Cryptozoology - What Does The Word Mean?
I was thinking this morning about the meaning of the word, cryptozoology. For some reason, Tales From The Crypt came to mind. Tales From The Crypt started as a comic book series in the early fifties, then became a movie in 1972 and a TV series from 1989 to 1996. There were a few more Tales From The Crypt movies since then, an animated TV series in 1999, and finally an album by C-Bo.
Crypt means “an underground room or vault used as a burial place, or a place for secret meetings” which has nothing to do with the subject of cryptozoology which is the study of creatures whose existence has not yet been proven, such as Bigfoot. So I looked up the origin of the word. Dictionary.Com gives the origin as the word kryptós, a feminine Greek word meaning hidden. Well, obviously Bigfoot and other unproven animals are hidden. And zoology is the study of animals.
Cryptozoology is the study of hidden animals.
Bigfoot Sighting Leads To Litigation
When Matt Moneymaker, owner of BFRO, had a Bigfoot sighting while on expedition in Kentucky, he probably never thought it would end up in court. The BFRO Bigfoot video footage, which was sold to Adrian Erickson of Newgrowth Capital Corp. for $20,000, was intended to become a part of a motion picture which is in production at this time.
According to Newgrowth Capital Corp v. Craig Woolheater and Cryptomundo, LLC, Woolheater declined to sign a non-disclosure agreement to view a clip of the Kentucky Bigfoot sighting film at the BFRO website. The lawsuit also alleges that Woolheater severed ties with the organization and, after receiving the clip from a BFRO member, posted it to his blog, Cryptomundo, which as it turns out is a LLC: Limited Liability Company based in California.
You can discuss this Bigfoot sighting litigation on the Matt Moneymaker vs. Cryptomundo.com thread at the Bigfoot Forums.
Thanks to ‘Guy in Indiana’ at the Bigfoot Forums for supplying this link and a few others. (See the thread link above for more information.)
April 10, 2007
History: Yeti Footprints Found in 1889
Major Laurence Austine Waddel of the Indian Army Medical Corps found large footprints in the snow of the Himalayas at 17,000 feet. He wrote:
“These were alleged to be the trail of the hairy wild men who are believed to live amongst the eternal snows, along with the mythical white lions, whose roar is reputed to be heard during storms. The belief in these creatures is universal among Tibetans.”
- From Among the Himalayas (1899) by Major Waddel.
Bigfoot Misinformation from the Czech Republic
A newspaper in the Czech Republic proudly printed what I consider to be Bigfoot misinformation today.
“As we mentioned in an earlier column, Bob Heironimus is also world famous. He played ‘Bigfoot’ (or Yeti) in the historic Roger Patterson/Bob Gimlin Bigfoot hoax film of 1967 and for more than 31 years fooled many scientists. In fact, there are still some scientists like Dr. Jeffrey Meldrum who refuse to admit that this “dumb cowboy” managed to fool them.
Some people actually ‘believe’ that the creature known as ‘Bigfoot’ or Yeti really exists. While this is a distinct minority of individuals and even fewer scientists, ‘BFers’ as they are affectionately known, still defend the Patterson/Gimlin hoax film, despite Bob Heironimus’s thoroughly verified confession.”
I find it frustrating to read this. Though Heironimus may have a ‘thoroughly verified confession’ on record somewhere, this does not mean that his confession is valid.
I live right down the road (Highway 96, aka: The Bigfoot Scenic Byway) - not far from Bluff Creek. We’re still getting Bigfoot reports from time to time; some coming from extremely credible people residing in this community (Happy Camp) or visiting it.
Source: Ya’ll Know Cowboy English?