Why is Bigfoot so popular still?

[Merc14]

Why is this folk tale still so popular? There is no proof of any kind, no dead bodies, no bones, no hair, no decent photographs, no droppings, nothing, yet it flourishes. The proof that is out there seems half baked and peddled by hucksters and charlatans yet still the faithful hang on. Why? TV shows, websites, millions of believers and I haven't a clue why. Can some of you FTBs let me in on the secret here?

[bubblykiss]

He is compelling for the sake that he is a mystery.

With evidence the magic vanishes...it is like Las Vegas in the day time, it looks like a broken down old call woman in her late 50s wearing dirty and stained underclothing....but at night....with darkness and light and noise and splendor she comes back to life, bathed in her mystery and grandeur.

Edited July 10, 2014 by bubblykiss

[+Hammerclaw]

Why is this folk tale still so popular? There is no proof of any kind, no dead bodies, no bones, no hair, no decent photographs, no droppings, nothing, yet it flourishes. The proof that is out there seems half baked and peddled by hucksters and charlatans yet still the faithful hang on. Why? TV shows, websites, millions of believers and I haven't a clue why. Can some of you FTBs let me in on the secret here?

It's an exotic topic and an iconic part of American folklore of the last hundred years or so. It draws viewers and hits. That's why multiple threads are allowed about it on this site wereas less popular and romantic topics are almost immediately culled down to just one thread. IT brings home the bacon and pays the bills. It's a topic that excites the public imagination. It's probably just fantasy, but much more interesting than a dry academic discourse on the consistency of dirt and rocks on Mars a la Scientific American..

[Merc14]

It's an exotic topic and an iconic part of American folklore of the last hundred years or so. It draws viewers and hits. That's why multiple threads are allowed about it on this site wereas less popular and romantic topics are almost immediately culled down to just one thread. IT brings home the bacon and pays the bills. It's a topic that excites the public imagination. It's probably just fantasy, but much more interesting than a dry academic discourse on the consistency of dirt and rocks on Mars a la Scientific American..

I am sure you are right about the profit side of things and I understand that but still, millions believe this hooey. As far as being part of American folklore when did this become popular? I never heard about Bigfoot till the Boggy Creek monster movie.

Edited July 10, 2014 by Merc14

[+and-then]

Nostalgia? People have a desire to believe in SOMETHING I'm guessing that a furry man like creature that might be benign is a good choice for many

[Earl.Of.Trumps]

Always pay attention to the money, for sure, and there are clearly huckster galore out there.

But,, if you think it is simply a case of creating an exotic story of some mythical creature, try it! you might become rich person, or NOT!

I think that people like me 'believe', because there is a never ending supply of encounter reports, and if you listen to the people who relate those encounters, one just cannot imagine everyone is lying. And all it takes is for ONE to be telling the truth.

There are simply too many evidences out there to discount casually. A study on all know BF prints was done in the US. Their measurements, in total, plotted a bell curve, something that could not have been created by random jokesters, but rather, the data was created by an actual living population.

that *alone* is hard to spin off, and there are other evidences, too/

[Earl.Of.Trumps]

I am sure you are right about the profit side of things and I understand that but still, millions believe this hooey. As far as being part of American folklore when did this become popular? I never heard about Bigfoot till the Boggy Creek monster movie.

That's *you*, Merc. Many American Indians have had the big "hairy man" as part of their oral tradition for thousands of years

[Merc14]

That's *you*, Merc. Many American Indians have had the big "hairy man" as part of their oral tradition for thousands of years

I have heard of that American Indian myth but have only seen it on FTB sites sooooo...

[Earl.Of.Trumps]

I have heard of that American Indian myth but have only seen it on FTB sites sooooo...

Only takes two minutes to google

[supervike]

I've always been fascinated with bigfoot, probably because it was ingrained in me, as a child of the 70's.

Common sense tells me that it is almost impossible for the big guy to be real, but it is still a fun mystery.

The one thing that still gives me hope is that I think there are some credible witnesses, that seemingly have nothing to gain.

[Merc14]

Only takes two minutes to google

Yeah, like I said, all FTB sites. BTW, WARNING, don't Google just "Hairy Man" unless you are very gay and like hairy guys. Yikes.

Edited July 10, 2014 by Merc14

[+Hammerclaw]

The big fella has a cult following like star/trek/wars, flying saucers, and John Edwards, The Biggest Douche In The Universe. The fact that none of it's real, makes no never mind. Plus the casuals that drop in en masse, to sample the craziness. Everyone wants to be entertained.

Edited July 10, 2014 by John Wesley Boyd

[inhumanimplant]

Why is this folk tale still so popular? There is no proof of any kind, no dead bodies, no bones, no hair, no decent photographs, no droppings, nothing, yet it flourishes. The proof that is out there seems half baked and peddled by hucksters and charlatans yet still the faithful hang on. Why? TV shows, websites, millions of believers and I haven't a clue why. Can some of you FTBs let me in on the secret here?

A distraction for what's really going on? There are way bigger things going on here than bigfoot in my opinion LOL. Yes and i am tired of seeing stuff about bigfoot on every site i visit. Instead of focusing on that bigfooted b******, how about extraterrestrials which are more important, or the loch ness monster or the Universe. I think there are A LOT of hoaxes for bigfoot out there. maybe like 1 bigfoot report every couple of months is believable, but when you get them back to back, it's hoaxers, maybe just gorillas, other animals, or a drunk fat guy in the woods. There are so many possibilities. Too many occurrences. Only time will tell though.

[Earl.Of.Trumps]

Yeah, like I said, all FTB sites. BTW, WARNING, don't Google just "Hairy Man" unless you are very gay and like hairy guys. Yikes.

Merc, you're US so you will understand.

I once saw a BF show that was partly on this subject - Indian BF beliefs. They don't always open up to and warm up to "white man", but here, they did.

One Am Indian said his tribe's oral tradition felt that the big hairy man (he used the term BigFoot for his audience) was able to transcend dimensions, while also adding that another tribe that he knew had oral tradition that says their version of BF was a shapeshifter.

Their stories, of course, may not be real, but the fact that they have oral traditions that *think* BF is real.... are real.

[Merc14]

Merc, you're US so you will understand.

I once saw a BF show that was partly on this subject - Indian BF beliefs. They don't always open up to and warm up to "white man", but here, they did.

One Am Indian said his tribe's oral tradition felt that the big hairy man (he used the term BigFoot for his audience) was able to transcend dimensions, while also adding that another tribe that he knew had oral tradition that says their version of BF was a shapeshifter.

Their stories, of course, may not be real, but the fact that they have oral traditions that *think* BF is real.... are real.

If possible can you link the interview or at least his name. I understand that not everything is available online but being American Indian does not imbue one with special powers, Stone age cultures believe many things and are not reliable witnesses. Many of the modern AI "shamans" are charlatans.

[Earl.Of.Trumps]

If possible can you link the interview or at least his name. I understand that not everything is available online but being American Indian does not imbue one with special powers, Stone age cultures believe many things and are not reliable witnesses. Many of the modern AI "shamans" are charlatans.

I did some research a few days ago on this stumbling point, the results and link are in another BF thread in here someplace. The woman I cited was an Archeologist and works for the Forestry department (or some such government agency) and also has a book coming out. Her last name is Strain, if you want to key it up.

Anyway, she listed - at someone's request, the actual tribes and names that those Indians use for BigFoot for tribes east of the Mississippi and showed about 20 such tribes and names, and she said that it was an abreviated list, there were "hundreds" of them in total. I also had another link with sources, again, another author, who was very convincing as well, listing his tribes and their beliefs, inre, BF.

I am really stumped why people don't believe this. You're far from the only one here that does not.

All I can say is, try to interview Indians as these authors have claimed they did, to see if they are telling the truth.

Otherwise, I see no reason as to why people think such professionals would make it all up.

I don't get it. It's such a simple thing

[Merc14]

I did some research a few days ago on this stumbling point, the results and link are in another BF thread in here someplace. The woman I cited was an Archeologist and works for the Forestry department (or some such government agency) and also has a book coming out. Her last name is Strain, if you want to key it up.

Anyway, she listed - at someone's request, the actual tribes and names that those Indians use for BigFoot for tribes east of the Mississippi and showed about 20 such tribes and names, and she said that it was an abreviated list, there were "hundreds" of them in total. I also had another link with sources, again, another author, who was very convincing as well, listing his tribes and their beliefs, inre, BF.

I am really stumped why people don't believe this. You're far from the only one here that does not.

All I can say is, try to interview Indians as these authors have claimed they did, to see if they are telling the truth.

Otherwise, I see no reason as to why people think such professionals would make it all up.

I don't get it. It's such a simple thing

Well, as I said, no dead bodies, no bones, no hair, no decent photographs, no droppings, nothing. How can you possibly have this huge breeding population, spread throughout the USA and no dead bodies, no bones, no hair, no decent photographs, no droppings. All that lack of evidence with two TV shows (that I know of) actively seeking that evidence plus thousands of cryptologists on the case as well.Seriously? One turd, one bone, one fossil. I took my son to see Tylosaur fossils and megalodon teeth but not one finger bone from a Bigfoot. Millions of years old artifacts but Bigfoot provides zero physical proof. How? Neanderthals buried their dead and we find those graves.

Edited July 10, 2014 by Merc14

[Insanity]

Well, as I said, no dead bodies, no bones, no hair, no decent photographs, no droppings, nothing. How can you possibly have this huge breeding population, spread throughout the USA and no dead bodies, no bones, no hair, no decent photographs, no droppings. All that lack of evidence with two TV shows (that I know of) actively seeking that evidence plus thousands of cryptologists on the case as well.Seriously? One turd, one bone, one fossil. I took my son to see Tylosaur fossils and megalodon teeth but not one finger bone from a Bigfoot. Millions of years old artifacts but Bigfoot provides zero physical proof. How? Neanderthals buried their dead and we find those graves.

You assume there must be a huge breeding population, in reality it could be fairly small.

[Merc14]

You assume there must be a huge breeding population, in reality it could be fairly small.

Well here is a map of sightings and I don't see how a small breeding population can be responsible for this many sightings and yet leave no evidence.

http://www.livescien...htings-gis.html

Edited July 10, 2014 by Merc14

[MissJatti]

well it was a popular movie, back in the days

[Frank Merton]

You assume there must be a huge breeding population, in reality it could be fairly small.

My understanding is that a breeding population of less than a thousand or so will lead to extinction in a few generations because of inbreeding genetic diseases. Maybe someone knows more about this.

I'm camping and I hear noises outside, so I stick my head out and see a three meter hair covered "thing" shuffling around along with several smaller similar beings. "Oh, hello," it says, "My name is Tom Bigfoot, and this is my wife Gladys and our children. We noticed your fire and ours has gone out and I was wondering if maybe we could take a few of your embers."

[Didya See That]

I read these threads because they are very active and entertaining. It is a nice break from the depressing news. Seeing the blurry pictures and odd evidence people post and people's responses is always good fun. Much better than reading creepypasta IMO. This, like most topics here are educational, believers and skeptics post links...while checking them I often find other subjects on the linked sites that catch my attention I would have never found otherwise.

If there is an odd thing I read about or caught on TV that I am unsure about, I use the search feature here and all these threads have almost any subject or evidence well addressed. So it is a good thing for me that people investigate and debunk subjects like this.

[Sakari]

I did some research a few days ago on this stumbling point, the results and link are in another BF thread in here someplace. The woman I cited was an Archeologist and works for the Forestry department (or some such government agency) and also has a book coming out. Her last name is Strain, if you want to key it up.

Anyway, she listed - at someone's request, the actual tribes and names that those Indians use for BigFoot for tribes east of the Mississippi and showed about 20 such tribes and names, and she said that it was an abreviated list, there were "hundreds" of them in total. I also had another link with sources, again, another author, who was very convincing as well, listing his tribes and their beliefs, inre, BF.

I am really stumped why people don't believe this. You're far from the only one here that does not.

All I can say is, try to interview Indians as these authors have claimed they did, to see if they are telling the truth.

Otherwise, I see no reason as to why people think such professionals would make it all up.

I don't get it. It's such a simple thing

I answered that post. I am still awaiting your reply. I googled a few of the names on the list. And none are Bigfoot, or show up as anything close.

Indians did not believe in the Bigfoot we talk about, and that was invented in 1950ish.

[scowl]

I think it's the same reason that UFO's are still popular: it's easy to misidentify something in the woods therefore it was Bigfoot. The camouflage that hunters wear will freak anyone out. Hell, we had a video of some tiny figure walking along the snow about a mile away and that was declared to be Bigfoot!

People love mysteries, especially if they can found by simply going out into the woods or looking up at the sky.

[+Hammerclaw]

My understanding is that a breeding population of less than a thousand or so will lead to extinction in a few generations because of inbreeding genetic diseases. Maybe someone knows more about this.

I'm camping and I hear noises outside, so I stick my head out and see a three meter hair covered "thing" shuffling around along with several smaller similar beings. "Oh, hello," it says, "My name is Tom Bigfoot, and this is my wife Gladys and our children. We noticed your fire and ours has gone out and I was wondering if maybe we could take a few of your embers."

Not necessarily. It all depends on how many lineages are represented in the population and how frequently or infrequently similar or related lines are cross bred. In nature, there was a genetic bottleneck in the Cheetah population from an apparent near extinction but the species managed to survive.