Thursday, December 2, 2010

Athiest Group Compares Bigfoot to Allah and Christ


The Centre for Inquiry Canada‘s Extraordinary Claims Campaign will feature bus ads, educational events and online discussions to challenge well-known and widely believed claims by demanding evidence as extraordinary as the claims themselves.

Why is belief in Bigfoot dismissed as delusional while belief in Allah and Christ is respected and revered? All of these claims are equally extraordinary and demand critical examination.

At CFI Canada we challenge ideas and ask tough questions to promote reason, science, secularism and freedom of inquiry.


They continue their skeptical arguments with a page dedicated to Bigfoot. Below is an excerpt from that page.

The Claims:

Bigfoot is one of several extremely large ape-like creatures periodically reported to have been sighted at different locations around the world and going by a variety of names such as “Sasquatch”, “Yeti” and ”The Abominable Snowman”.

The name “Bigfoot” is typically used in reference to sightings in northern California. Reports vary widely in their description of Bigfoot, though most describe a bipedal humanoid creature, 2-3m in height and covered in dark brown fur. The creature’s big feet (from which it gets its name) range greatly in size in purported footprints, with some more than 50cm long.

The Evidence:

The chief evidence for the existence of Bigfoot consists of several hundred recorded sightings, many purported footprints, and scattered photographic evidence. The name “Bigfoot”, and the beginnings of the Bigfoot legend, date to footprints found in California in 1958. Most famous is the Patterson-Gimlin film from 1967, depicting a one-minute encounter with a “Bigfoot”. Proponents argue that the number of sightings and footprint casts rules out the possibility of a hoax.

The scientific community overwhelmingly rejects the claims of an uncatalogued hominid living in North America. Most reported sightings can easily be explained as misidentification of bears or other wildlife. An adult bear on its hind legs has approximately the same dimensions as the reported “ape”, and most sightings occur in a common bear habitat. In addition, the diversity of shapes, sizes, and other features of the claimed Bigfoot footprints shows that the data is likely a result of multiple hoaxes and misidentifications rather than the existence of any single species. In addition, the large number of such animals that would be necessary to constitute a breeding population would make it difficult for them to so effectively hide from researchers.

The most famous pieces of evidence for Bigfoot are almost certainly fabrications. The 1958 footprints were revealed in 2002 to have been a hoax perpetrated by an individual named Ray Wallace. His family came forward after his death with the carved wooden feet he used to make the footprints. In addition, Bob Heironimus admitted to have worn an ape-suit for the making of the Patterson-Gimlin film. Despite these admissions, Bigfoot advocates remain set in their beliefs, pointing to inconsistencies in the confessors’ stories, and claiming the confessions are the true hoax.

Conclusion:

The evidence for Bigfoot is, at best, ambiguous. If there really was such a creature living in North America, the evidence for it would undoubtedly be overwhelming. No (unfaked) Bigfoot body has ever been found, nor any evidence of Bigfoot families, bones, excrement, or other material artifacts. Purported fur samples are indistinguishable from human hair or the fur of common animals – confirmed by DNA testing. And, even in this age of ubiquitous digital cameras and video recorders, no reliable photographic evidence has ever been provided.

The evidence in favour of Bigfoot can be readily explained by skeptics; the failure to find more evidence is far harder for advocates to explain.


YOU MAY ALSO LIKE
Is Bigfoot My Brothers Keeper?
Bigfoot's Last Supper

EXTERNAL LINKS
Extraordinary Bus Home Page
Extraordinary Bus Bigfoot Page

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Bigfoot sightings return to Eugene, California and alarm residents


GARBERVILLE, California – It’s a big, hairy ape-like creature that has a distinctive fowl odor say those who claim to have encountered “Bigfoot,” or “Sasquatch,” as its commonly called. The creature is legend around the world, and especially in northern California where’s it’s been sighted on a regular basis for the past 150 plus years. Recent Thanksgiving week new sightings in Garberville and other redwood communities have concerned both residents and the California Department of Fish and Game.

At the same time, there's been recent reports of Bigfoot or a creature like it in and around the Eugene area. In fact, one local resident of the Eugene suburb of Alpine noted "seeing Bigfoot over Thanksgiving" while walking his dog in the woods near his home. Bigfoot has been a regular "visitor" to the Eugene area, say local U.S. Forest Service officials who've fielded hundreds of calls about Bigfoot in the woods of western Lane County.

Bigfoot responding to increase in tourism

One local media report stated that Bigfoot tracks were spotted near Garberville on Nov. 27 with massive feces droppings that were and not from a bear. In addition, numerous residents of the back woods area of town called police after hearing “terrible human-like moans coming from the forest.”

While the California Department of Fish and Game and local and state police departments are responding to recent Bigfoot sightings by locals and tourists in and around Garberville in Humboldt County, there’s a view around here that “Bigfoot will be Bigfoot, and that’s what he does from time to time,” says Garberville resident Ian Halmrast.

Still, other locals say they’re scared for both themselves and their children.

One local film maker from the L.A. area recently made a film about the legend of Bigfoot, and noted “it’s not aggressive when confronted by humans. The film maker also found evidence of Bigfoot kidnapping children from camp sites, but not harming them.

“There was this sound of food being scraped from a plate, and then an unbelievably loud cry as if someone was in pain. We ran towards it, and heard the sharp and brittle crack of the tree branches. We could then see this big thing run into the forest,” says Halmrast while breathing an exasperated sigh after the story he told.

Halmrast and others in Garberville -- a former logging and mill town in Northern California that was named “Dogtown” by the first settlers who arrived in this towering region of redwood trees back in the mid-1850’s – said there’s good reason to believe “Bigfoot is still out there.”

Garberville sits high in the mountains at nearly 550 feet where, say locals, “Bigfoot likes to hang out.”

During the recent Thanksgiving week -- with thousands of tourists and other visitors stopping to enjoy the redwood trees -- the recent new sightings of Sasquatch began to unfold.

“We first heard that he (Bigfoot) was back when a told us about a police report of something scaring people in the nearby forests. We all thought Bigfoot right then and there because we know it’s out there somewhere,” explains Deborah Dorsey who works in a local cafĂ©.

At the same time, Dorsey notes that her brother Steve works at a nearby redwood tourist center that “markets Bigfoot” for tourists.

“Steve says he sells more carved Bigfoot figures and signs than most anything else during the busy summer months. While the police and the scientists who come up here discount the existence of the big guy, we know different because the stories have been going on for so long,” explains Dorsey who notes her grandfather telling her about Bigfoot when she was a kid more than 60 years ago.

Bigfoot is a legend with a long history in the Pacific Northwest and California

Anyone conducting research about Bigfoot or Sasquatch will find hundreds of thousands of references to the creature’s existence. Even accredited researches such as ape expert Jane Goodall have noted believe in such a creature existing both in North America and in various other places throughout the world.

Still, Bigfoot remains one of the most famous and controversial creatures in science today.

Those who’ve reportedly seen Bigfoot describe the ape-like beast as ranging between six to 10 feet with dark reddish hair and the weight and size of a big bull or cow. Those who’ve alleged to have seen the creature say it has large black eyes and a sort of cave-man like features.

Here in Garberville and other small town in the redwood forest region of Northern California the main claim to fame that Bigfoot is about “always seems to center on his footprints,” says local forester Wayne Cruthers.

“You get the tourists telling stories about spotting these footprints in the woods, and you just smile because you know that so many others also see Bigfoot foot prints but they don’t tell the cops or report it. You see, they’re not sure are they. It could be a bear or something. I think if we had a regular way to report Bigfoot sightings than we’d catch the thing,” says Cruthers who’s made it “a hobby to track Bigfoot legends in Garberville.”

Likewise, there have been numerous sightings of Bigfoot in 2010. The California communities of Mt. Lessen, Mt. Shasta, Weed, Round Mountain, Elk Creek, Caribou, Happy Camp, Clear Creek, Trinity Alps, Weaverville, Crescent Mill, Mammoth Lakes, Bear Valley, Eureka, Yreka, Fort Bragg, Orick and Crescent City have all listed reports to police about a “big, hairy beast walking in the woods.”

“We’ve seen photos of Bigfoot tracks that have a sort of claw look like a bear’s footprint. You sort of look in disbelief that such a thing could be around your home and kids,” says Cruthers with a helpless wave of his hands.

Bigfoot advocates, such as the noted crypto zoologist John Willison Green, have said “Bigfoot is a worldwide phenomenon that simply won’t go away.”


EXTERNAL LINKS
original Article at the examiner.com

Monday, November 29, 2010

Strange Days, Let's Go Squatching: The Search for Bigfoot 30 Nov, 2010


We were going to be clever and title this post, "Bob Saget X Bigfoot." But decided to go with what the twitterverse calling it.

We are very excited to see A&E's Strange Days with Bob Saget. The "Let's Go Squatching" episode Premiers Today (Tuesday, November 30th) at 7:30 PST on the west coast. If you have Comcast its on Channel 752. If you do not have Comcast, look it up.

The blurb below is provided by A&E's website.

Bob travels to the Pacific Northwest to search for Bigfoot with the BFRO, the Bigfoot Field Research Organization. Along the trip he meets some interesting characters who all have their own Bigfoot experiences, and take Bob into the wilderness so he can hopefully have his own. Bob tags along on search expeditions in the deep woods in the middle of the night with all the latest hi-tech equipment and night-vision technology. The woods are full of characters on a weekend like this one.


The picture above features Craig Flipy, Bob Saget, and holding the "Samurai Sword" is James "Bobo" Fay. How Bobo got that sword is actually explained here

You can get the inside scoop from the folks that were there with Bob Saget.

Cliff Barackman's Blog
Craig Flipy's Crappy Little Dreams

You can also check out A&E's promotional website for Strange Days here.
Please read our terms of use policy.