"It is easy to talk about the errors, theological and others, of Communism. It is dangerously easy to succumb to triumphalism as we peer into the casket at its wake. But one must ask how much of Western culture is generating new barbarisms as we, along different axes and with different forms of government, adopt not dissimilar and equally unbiblical perspectives in our own societies: that human beings are not individually all that important, and, above all, that we are not wicked, and not accountable to ourselves, scarcely to the state, and certainly not to God."
- D.A. Carson
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Scientist Sets Out to Prove Sasquatch’s Existence via Blimp
There are two kinds of people in this world: those who believe Bigfoot is real and those who don’t. Idaho State University anthropologist Jeffrey Meldrum is firmly in the I Believe camp, and he is taking to the skies, via blimp, in one of the most elaborate hunts yet to prove the doubters wrong.
Meldrum, author of Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science, got the idea for the blimp-based search from William Barnes, a Utah man who claims to have encountered Bigfoot in 1997 in Northern California. Barnes pitched the idea to Meldrum and the two are now collaborating on what they’ve called the Falcon Project — a remote-controlled airship they hope will take flight next spring, sweeping remote wilderness areas for proof of Bigfoot’s existence.
In order to achieve his goal, though, Meldrum needs to raise $300,000-plus in private donations to build the dirigible, according to Reuters. While the University of Idaho gave the project the go-ahead, Meldrum has to find funds for the project himself. The money he raises will not only get him a blimp but will also be used to equip it with a thermal-imaging camera to capture evidence of the manlike ape (or apelike man) hiding under the trees. According to Reuters, getting financial support for the venture has been slow going. However, with the popularity of Animal Planet’s show Finding Bigfoot, it seems only a matter of time until a television channel steps in to fund the expedition. In fact, Meldrum told Reuters that two cable channels are already vying for rights to produce a reality series following the expedition. Heck, we’d watch it.
I thought you should know.
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Comments on "Looking For Bigfoot":
2. Bird
- 01/16/2013 12:24 pm CST
I've said here on Thinklings numerous times that I'm certain Bigfoots exist. Well, as certain as I can be without a body yet.
Meldrum is currently the most credible scientist who actively works on Bigfoot research. The book mentioned, Bigfoot: Legend Meets Science, is ideal for anyone interested in what science has proven so far. For example, 1) there are countless giant footprints of an unidentified North American ape, many of which Meldrum keeps casts of in his laboratory at Idaho State University; 2) there are confirmed recorded vocalizations of an unidentified North American ape; 3) there are confirmed dermal ridges from footprints (fingerprints) of an unidentified North American ape. And more.
3. Karl
- 01/16/2013 2:33 pm CST
Bird, if points (1)-(3) in your post are clearly and incontrovertibly true, then why do the vast majority of scientists not agree?
It seems as though scientists would be all over this if the evidence was that clear. What would be the motive of denying or covering it up? Shoot, they get all worked up if some small new frog is found in the Amazon or some such place that looks to my uneducated eyes not that much different than other frogs I've seen. Or when they found out the coelacanth was a still-living fish rather than a long-extinct fossil, it was huge and exciting news. How much more so a giant ape in the forests of north america? So why are the huge majority of scientists bigfoot deniers?
4. Bird
- 01/16/2013 3:41 pm CST
Karl,
Meldrum goes over this topic in his book extensively. It's not that scientists are covering anything up, or disagreeing with proof, they're simply not looking into the extant proof for fear of ridicule. Also most scientists simply won't look at anything scientifically (with regard to Bigfoot) unless it's a dead (or live) body.
So it's not that a majority (or even small minority) of scientists have looked into the BF evidence and said, "It's not real." It's that 99% of scientists don't/won't look, period.
5. Bird
- 01/16/2013 3:49 pm CST
Couple of points again, Karl. All of your examples involve bodies, which is what it's going to take to convince mainstream science. Meldum laments the non-exploratory spirit that most scientists in this day have succumbed to.
One notable exception is George Schaller, who, from what I've read, is extremely highly respected in the scientific community. While he's not a BF believer, he thinks it's worthy of study based on the evidence.
The majority of scientists aren't deniers (bigfoot atheists), but rather agnostics.
6. Flyaway
- 01/17/2013 11:42 am CST
Too bad they couldn't watch in real time by using a satellite! Maybe President Obama will give them some stimulus money!
7. Neo
- 01/17/2013 2:33 pm CST
I'm holding out until the day I can visit the local diner and get a bigfoot burger with a side of curly fries...
8. Jared
- 01/17/2013 4:02 pm CST
We don't discover many bodies of wildlife in the woods in general, and all the known animals are apparently more numerous. In places where Bigfoot is thought to exist, the decomposition rate of a deceased carcass would be rather quick. How many hunters stumble upon bear skeletons just laying around intact?
9. Karl
- 01/18/2013 9:10 pm CST
I may have asked this question before in a different BF thread but can't recall the answer:
Are there any other parts of the world where non-human primates of really large size exist, where there aren't also smaller primates? I honestly don't know the answer to that question but when I think in my simplistic way about places where monkeys, apes etc. live I picture multiple species of varying sizes if not living in the exact same place then within a relatively close geographic proximity. As in - if there are big apes around wouldn't you expect there to also be smaller monkeys, chimps or similar within the same general region?
10. Bird
- 01/22/2013 12:31 pm CST
Are there any other parts of the world where non-human primates of really large size exist, where there aren't also smaller primates?
I have no idea. The theory behind BF currently is that it's a descendent of Gigantopithecus that migrated to North America many years ago. Not sure if they brought little monkeys with them. :-)
11. Karl
- 01/22/2013 1:33 pm CST
I know there are bigfoot-type stories in multiple parts of the world. Do bigfoot believers think they exist in all those places, or just in north America, or in several but not all of the places in which they are reported?
In the US alone, they seem to have been reported everywhere from the pacific northwest to Ohio to the mountains of eastern seaboard states. Then there are the abominable snowman legends, and many others in various countries/regions that I'm sure you know much more about than I do. What is the consensus among BF fans - are they in all those places? On the one hand the multitude of such legends does seem to lend a bit of credence in a "where there's so much smoke . . ." sort of fashion. But on the other hand, the more widespread they are supposed to be, the harder it is for me to believe that real, incontrovertible proof that would have the scientific community falling all over itself to study them wouldn't have been discovered by now.
12. Bird
- 01/22/2013 6:28 pm CST
I think the BF community generally accepts that some form of BF type creature exists in several places around the globe. These creatures are seemingly related, but often showing different characteristics. For example, in American, the southern "swamp ape" variety of BFs are reported to be slightly shorter on average than the Pacific Northwest variety. They also have a more reddish hue to their fur and their feet are smaller too, thought still considered "big."
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Good luck to him. In the spirit of the apostle Thomas, I'll believe when I can touch the bigfoot. Well on second thought - Thomas didn't have thermal imaging and digital recording available. I don't have to actually touch the bigfoot. Just see credible, can't-be-explained-away, couldn't-have-been-faked evidence that it exists just like we have with other rare but known animals. Until then I'm a skeptic. I'd love to be wrong though.