The Piltdown Man

 Author: Wyatt McPherson

Amateur archaeologist Charles Dawson and geologist Charles Woodward declared in 1912 that they had found an amazing collection of fossils near Piltdown, England. The discovery featured a jawbone like an ape and a skull that appeared to belong to the same person. The most popular evolutionary theories of the time were supported by this assembly, which seemed to close the evolutionary gap between humans and their ape-like forebears.The Piltdown Man was considered as a key piece of evidence supporting human evolution for a number of decades. The idea of "Eoanthropus dawsoni" (Dawson's Dawn Man) gained widespread acceptance when it came up frequently in textbooks and scientific literature.

The Problem of Piltdown Man

As the years passed, doubts grew. The significance of the Piltdown Man as the missing link appeared to be called into question by other major fossil discoveries, most notably the Australopithecus and Neanderthal discovery. The inconsistencies between the skull and jawbone led scientists to begin to doubt the fossils' authenticity.1953 saw the unveiling of the truth. An extensive series of testing and investigations revealed beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Piltdown Man was a fake. The jawbone belonged to an orangutan, but the skull was in fact human. It had been falsely damaged and altered for decades to create the impression of incredible age, fooling the scientific community.

Anthropology’s Greatest Hoax

Paleoanthropologist Isabelle De Groote of Liverpool John Moores University in the United Kingdom started investigating the issue in 2009 by utilizing DNA analysis and contemporary scanning techniques on the original materials. She and her colleagues came to the conclusion that all of these parts came from an orangutan by comparing computer tomography (CT) scans of the mouth and teeth to known ape specimens. De Groote believes the forger or forgers may have obtained the orangutan from a curiosities shop, as DNA sequencing of the teeth revealed they were all from the same animal. While reviewing the CT scans, De Groote observed that almost all of the bones had an odd, off-white putty on their surface. This putty had been filled in gaps and cracks that the forger accidentally made, painted over, and stained in certain places. She discovered tiny pebbles crammed into hollow chambers and sealed with the same putty inside the crania and teeth. Given that fossilized bones are significantly heavier than more recent bones, De Groote believes the hoaxer used these pebbles to weigh down the bones.

Work Cited:

Michael, Price. “Study reveals culprit behind Piltdown Man, one of science's famous hoaxes.” Aug 9, 2016. https://www.science.org/content/article/study-reveals-culprit-behind-piltdown-man-one-science-s-most-famous-hoaxes

The editors of encyclopaedia britannica. “Piltdown Man, anthropological hoax.” Jan. 2015.https://www.britannica.com/topic/Piltdown-man

Wikipedia. “Piltdown Man.” Last edited on Oct. 3, 2023.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piltdown_Man

For Further Reference:

Dr Kenneth Oakley, Dr Joseph Weiner, and Wilfred La Gros Clark. “Piltdown Man”. NHM. https://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/departments-and-staff/library-and-archives/collections/piltdown-man.html, accessed by 25 Oct. 2023. This article states, In 1912, an amateur archaeologist named Charles Dawson made a remarkable claim that he had discovered the "missing link" between ape and man. He found a human-like skull in Pleistocene gravel beds near Piltdown village in Sussex, England. Dawson shared his discovery with Arthur Smith Woodward, Keeper of Geology at the Natural History Museum at the time, through a letter. 

Samuel Redman. “Behind closed doors: What the Piltdown Man hoax from 1912 can teach science today.” The Conversation 4 May, 2017, https://theconversation.com/behind-closed-doors-what-the-piltdown-man-hoax-from-1912-can-teach-science-today-76967. This article talks about the hoax of Piltdown Man and how the spread of disinformation in the science world led to the misbelief and distrust of scientists as a whole. Although this hoax happened many decades ago, there are still similar instances to this day that prove how important facts and hard data are to prove the legitimacy of things.

Nandini Subramaniam, “The Problem with the Piltdown Man”. Science History Institute Museum and Library. https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/magazine/the-problem-of-piltdown-man/, 27th August, 2023. This article is about the historical background of the piltdown man, where Dawson and other scientists went to go digging for other skulls, and how human evolution ties into the piltdown man. 

Half Woman Half Animal Shocks the World

 Author: Samuel Kramer

Every day we as people forget that we are born with natural beauty looks that are attractive to other people. However, this was not the case for one unfortunate woman in the 19^th century. Julia Pastrana was a young Mexican woman who was born with two very rare genetic disorders. One being hyperplasia which thickened her gums and lips to the point which protruded her skull to an almost ape like face. The other being hypertrichosis which caused her to grow an extreme amount of facial hair which was impossible to live with. These conditions would soon be recognized by the rest of the world soon after she was born, and she would soon be called the “Bear Woman”.

Julia Pastrana, “A Monster to The Whole World”      

 In Pastrana’s early life, she was scolded by her family and town for her looks and at one point, she was left in a forest to die but was miraculously saved by an unknown person. Shortly after, Pastrana was sold into show business by her own two parents due to her not being able to find work elsewhere. Her parents and others thought that they could pass off Pastrana as a “Circus Act” or “Attraction”. People all over the world came to see Pastrana and her rare genetic mutations. Pastrana, at this point in her life faced extreme depression due to racism, degrading names, and even some cases of violence. Soon, however, Pastrana would be able to find some love in her life in the form of her own manager.

Though Pastrana fell for her manager named Theodore Lent, Lent would continue to introduce her to the audience of the circus as, “The Ugliest Woman in the World.” Pastrana would overlook these things as she was genuinely attached to Lent as they traveled America and Europe together. Though her appearance, Pastrana was genuinely a wonderful singer and dancer. According to Francis Buckland, a British natural historian, “She had great taste in music and dancing, and could speak three languages.” While traveling, Pastrana would become pregnant with lent’s son. However, the baby would inherit the diseases from Pastrana and die during childbirth. Shortly after, Pastrana would also die from blood loss. Lent was distraught with what had happened with his wife and his son. Not long after, Lent would also die and soon Pastrana's body would be displayed along with her son. The story of Pastrana is widely known for its sadness with her appearance, but Pastrana as a person was able to overcome it with her interests and love for her wife. 

Work Cited:

 Butler, Aoife. “A Bearded Woman, Embalmed: The Post-Modern Display of Julia Pastrana in the 19^th Century”. Pathological Bodies Project, 15^th Oct 2020. https://pathologicalbodiesproject.home.blog/2020/09/11/a-bearded-woman-embalmed-the-post-mortem-display-of-julia-pastrana-in-the-19th-century/. Accessed by Oct 25^th, 2023.

Brown Deneen. ““The Bear Woman”: The Brief, Sad Life of Julia Pastrana. The Washington Post, 4 June. 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/12/arts/design/julia-pastrana-who-died-in-1860-to-be-buried-in-mexico.html.  Accessed Oct 25^th, 2023.

Carlton, Genevieve. “The Sad Story of Julia Pastrana, The “Ape Woman” Sideshow Performer.” All That’s Interesting, 3 May 2023. https://allthatsinteresting.com/julia-pastrana. Accessed by October 25^th, 2023.

Lovejoy, Bess. “A Monster to the Whole World” The Public Domain Review, 26 Nov. 2014. https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/julia-pastrana-a-monster-to-the-whole-world/. Accessed by October 31^st, 2023.

Wilson, Charles. “An Artist Finds a Dignified Ending for an Ugly Story.” The New York Times, 14 Jan. 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/12/arts/design/julia-pastrana-who-died-in-1860-to-be-buried-in-mexico.html. Accessed by Oct 25^th, 2023.

Woolfe. John. “The Sad, Grotesque Life of “Baboon Lady” Julia Pastrana. Literary Hub. 15 Nov. 2019. https://lithub.com/the-sad-grotesque-life-of-baboon-lady-julia-pastrana/. Accessed by October 25, 2023.

Links for further research:

Medline Plus, “Hyperplasia”. National Library of Medicine. 30^th July 2021. https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/003441.htm. Accessed by October 31^st, 2023. This website dives into more detail on what hyperplasia is, other names it goes by, and what it is caused by.

Stat Pearls, “Hypertrichosis”. National Library of Medicine. 16^th Aug 2023. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK534854/#:~:text=Introduction-,Hypertrichosis%20is%20defined%20as%20excessive%20hair%20growth%20anywhere%20on%20the,%5D%5B2%5D%5B3%5D. Accessed by October 31^st, 2023. Similarly to the hyperplasia website, this website deals with cause, names, and even different forms of the disease which can be confused with others.

Rogers, Lisa. “The Restless Corpse of Julia Pastrana”. Lisa’s History Room. 9 May 2009. https://lisawallerrogers.com/tag/theodore-lent/. Accessed by October 31^st, 2023. This website is for people who want to know more about Theodore Lent. Things such as his background history, job, and how he came into Pastrana's life.

The Stork Woman

 Olivia Bozzone

Elizabeth Green was an accomplished woman. Born on October 10,1905 in Springfield, Massachusetts, she came into the world with a birth defect called Seckel Syndrome  that gave her peculiar features she was able to monetize later. Seckel syndrome, also known as Bird-Headed Dwarfism, is a type of dwarfism that causes bird-like features, such as a small head, small eyes, a large, beak-like nose, and a receding lower jaw (Wynbrandt). Because of this deformity, Green became a performer known as The Stork Woman in the Ringling Brothers Circus. She worked with the circus in the 1920s and 1930s. Green would wear a feather bird costume and stand at the entrance of the circus as an opening act. She was particularly placed there because she was considered less “strange” than the other performers (“Elizabeth Green Biography”). 

Alongside her title as The Stork Woman, Green was also known as Koo-Koo the Bird Girl; a name given to one other person, Minnie Woosley, for the movie Freaks made in 1932. Although they were both in the movie “Freaks”, and Green carried the title longer, Woosley will always be the performer people think about when they hear the name Koo-Koo, because she was the one hired for the role in the movie. No response was ever given from Green about this, but after the movie was made she returned to her position in the circus with the title of Koo-Koo (Meyer). It is said that Green didn’t want to be a movie actress, but she was a movie fiend, and she wanted to get the autograph of one of her favorite actors, Ronald Coleman (“Elizabeth Green Biography”). That was why she signed the contract for the movie “Freaks.”

Green was also a very successful businesswoman. According to IMBd she owned multiple apartment buildings in Boston and managed them all when she was home from the circus. Her Agent once said of her, “She may be koo-koo enough to make people laugh, but she’s not koo-koo when it comes to signing contracts” (“Elizabeth Green Biography”).

Even though she had a disability, she proved that she could not only sustain herself but do so incredibly well. She turned an unfortunate circumstance into a business. She was a successful comedienne and actress with many hobbies. Not much is known about Green’s life after the movie or later in her career. We don’t even know much about her death, except that she died on May 9, 2001. Much about her is left to the imagination, but what we do know is that Elizabeth Green was able to beat the odds, and be odd, while doing what she loved. 

Works Cited:

“Elizabeth Green Biography.” IMDb. Accessed on 28 October 2023. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0337822/bio/?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm.

Elizabeth Green the Stork Woman. Accessed on 29 October 2023. Wikipedia. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elizabeth_Green_the_Stork_Woman.jpg#/media/File:Elizabeth_Green_the_Stork_Woman.jpg

Meyer, Joseph R. Series Feature #4 – Life in The Circus From Yesterday to Today! – Koo-Koo the Bird Girl (Minnie Woolsey and Elizabeth Green). 29 August. 2020. https://josephmeyercreatives.com/2020/08/29/series-feature-4-life-in-the-circus-from-yesterday-to-today-koo-koo-the-bird-girl/.

Wynbrandt, James., and Mark D. Ludman. “Seckel Syndrome (Bird-Headed Dwarfism).” The Encyclopedia of Genetic Disorders and Birth Defects, Infobase Publishing, 12 May 2010, pp. 344-345.

Links for Further Research:

Joseph Meyer Creatives

https://josephmeyercreatives.com/2020/08/29/series-feature-4-life-in-the-circus-from-yesterday-to-today-koo-koo-the-bird-girl/

This is a blog post about some of the history behind the circus acts mentioned here.

Wisconsin Historical Society

://www.wisconsinhistory.org/Records/Article/CS547

This site provides more information about the circus that Elizabeth Green performed with.

IMBd

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0337822/bio/?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm

This website gives the entire biography of Elizabeth Green.

Miller County’s Bigfoot: The Boggy Creek Monster

 Jennie Overstreet

Many people who live in the area surrounding Miller County, Arkansas claim to have seen a large, man-like monster. This cryptid is known as the Boggy Creek Monster. Cryptid is defined by the Merriam-webster dictionary to be “an animal that has been claimed to exist but never proven to exist” According to the article “Fouke Monster” by Amy Thompson, sightings of this creature date back to 1946. 

The Boggy Creek 

Monster

The Boggy Creek Monster, also known as the Fouke Monster, is a cryptid very similar in appearance to the more well-known bigfoot. According to Jake Carter in his article “The Monster of Boggy Creek: The Real Story of the Fouke Monster,” it was described to be a hominid-shaped furry creature that was 7 to 10 feet tall with a chest 3 feet wide. It has been reported to have large red eyes and a terrible odor. 

Sightings of the Boggy Creek Monster are all in the swamplands of southwest Arkansas. Its alternate name of “Fouke Monster” is derived from an encounter in 1971, where it attacked the home of Bobby Ford in the small town of Fouke. During the month of May, he said he had been out with his hunting friends when they saw the creature behind the Ford’s house. They shot at it, and claimed to have seen it fall, but as the group made their way toward the creature, they heard a woman scream. Bobby Ford immediately ran to the front door, where he was allegedly grabbed by the Fouke Monster. He was treated at a local hospital for scratches and minor shock. When his property was investigated, there was damage to the house and three-toed footprints, but not a trace of blood.

At least three movies were made with inspiration from this encounter. According to Jake Carter’s article, the first movie The Legend of Boggy Creek was made in 1973 and grossed over 22 million dollars. Many eyewitnesses played as actors in the movie. The two other movies made after this were called Return to Boggy Creek and The Barbaric Beast of Boggy Creek, Part II.

Many people have tried to explain the existence of the Boggy Creek Monster. Some have tried arguing that it is really a misidentified bigfoot, despite the footprints of the creature having only three toes versus Bigfoot’s five-toed tracks. Others have claimed that sightings of the cryptid are just misidentified black bears. The Boggy Creek Monster has captivated public attention since attacking the Ford’s home in 1971, with sightings dating back much further. Movies have been made focusing on the cryptid, sharing its existence across the country. Many have attempted to debunk the creature’s existence as a misidentified black bear or bigfoot, but the Fouke Monster continued to keep its identity.

Works Cited:

Carter, Jake. “The Monster of Boggy Creek: The Real Story of the Fouke Monster.” anomalien. 29 Aug. 2020. https://anomalien.com/the-monster-of-boggy-creek-the-real-story-of-the-fouke-monster/. Accessed 20, Oct. 2023.

Mobley, Andrew. “'That's no deer': Fouke Monster legend haunts swamplands of southwest Arkansas with new alleged evidence.” KATV Little Rock/Pine Bluff, 21 Oct. 2023. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/that-s-no-deer-fouke-monster-legend-haunts-swamplands-of-southwest-arkansas-with-new-alleged-evidence/ar-AA1iCVmp. Accessed 23 Oct. 2023.

Thompson, Amy. “Fouke Monster.” Encyclopedia of Arkansas. 16 Jun. 2023. https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/fouke-monster-2212/. Accessed 20, Oct. 2023.

“Cryptid, N.” Merriam-webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cryptid. Accessed 29 Oct. 2023.

Bigfoot. 29 Aug. 2022. anomalien, https://anomalien.com/the-monster-of-boggy-creek-the-real-story-of-the-fouke-monster/.

For Further Reference:

Carter, Jake. “The Monster of Boggy Creek: The Real Story of the Fouke Monster.” anomalien. 29 Aug. 2020. https://anomalien.com/the-monster-of-boggy-creek-the-real-story-of-the-fouke-monster/. Accessed 20, Oct. 2023. Jake Carter explains various topics of information about the Boggy Creek monster. The article goes on to talk about the history of the creature, its potential appearance, and the effects that sightings of this creature had on media. The purpose of this article is to discuss a variety of topics on the monster, from its origins to the movies inspired by it.

Mobley, Andrew. “'That's no deer': Fouke Monster legend haunts swamplands of southwest Arkansas with new alleged evidence.” KATV Little Rock/Pine Bluff, 21 Oct. 2023. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/that-s-no-deer-fouke-monster-legend-haunts-swamplands-of-southwest-arkansas-with-new-alleged-evidence/ar-AA1iCVmp. Accessed 23 Oct. 2023. Andrew Mobley describes some general information about the Boggy Creek Monster. The article focuses on first-hand encounters with various people.

Thompson, Amy. “Fouke Monster.” Encyclopedia of Arkansas. 16 Jun. 2023. https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/fouke-monster-2212/. Accessed 20, Oct. 2023. Amy Thompson describes some information on the Boggy Creek Monster that stalks the small town of Fouke, Arkansas. The article focuses on one incident in 1971 where the creature was reported to have attacked the house of Bobby Ford. There is also a short mention of a movie that was made with inspiration from this encounter.

Charles Byrne, The “Irish Giant”

 Author: Justin Joiner 

There have been many strange or rare occurences in the world, but what about someone over 

seven feet? In this extremely rare case, one Irish man from Londonderry, United Kingdom, grew to be a staggering seven foot seven inches tall! According to Ian Halim in his article, “The Careless Display of Ill-Gotten Human Remains,” “advertising [Charles Byrne] in the newspapers as a "modern colossus" and "the greatest natural curiosity ever seen." 

Byrne sketch

Charles Byrne, real name Charles O’Brien, lived to only be 22 years old. His main health problems were “alcoholism and pituitary gigantism”, according to Laken Brooks of Forbes. He had a brain tumor that impacted his pituitary gland, which in turn, caused excessive growth from a condition called acromegaly. Since he was so tall, he made a living performing freak shows in the United Kingdom. He became a celebrity and entertainer because of his height, and lead to many researchers and doctors to pressure Byrne in donating his corpse for further analysis. Keep in mind Byrne lived during the late 18th, when many doctors and surgeons had little understanding of this excessive growth of a person. According to Allison Meier from JSTOR Daily, “an article from around the time of his death declared that “the whole tribe of surgeons put in a claim for the poor departed Irish giant and surrounded his house just as Greenland harpooners would an enormous whale.” Even though Byrne was pressured to donate, he wanted otherwise. As he was dying, he said he wanted to be buried at sea, as this would be a sure way to protect his remains. However, despite his efforts, it did not come true. 

His remains were Stolen by anatomist John Hunter, who bribed someone to replace Byrne’s remains in his coffin. According to Allison Meier from the JSTOR Daily, John apparently “boiled flesh from bone” and stored his skeleton for four years. Hunter eventually turned the bones over to the Royal College of Surgeon’s Hunterian Museum, where they have displayed Byrne’s remains for over 200 years. As time went on, many critics objected this because it disrespected the Irish Giant’s wishes to not have his remains displayed. In the end, the trustees of the museum decided that it was best to take down the remains but keep them in private for further research. At the end of the day, while Charles O’Brien may had been extraordinarily tall, he was still a human, and we must protect his wishes. 

Works Cited:

Aitken, Peter. “British museum will remove the bones of ‘Irish Giant’ Charles Byrne.” New York Post, 18 Jan. 2023, https://nypost.com/2023/01/18/british-museum-will-remove-the-bones-of-irish-giant-charles-byrne/ Accessed 23 Oct. 2023. 

Brooks, Laken. “’Irish Giant’ Never Wanted His Body To Be A Specimen. Two Centuries Later, Museum Takes His Bones off Display.” Forbes, 26 Feb. 2023, https://www.forbes.com/sites/lakenbrooks/2023/02/26/irish-giant-never-wanted-his-body-to-be-a-specimen-two-centuries-later-museum-takes-his-bones-off-display/?sh=35ee87153039. Accessed 23 Oct. 2023. 

Halim, Ian. “The Careless Display of Ill-Gotten Human Remains.” UNDARK, 7 Apr. 2022, https://undark.org/2022/04/07/opinion-the-careless-display-of-ill-gotten-human-remains/ Accessed 26 Oct 2023. 

Meier, Allison. “Will an 18th-Centiry Giant Finally Get a Burial at Sea?” JSTOR Daily, 6 July 2018, https://daily.jstor.org/will-an-18th-century-giant-finally-get-a-burial-at-sea/ Accessed 24 Oct 2023.

“Charles Byrne; James Burnett, Lord Monboddo; William Richardson; John Bell; Baillie Kyd by John Kay.” Wikipedia Image, 29 March 2009, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Charles_Byrne;_James_Burnett,_Lord_Monboddo;_William_Richardson;_John_Bell;_Baillie_Kyd_by_John_Kay.jpg Accessed 26 Oct 2023

Links for further research:   

Kolata, Gina. “In a Giant’s Story, a New Chapter Writ by His DNA.” The New York Times, 5 Jan. 2011, https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/06/health/06giant.html#:~:text=Until%20now%3A%20researchers%20in%20Britain,Northern%20Ireland%2C%20near%20where%20Mr. Accessed 23 Oct. 2023. This article talks about how an American surgeon by the name of Harvey Cushing removed the top of Charles Byrne’s skull, discovering he had a pituitary tumor. In addition, researchers “extracted DNA from Byrne’s teeth” and found a rare and “mysterious” genetic mutation that caused excessive growth, with this mutation found in 2006 in Northern Ireland, near where Charles lived over 200 years ago.

Neeson, Conor. “The Irish Giant: Charles Byrne’s skeleton removed from display.” BBC News, 11 Jan. 2023, https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-64234653 Accessed 26 Oct 2023. This source gives an update to Charles Byrne having his remains removed from the museum.    

Cleveland Clinic. “Gigantism.” Cleveland Clinic, 9 May 2022, https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22954-gigantism Accessed 31 Oct 2023. This source by Cleveland Clinic gives more information about gigantism, the condition that Charles Byrne had. 

The Mischievous Kobolds

 Ken’ Niyah Johnson

According to German folklore, the kobold is a little, goblin-like animal with pointed ears and a short fuse. It also has a playful nature. He has a violent personality and gets angry when not fed properly. He occasionally sings to kids. Despite being generally regarded as genuine, it's stated that upsetting a kobold can be a dangerous mistake. A kobold can appear as a human, a fire, a candle, or any non-human animal, even though they are normally invisible. The most popular images of kobolds are of them being small humanoid creatures.

There are three different types of Kobolds: household helpers, underground and mining Kobolds, and ships and water Kobolds. The household kobold is a mischievous household spirit that usually helps with chores and other useful duties, but he also frequently pushes over people who are crouched or hides crops and domestic goods (Household spirits). Legends frequently depict underground kobolds as evil beings. People begged for protection from them in the medieval mining towns. They were held accountable for the disasters, cave-ins, and rock falls that troubled the human miners. Fooling miners into taking worthless minerals was a popular kobold trick. In the 16th century, for instance, miners may have come upon what appeared to be rich veins of silver or copper, but upon melting them, they would often find that the metal was dangerous or harmful. Those handling these ores experienced a scorching sensation. By making gifts of gold and silver and demanding that their fellow miners treat the kobolds with respect, miners attempted to win over the creatures. But according to some legends, kobolds only gave more deadly ores in return for their kindness. Kobold - Wikipedia) Title: Mine Spirit. Sea kobolds would reside on board and look after the crew and ship. While no one was looking, they would manage the cargo as well as pump water out of the hold, patch any holes, rescue those who had fallen overboard, and plug any leaks. It was also thought that the Kobolds' strength prevented ships from sinking in emergencies, thus if you ever saw them, your ship was bound to perish. Based on some stories, captains left out their best foods and wines for the Kobolds to enjoy, while in other accounts, crew members threw their captains overboard for denying their existence. (Kobold - Wikipedia) Title: Water spirits.

In German legend, kobolds are still valued as house spirits and protectors. Kobolds can be found in a lot of video games and television shows, including Dark Age of Camelot, Warcraft, The Record of Lodoss War, One-Piece, and Dungeons & Dragons. You are able to attract them to your home on Midsummer Eve, and they appreciate gifts, as opposed to most other house spirits. Clothing is their favorite item since it prevents kobolds from feeling mistreated or unappreciated.

Work cited: 

Chris. “Kobolds: The Mischievous Goblin Creatures of Folklore”. June 8, 2020. https://inquisitivewonder.com/kobolds-the-mischievous-goblin-creatures-of-folklore/.

Professor Geller. “Kobold”. April 8,2017.https://mythology.net/mythical creatures/kobold/

Riley Winter. “Don’t Cross the Kobolds: Mischievous Spirits of European Folklore”. June 2, 2019. https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/nature-and-dangers-legendary-kobold-002121

Gloria Lotha and Emily Rodriguez. “Kobold German Folklore”. August 28, 2019, and February 12, 2023. https://www.britannica.com/topic/kobold

Alex Tinsdale. “One Piece and the Real Myth of The Kobold”. August 21, 2017. https://archive.nerdist.com/one-piece-kobold-myth-going-merry-manga/

For Further Research: 

“Klabautermann”. November 16, 2011.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klabautermann

A. Sutherland. “Kobold: Mythological Spirit of Underground: Guardian of Miners and Earth’s Treasures”. June 13, 2016. https://www.messagetoeagle.com/mythological-spirit-of-underground-guardian-of-miners-and-earths-treasures/

The Cunning Wife. “Kobolds: Household Tricksters”. August 8, 2017. https://witchesandpagans.com/pagan-studies-blogs/hob-broom/kobolds-household-tricksters.html

Jean Hillard: A Frozen Miracle.

 Caitlyn McKenna 

In December 1980, a girl named Jean Hillard experienced a medical miracle that earned her the name “Frozen Woman .” This shocked everyone in her small town Lengby, Minnesota. Her story starts with a car accident, William DeLong wrote, in his article called “Jean Hilliard: The Woman who Froze Solid and Thawed Back to Life” 

“Snow begins to fall around the Cathedral of Saint Paul, Feb. 21, 2023,
at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, Minn.” Alex Kormann 

Jean was driving her father's truck that had no anti-brake locks, which caused it to be a very dangerous vehicle to drive on icy, slick roads. The truck ended up skidding on an ice patch and Jean ended up in a roadside ditch. Jean recalled that she went to look for help, walking in cowboy boots. She remembered getting frustrated thinking her friend Wally’s place was much closer than it was. When she finally saw lights, shining from Wally’s, everything around her went black – which was the last thing Jean could remember. When Wally and his wife got Jean to the hospital, Doctors were not optimistic about bringing her back since her skin was so frozen that no needle could prick her skin, they just broke from contact.  

But a medical miracle was formed hours later, when Jean awoke, talking about how she was worried about her father being upset about his wrecked truck. Many thought this miracle was due to the prayers that were being said, but science determines that our bodies can go through a state of hibernation. Since Jean was frozen solid, her blood slowed, and her need for oxygen was less causing her organs to remain safe and unharmed. Unlike most people that would’ve reacted to a second chance with a sense of gratefulness, Jean kept waiting for something big to happen. She says that it was as if she just went to sleep and woke up in the hospital which to her was uninteresting. 

“Frozen ordeal has happy ending” Thirteen towns newspaper, Fosston 

Life for Jean is nothing but ordinary with no health issues from that night. She’s had kids, been married, and she can now drive on icy roads at night. Meanwhile doctors are using the so-called hibernation to see if it be used to save people’s lives not only from hypothermia but also gunshot wounds, stabbings, and heart attacks. 

 

Works cited:  

DeLong, William. “Jean Hilliard: The Woman who Froze Solid and Thawed Back to Life”, allthatinteresting, https://allthatsinteresting.com/jean-hilliard. Published 28, Jan. 2019 

Kormann, Alex. “Snow begins to fall around the Cathedral of Saint Paul, feb.21,2023, at the Minnesota state capitol in St. Paul, Minn.” Image. ABC news. https://abcnews.go.com/US/massive-winter-storm-bring-heavy-snow-rain-states/story?id=97319954 Accessed 28, Oct. 2023 

Maury, Glover. “Minnesota’s ‘frozen woman’ alive and well decades later” fox9.com, https://www.fox9.com/news/minnesotas-frozen-woman-alive-and-well-decades-later. Published 2, March. 2020. 

Mcrae, Mike. “Amazing True Story: The Woman Who Survived Being ‘Frozen Solid’, science alert, https://www.sciencealert.com/amazing-true-story-the-woman-who-survived-being-frozen-solid. Published 23, Oct. 2023 

Snopes staff. “Jean Hillard: Miracle on Ice” Snopes, https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/miracle-on-ice/ Published 18, Feb. 2015 

Thirteen towns newspaper, Fosston. “Frozen ordeal has happy ending” Image. mprnews  https://www.mprnews.org/story/2018/01/25/jean-hilliard-northern-minnesota-frozen-survived 

Further research: 

Department of public health. Connecticut's state. “Frostbite and Hypothermia” ct.gov.com.https://portal.ct.gov/DPH/Communications/Crisis-and-Emergency-Risk-Communication/Frostbite-and-Hypothermia. Accessed 25, Oct. 2023. This article by the department of public health of Connecticut talks about both hypothermia and frostbite. It lists the differences between the two and gives people an understanding of what to look for in case you feel like you might be experiencing one of the two. For frostbite people complain of loss of feeling and color in the affected area which is commonly fingers, cheeks, noses, and ears. Compared to hypothermia it is less serious since with hypothermia your body is losing more heat than it can produce. 

Rettner, Rachael. “How does a person freeze to death?’ livescience https://www.livescience.com/6008-person-freeze-death.html In her article she details how core temperatures drop, frostbite danger, and how our bodies have a built-in cold protection. One of the more interesting facts is the cold protection is named Vasoconstriction, it limits the amount of heat you lose to the environment. Another mechanism is how our bodies heat up is shivering, it produces heat and allows our temperatures to rise. 

 

Iceman Uncovered

 Author: Ma’Kayla Brown

On September 19, 1991, two German tourists by the names of Erika and Helmut Simon were hiking in the Otzal Alps and came across something very unusual. They found a frozen corpse sticking out of the snow. They believed that they had come across a hiker who had just recently passed and quickly alerted the proper authorities. The body was retrieved as well as the things that were found with it like tools and weapons such as stone arrowheads, knives, and a copper axe. Archeologists were brought in to look at the body and they dated the body to be at least 4,000 years old. They named the body Otzi because he was found in the Otzal Alps. Researchers began to try to find out the cause of death. When Otzi was first found, archeologists believed that Otzi was free of diseases but in 2007 researchers discovered that Otzi had been infested with whipworm and that he had suffered from arthritis. However, neither of those conditions contributed to his death.

Otzi the Iceman

They believed Otzi was about 5’2, weighed about 110 lbs, had died between 40-50 years old, and that he had lived through the copper age. Many theories of Otzi’s death floated around for some time, theories like Otzi had gotten caught in a horrible snowstorm and had frozen to death but a new discovery had come to light. Researchers had discovered that Otzi had a flint arrowhead lodged in his left shoulder and a deep cut was also found on his hand which is thought to be a defensive wound. With this evidence, scientists began to make sense of Otzi’s last days. Otzi had been shot by an arrow from behind and suffered extensive blood loss and died soon after. His body, clothes, and belongings were found undisturbed.

Otzi’s place of death with Albert Zink

A new study on the Iceman had begun. Scientists extracted DNA from Otzi’s pelvis and conducted an analysis of his genetic makeup. The analysis revealed that Otzi had dark skin, dark eyes, and was likely bald. Albert Zink, the head of the Institute for Mummy Studies at Eurac Research says, “It’s not surprising that Otzi was dark skinned.” He even adds that it’s believed that a lot of Europeans during that time likely had darker skin compared to present-day Europeans. A recent analysis of Otzi’s genome was done and they found that he has more than 92% Anatolian ancestry. This contradicted what was concluded in the original genome analysis. Researchers today still look for clues and evidence to continue to piece together Otzi’s life and his last days.

Works Cited:

Historic Mysteries. “Otzi the Iceman: 5000+ year old murder case.” YouTube, 9 Apr. 2022. https://youtu.be/mRa0Gi_mRjs?si=E5JOpY2ZLtr-L98y .YouTube. Accessed 23 Oct. 2023.

Hunt, Katie. “Otzi the Iceman’s True Appearance Revealed by New DNA Analysis.” CNN. 21 Aug. 2023. https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/16/europe/otzi-the-iceman-physical-traits-scn. Accessed 23 Oct. 2023.

National Geographic. “Onward A 5,300-Year-Old Mummy with Keys to the Future.” YouTube, 13 Nov. 2013. https://youtu.be/k5LtD4G8JD4?si=Tqas6-J4dBtK8C8A. Accessed 26 Oct. 2023.

Nothern Bushcraft. “Otzi the Iceman’s Clothes.” Pinterest, Northern Bushcraft — illvedere: Otzi the iceman’s clothes. (tumblr.com) Accessed 29 Oct. 2023.

Samadelli, Marco. “The Iceman is a 5,300-year-old mummy discovered in the Otzal Alps.” Pinterest, Accessed 29 Oct. 2023.(24) Pinterest.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. “Otzi.” Britannica. 20 Oct. 2023. Otzi | Discovery & Facts | Britannica. Accessed 23 Oct. 2023. Britannica. Accessed 23 Oct. 2023.

Links for Further Research:

“Mysteries of Prehistoric Otzi the Iceman Mummy Are Finally Being Unraveled.” Newsweek. https://www.newsweek.com/mysteries-otzi-iceman-mummy-finally-being-revealed-1820235 This article written by Aristos Georgiou briefly goes over the history of Otzi the Iceman such as where he was found and how scientists believe he was killed. The article mainly speaks about the new discoveries made by scientists about Otzi like his genetic makeup, his genetic origins, etc.

“Testimony from the Iceman.” Smithsonian Magazine. Feb. 2023. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/testimony-from-the-iceman-75198998/. In this article the author, Bob Cullen, tells the story of his travels to northern Italy to meet with Dr. Eduard Egarter Vigl, the Iceman’s caretaker. Here he describes what he’s learned from the expert regarding Otzi.

“Otzi the Iceman and the Copper Age World.” Dan Davis History. 22 May. 2023.  https://letterboxd.com/film/otzi-the-iceman-and-the-copper-age-world/crew/This video has different chapters that talks about each aspect of Otzi’s history and the life he lived. It talks about different topics such as Otzi’s clothes, his gear, his health, tattoos that were found on him, etc.

Mercy Brown Incident: Vampires or Pure Coincidence?

Author: Sebastian Garland

Vampires are undead creatures who drink a person’s blood to feed their hunger, many people believed that these creatures live among us. Acting as which they are normal people. People called anything that looked out of place, a monster. So, it would not be completely shocking to mistake a scientific accident for a monster. A common illness that was seen as an act of a vampire was tuberculosis, which mostly ended in death during the 19th century. The most common symptom was that it made you slowly lose weight, which could be related to what happens when your blood gets ‘sucks’ out of your body. Which most people think vampires cause on their victims.

A person who fell to the illness of tuberculous during the 1880s.

One of the first actions of the belief of the vampires is the Mercy Brown case. It started with the Brown family, George and Mary Brown, moving to this new town, Exeter, Rhode Island. The village thought the family was normal and did not think anything about it. Till the day Mary Brown, Mercy’s mother, fell ill with tuberculosis during the 1800s. It caused her to die, then her eldest daughter happened to have the same fate. Then the action happened again with her son, but he happened to pull the lucky stick and survived the illness. Finally, Mercy fell ill and had the same future as her sister and mother. The sudden rounds of death felt odd to the villagers, and they started to be a little more interested into the family’s personal business. 

Mercy Brown’s grave as of modern day sights. 

Mercy’s mother and sister were soon buried after their deaths, but Mercy was not due to the extreme coldness. So, the village decided to live Mercys body out and wait out till it became warmer. When the village turned their attention back to burying Mercy, they noticed something odd about her body. When the villagers opened her casket and saw she was in ‘perfect’ condition, no sights of decay and maybe even some growth within her hair as well as her fingernails. She was believed to still be alive due to the fact that she has change in a positive way and looked even better than when she died. They are though she was a vampire and was the cause of her family’s deaths. So, they decided to burn her body in order to ‘kill‘ the monster, saving her father and her brother from the same fate as the other two faced.

Mercy before she died, happy and safe.

It was later believed that Mercy was not a vampire but rather just a scientific action. That the cold from the weather caused Mercy body’s to be left in a stable state and was not able to start decaying because she was basically frozen in time. Which counteracted the effect of decaying, but the growth of the nails and hairs has yet to be proven against, but it shown that stories sometimes change which could be mean that someone just added that detail to the story to make it a little more interesting than before.

Works cited: 

Crystal Ponti. “When New Englanders Blamed Vampires for Tuberculosis” A&E Television Networks, October 25, 2019, https://www.history.com/news/vampires-tuberculosis-consumption-new-england. October 26, 2023

J.W. Ocker. “Explore the dark side of New England with these spooky sites” Boston Globe Media Partners, October 5, 2013, https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/travel/2013/10/05/explore-dark-side-new-england-with-spooky-sites/bV8m5801urtdRqf4tdQPjN/story.html

Staff Writer. “Mercy Brown, The Rhode Island Vampire Lady.” Any Mystery, December 14, 2022, https://anymystery.com/mercy-brown-the-rhode-island-vampire-lady/.

Links for Further Research:

The Mercy Brown Vampire Story, https://www.historicmysteries.com/mercy-brown/ This article written by Doug MacGowan, who writes a lot of stories about historic true crimes, goes into detail about the actions that took place before, during and after the deaths of the Brown family.

Why The Mercy Brown Case Remains One Of History’s Craziest “Vampire” Incidents, https://allthatsinteresting.com/mercy-brown-vampire This article published by all that’s interesting, a website that writes a lot of facture but interesting stories, goes into details as well as the facts that stand base on the Mercy Brown case.

The story of Mercy Brown: New England’s last vampire, https://www.thevintagenews.com/2017/01/16/the-story-of-mercy-brown-new-englands-last-vampire/ This article written by Marjia Georgevska shows a different theory on what happened after Mercy died and shows aspect that the first theory might of

Title: Drop Bear- Why it Scares Tourists

 Author: Rachael Gilmore

Imagine being in an Australian forrest, then suddenly an animal is falling from the treetops attacking you. You try to run and knock it off you, but its razor-sharp teeth have sunk into the pink, tender flesh on your neck. You later die from blood loss due to an animal you never knew existed. In Australia, there is an animal that is rumored to be between the size of a leopard and a very large dog called the Drop Bear.

Drop Bear

According to the Australian Museum, the drop bear is around the size of a leopard or a very large dog with coarse orange fur and some darker mottled patterning. They supposedly hunt by ambushing ground-dwelling animals from above, waiting to make a surprise kill. 

Many sources have said that the only way to protect yourself is to slather yourself with Vegemite and speak in an Australian accent. National Geographic claims otherwise, though. “This is all nonsense, of course. There are no carnivorous koalas with a taste for tourists hanging around the eucalyptus trees of Australia” (National Geographic). 

National Geographic has suggested a similar species "prowled Australia during the last Ice Age." They believe that the ancient Thylacoleo animals were the ancestors of this animal.There are many similarities between the Thylacoleo and the Drop Bear. According to NatGeo, they both look very similar in the patterning of the fur, the size, and the size of their teeth. 

Dr. Volker Janssen, a research associate at the University of Tasmania, led a team of researchers into Morton National Park, right outside of Sydney, searching for drop bears. Previous studies conducted show that drop bears hunt by ambushing ground-dwelling animals from above in treetops. Once prey is within their striking range, he says, the drop bear will plummet several meters out of the tree, skilfully latching onto the neck of its victim.

Works Cited: 

Middleton, Amy. “Drop Bears Target Tourists, Study Says.” Australian Geographic, 9 Dec. 2021, https://www.australiangeographic.com.au/news/2021/04/drop-bears-target-tourists-study-says/.

“Drop Bear.” The Australian Museum, NSW Government, 2022, https://australian.museum/learn/animals/mammals/drop-bear/.

Westcott, Ben. “The True and Unadulterated History of the Drop Bear, Australia's Most Deadly -- and Most Fake -- Predator.” CNN, Cable News Network, 18 Dec. 2020, https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/australia-drop-bears-history-intl-hnk/index.html. CNN provides live coverage and analysis of breaking news, as well as a full range of international, political, business, entertainment, sports, health, science, and weather coverage, and topical, in-depth interviews. This article aims to inform its reader that no Australian believes the Drop Bear exists. The main purpose of the myth is to scare foreign visitors. This source is unique because CNN describes the true reaction visitors get when locals tell them about the myth and how the story of the Drop Bear was created to scare Australian children into being good. This article was very helpful because this was the only article that had the origin and use of this myth. This article intended to reach people researching what they should know before going to Australia.

Links for Further Research: 

Arman, S., Prideaux, G. 2016. Behaviour of the Pleistocene marsupial lion deduced from claw marks in a southwestern Australian cave. Scientific Reports. doi: 10.1038/srep21372