a small sample was cut off for testing. Marca Burns made a detailed examination of the sample of skin and hair from the margin of the alleged Yeti scalp and compared it with similar samples from the serow, blue bear and black bear. Burns concluded the sample "was probably made from the skin of an animal closely resembling the sampled specimen of Serow, but definitely not identical with it: possibly a local variety or race of the same species, or a different but closely related species."[49]

Up to the 1960s, belief in the yeti was relatively common in Bhutan and in 1966 a Bhutanese stamp was made to honour the creature.[50] However, in the 21st century, belief in the being has declined.[51][52]

In 1970, British mountaineer Don Whillans claimed to have witnessed a creature when scaling Annapurna.[53] He reported that he once saw it moving on all fours.[54]

In 1983, Himalayan conservationist Daniel C. Taylor and Himalayan natural historian Robert L. Fleming Jr. led a yeti expedition into Nepal's Barun Valley (suggested by discovery in the Barun in 1972 of footprints alleged to be yeti by Cronin & McNeely[55]). The Taylor-Fleming expedition also discovered similar yeti-like footprints (hominoid appearing with both a hallux and bipedal gait), intriguing large nests in trees, and vivid reports from local villagers of two bears, rukh bhalu ('tree bear', small, reclusive, weighing about 150 pounds (68 kg)) and bhui bhalu ('ground bear', aggressive, weighing up to 400 pounds (180 kg)). Further interviews across Nepal gave evidence of local belief in two different bears. Skulls were collected, these were compared to known skulls at the Smithsonian Institution, American Museum of Natural History, and British Museum, and confirmed identification of a single species, the Asiatic black bear, showing no morphological difference between 'tree bear' and 'ground bear.'[56] (This despite an intriguing skull in the British Museum of a 'tree bear' collected in 1869 by Oldham and discussed in the Annals of the Royal Zoological Society.)

21st century

In 2004, Henry Gee, editor of the journal Nature, mentioned the Yeti as an example of folk belief deserving further study, writing, "The discovery that Homo floresiensis survived until so very recently, in geological terms, makes it more likely that stories of other mythical, human-like creatures such as Yetis are founded on grains of truth."[57]

In early December 2007, American television presenter Joshua Gates and his team (Destination Truth) reported finding a series of footprints in the Everest region of Nepal resembling descriptions of Yeti.[58] Each of the footprints measured 33 cm (13 in) in length with five toes that measured a total of 25 cm (9.8 in) across. Casts were made of the prints for further research. The footprints were examined by Jeffrey Meldrum of Idaho State University, who believed them to be too morphologically accurate to be fake or man-made, before changing his mind after making further investigations.[59] Later in 2009, in a TV show, Gates presented hair samples with a forensic analyst concluding that the hair contained an unknown DNA sequence.[60]A cast of the footprint is kept in the queue of Expedition Everest. [61]

On 25 July 2008, the BBC reported that hairs collected in the remote Garo Hills area of North-East India by Dipu Marak had been analysed at Oxford Brookes University in the UK by primatologist Anna Nekaris and microscopy expert Jon Wells. These initial tests were inconclusive, and ape conservation expert Ian Redmond told the BBC that there was similarity between the cuticle pattern of these hairs and specimens collected by Edmund Hillary during Himalayan expeditions in the 1950s and donated to the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, and announced planned DNA analysis.[62] This analysis has since revealed that the hair came from the Himalayan goral.[63]

A group of Chinese scientists and explorers in 2010 proposed to renew searches in the Shennongjia Forestry District of Hubei province, which was the site of expeditions in the 1970s and 1980s.[64]

At a 2011 conference in Russia, participating scientists and enthusiasts declared having "95% evidence" of the Yeti's existence.[65] However, this claim was disputed later; American anthropologist and anatomist Jeffrey Meldrum, who was present during the Russian expedition, claimed the "evidence" found was simply an attempt by local officials to drum up publicity.[66]

A yeti was reportedly captured in Russia in December 2011.[67] Initially the story claimed that a hunter reported having seen a bear-like creature trying to kill one of his sheep but, after he fired his gun, the creature ran into a forest on two legs. The story then claimed that border patrol soldiers captured a hairy two-legged female creature similar to a gorilla that ate meat and vegetation. This was later revealed as a hoax or possibly a publicity stunt for charity.[citation needed]

In April 2019, an Indian army mountaineering expedition team claimed to have spotted mysterious 'Yeti' footprints, measuring 81 by 38 cm (32 by 15 in), near the Makalu base camp.[68]
Proposed explanations

The misidentification of Himalayan wildlife has been proposed as an explanation for some Yeti sightings, including the chu-teh, a langur monkey[69] living at lower altitudes; the Tibetan blue bear; or the Himalayan brown bear or dzu-teh, also known as the Himalayan red bear.[69]

Similarly, it is possible that sightings have been deliberate hoaxes. James Randi notes that convincing costumes of gorillas or other apes have been used in films, which are more convincing than any representations of the Yeti provided by believers.[1] Randi also argues that there would need to be many creatures in order to maintain the gene pool, and given the proposed size of the Yeti, it is hard to imagine that they have been so elusive if they are real.[1]

A well publicised expedition to Bhutan initially reported that a hair sample had been obtained, which by DNA analysis by Professor Bryan Sykes could not be matched to any known animal.[70] Analysis completed after the media release, however, clearly showed the samples were from a brown bear (Ursus arctos) and an Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus).[71]

In 1986, South Tyrolean mountaineer Reinhold Messner claimed in his autobiography My Quest for the Yeti that the Yeti is actually the endangered Himalayan brown bear, Ursus arctos isabellinus, or Tibetan blue bear, U. a. pruinosus, which can walk both upright or on all fours.[72][73]

The 1983 Barun Valley discoveries prompted three years of research on the 'tree bear' possibility by Taylor, Fleming, John Craighead and Tirtha Shrestha. From that research, the conclusion was that the Asiatic black bear, when about two years old, spends much time in trees to avoid attack by larger male bears on the ground ('ground bears'). During this tree period (that may last two years), young bears train their inner claw outward, allowing an opposable grip. The imprint in the snow of a hind paw coming over the front paw that appears to have a hallux, especially when the bear is going slightly uphill so the hind pawprint extends the overprint backward, makes a hominid-appearing track, both in that it is elongated like a human foot, but with a "thumb", and in that a four-footed animal's gait now appears bipedal.[74] This "yeti discovery", in the words of National Geographic Magazine editor Bill Garrett, "[by] on-site research sweeps away much of the 'smoke and mirrors' and gives us a believable yeti".[75]

This fieldwork in Nepal's Barun Valley led directly to the initiation of the Makalu-Barun National Park that protected over half a million acres in 1991, and across the border with China, the Qomolangma national nature preserve in the Tibet Autonomous Region that protected over six million acres. In the words of Honorary President of the American Alpine Club, Robert H. Bates, this yeti discovery "has apparently solved the mystery of the yeti, or at least part of it, and in so doing added to the world's great wildlife preserves",[76] so that the shy animal, and the mysteries and myths of the Himalayas that it represents, can continue to live within a protected area nearly the size of Switzerland.

In 2003, Japanese researcher and mountaineer Dr. Makoto Nebuka published the results of his twelve-year linguistic study, postulating that the word "Yeti" is a corruption of the word "meti", a regional dialect term for a "bear". Nebuka claims that ethnic Tibetans fear and worship the bear as a supernatural being.[77] Nebuka's claims were subject to almost immediate criticism, and he was accused of linguistic carelessness. Dr. Raj Kumar Pandey, who has researched both Yetis and mountain languages, said "it is not enough to blame tales of the mysterious beast of the Himalayas on words that rhyme but mean different things."[78]

Some speculate these reported creatures could be present-day specimens of the extinct giant ape Gigantopithecus.[79][80][81][82] However, the Yeti is generally described as bipedal, and most scientists believe Gigantopithecus to have been quadrupedal, and so massive that, unless it evolved specifically as a bipedal ape (like the hominids), walking upright would have been even more difficult for the now extinct primate than it is for its extant quadrupedal relative, the orangutan.

In 2013, a call was put out by scientists from the universities of Oxford and Lausanne for people claiming to have samples from these sorts of creatures. A mitochondrial DNA analysis of the 12S RNA gene was undertaken on samples of hair from an unidentified animal from Ladakh in northern India on the west of the Himalayas, and one from Bhutan. These samples were compared with those in GenBank, the international repository of gene sequences, and matched a sample from an ancient polar bear jawbone found in Svalbard, Norway that dates back to between 40,000 and 120,000 years ago.[83][84] The result suggests that, barring hoaxes of planted samples or contamination, bears in these regions may have been taken to be yeti.[85] Professor of evolutionary genetics at the University of Cambridge, Bill Amos, doubted the samples were of polar bears in the Himalayas, but was "90% convinced that there is a bear in these regions that has been mistaken for a yeti". Professor Bryan Sykes, whose team carried out the analysis of the samples at Oxford, has his own theory. He believes that the samples may have come from a hybrid species of bear produced from a mating between a brown bear and a polar bear.[83][86] A research of 12S rRNA published in 2015 revealed that the hair samples collected are most likely those of brown bears.[87] In 2017, a new analysis compared mtDNA sequences of bears from the region with DNA extracted from hair and other samples claimed to have come from yeti. It included hair thought to be from the same preserved specimen as the anomalous Sykes sample, and showed it to have been a Himalayan brown bear, while other purported yeti samples were actually from the Tibetan blue bear, Asiatic black bear and a domestic dog.[88]

In 2017, Daniel C. Taylor published a comprehensive analysis of the century-long Yeti literature, giving added evidence to the (Ursus thibetanus) explanation, building on the initial Barun Valley discoveries. This book gave a meticulous explanation for the iconic Yeti footprint photographed by Eric Shipton in 1950, the 1972 Cronin-McNeely print, as well all other unexplained Yeti footprints. To complete this explanation, Taylor also located a never-before published photograph in the archives of the Royal Geographical Society, taken in 1950 by Eric Shipton, that included scratches that are clearly bear nail marks." (wikipedia)