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SKEPTOID BLOG:

Jerking us around with Bigfoot "evidence"

by Sharon Hill

June 29, 2011

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Donate With the success of Animal Planet's new show about Bigfoot and the latest hype (and subsequent fizzle) about “stunning” new evidence, Bigfoot/Sasquatch is a hot topic these days.

Animal Planet reported that Finding Bigfoot, a show about a crack team of Sasquatch seekers searching for evidence all over the U.S., (“squatching”) racked up great ratings for them so far this season.
"[…] FINDING BIGFOOT [...] drew in 1.088M viewers and 1.12M viewers for its 11 PM encore. In addition, a Memorial Day sneak preview telecast delivered 1.387M viewers, making it the network's most-watched late-night telecast ever."
[Source: Discovery.com press release]
While the show was panned, and I mean PANNED, by skeptics for being ridiculous for all sorts of reasons, even Bigfoot advocates are calling the show "Finding Bigpuffery" and expressing disappointment and/or disdain.

Members of the TV team have even spoken out on how awful and deceptive the editing has been, calling what the producers and editors did as "dishonest". As usual, the TV people want an exciting show so fact and truth are sacrificed. Finding Bigfoot has yet to deliver any quality evidence, just gobs of imaginative speculation and wishful thinking.

Meanwhile the Sanger Paranormal Society held their press conference regarding their discovery of face and body prints left on the window of their truck during a Bigfoot expedition. The culprit was not witnessed, but the smears and other evidence presented - footprints, reports of crossed trees deliberately along a roadway - can be explained by less sensational conclusions other than Bigfoot scoping out the truck. A look at how the amateurish conference went down is available here. This site compares what happens when a polar bear peeks in the window to the supposed Bigfoot face print. Hmm. What's the more likely explanation? While noting that the inquisitive visitor did not bother with the expensive equipment in the vehicle, the Sanger group asked for $5000 to do a DNA test gathered from the incident.

The Sanger press conference reminded me that investment in your belief is a powerful thing. You see only what you want to see and your conviction can be unshakeable. I recommend "Not Your Typical Bigfoot Movie" in order to understand more about Bigfoot enthusiasts. I was struck by this documentary of two guys who are COMMITTED to their cause. I’ve long thought that there is more to paranormal seekers than just curiosity. They appear to be seeking more out of their lives than reality can deliver. That’s a bit sad.

Speaking of reality bending, don't miss this incredible story about dead Bigfoots, their super powers ("…had the use of bad smell to ward off enemies, used an intense EMF field to paralyze and disorient enemies, was very strong and had a very thick skin that was hard to penetrate") and government conspiracies. Wow! It's better than Weekly World News! And perhaps one day, the long promised results from the Erickson project will materialize. In what promising to be the definitive documentary and evidence for the hairy beast. Well, I'm doubting it. But, go on, Mr. Erickson, I want to be impressed. Show us what you've got. Just remember, the bar for useful scientific evidence is pretty darn high.

Watch for more and more squatchy fun to come out on You Tube and in the media as the Bigfoot rampage continues. Here is some more Bigfootery:
I don’t doubt that Bigfoot will be a bigger $tar than ever this year. But, you still can’t beat watching him get jerked around in jerky ads. At least the footage is clear and unambiguous for a change. Love that!

by Sharon Hill

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