Spurious prehistoric man. Following his more famous Cardiff giant hoax, P. T. Barnum ordered the construction of another primitive human specimen that he could exhibit. He had learned from the criticism of the earlier effort and directed that the new man be constructed out of more convincing materials, including actual bones, and that the arms be longer than the legs. The finished product was shipped to Colorado, where a Barnum confidant, a \u201cgeologist\u201d who just happened to be in the state, discovered it. Coincidentally, Barnurn was visiting in Colorado to deliver temperance lectures. After receiving word that the giant man had been found, Barnurn immediately announced to the press and the public that he would pay $20,000 to acquire the giant.<\/p>\n
Barnurn was immediately attacked by many of the same people who had uncovered the Cardiff hoax. On seeing the new discovery, paleontologist O. C. Marsh of Yale University immediately pronounced it a fake. He pointed out that the body showed none of the characteristics of a fossilized specimen. In particular, he pointed out that the abdominal region, unsupported by bone, would have collapsed and would not manifest the normal outline of a living person, as the Colorado Man did. Marsh\u2019s conclusions ended Barnum\u2019s plan to exhibit Colorado Man. After showing his \u201cgiant\u201d around in the West, he discarded it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Spurious prehistoric man. Following his more famous Cardiff giant hoax, P. T. Barnum ordered the construction of another primitive human specimen that he could exhibit. He had learned from the criticism of the earlier effort and directed that the new man be constructed out of more convincing materials, including actual bones, and that the arms […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-210572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-c"],"yoast_head":"\n