The Giant Hoax!
In Cardiff, New York, diggers on William Newell’s farm dug up a ten foot petrified fossil. It was an October morning in 1869. The shovels of the diggers hit something hard buried under the land of Mr. Newell’s land. The news of this singular or rare discovery traveled as quickly as a flash. A relative of Newell named Hull,George Hull, spotted a large opportunity to get rich and invest in money. He charged people money to take peaks at the giant and made a profit. Soon many business workers started pursuing him to sell them the giant. Many of the visitors were paleontologists though, and found proof that this giant was a swindle, a fake! Their thoughts about it were negative. When interviewed, neither George Hull nor William Newell had an alibi and were very frank. A confederate from Ohio had sculpted the ten foot hoax and used special acids to modify its appearance so it would look old. He had then discharged the statue through the railroad to bury near Cardiff, a year later, he hired a group to dig it back up. The reason why he did this was to make fun of the people who believed in giants but it then became a money making trick. The story did not end though, it rather continued. On. P.T. Barnum reigned in the world of popular entertainment and thought his circus would be even better if he had the giant hoax so he asked to buy or purchase the giant with over $30,000 but the owners still said no so he was more economical and just made a fake of a fake! This should’ve led to mutiny by Barnum’s customers but it never did. Like most fads, they fade away from memory, but now it is put on exhibit at the farmers museum in Cooperstown. Today many still crave it’s existence and pay to see it.
In Cardiff, New York, diggers on William Newell’s farm dug up a ten foot petrified fossil. It was an October morning in 1869. The shovels of the diggers hit something hard buried under the land of Mr. Newell’s land. The news of this singular or rare discovery traveled as quickly as a flash. A relative of Newell named Hull,George Hull, spotted a large opportunity to get rich and invest in money. He charged people money to take peaks at the giant and made a profit. Soon many business workers started pursuing him to sell them the giant. Many of the visitors were paleontologists though, and found proof that this giant was a swindle, a fake! Their thoughts about it were negative. When interviewed, neither George Hull nor William Newell had an alibi and were very frank. A confederate from Ohio had sculpted the ten foot hoax and used special acids to modify its appearance so it would look old. He had then discharged the statue through the railroad to bury near Cardiff, a year later, he hired a group to dig it back up. The reason why he did this was to make fun of the people who believed in giants but it then became a money making trick. The story did not end though, it rather continued. On. P.T. Barnum reigned in the world of popular entertainment and thought his circus would be even better if he had the giant hoax so he asked to buy or purchase the giant with over $30,000 but the owners still said no so he was more economical and just made a fake of a fake! This should’ve led to mutiny by Barnum’s customers but it never did. Like most fads, they fade away from memory, but now it is put on exhibit at the farmers museum in Cooperstown. Today many still crave it’s existence and pay to see it.
