# Anybody else see the "creature in ice" fake sasquatch in the 1970's? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 7, 2006, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-see-the-creature-in-ice-fake-sasquatch-in-the-1970s/338948 "2006-01-07T23:40:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2006, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-see-the-creature-in-ice-fake-sasquatch-in-the-1970s/338948/1 "2006-01-07T23:40:16Z")
When I was a young lad in Erie PA, I think in the middle to late 70s, once there was a travelling sideshow-like display in our local mall, “The Creature In Ice”. It was supposed to be a bigfoot/sasquatch in a block of ice. I think this story is of the same object: [http://www.rfthomas.clara.net/papers/showman.html](http://www.rfthomas.clara.net/papers/showman.html) If it is the same thing, I don’t recall it being advertised as a “fabricated illusion”, but that may simply be a failure of my memory. No doubt even if it was mentioned at all, it was downplayed. Of course, even if they claimed it was real I’d be sure today it was fake, but it sure was quite a thrill to me a kid! Anybody else see this thing? ---
**Author:** ![Ragiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6de8d8/32.png) [@Ragiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ragiel)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2006, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-see-the-creature-in-ice-fake-sasquatch-in-the-1970s/338948/2 "2006-01-08T02:36:25Z")
Yes! I recall its promoters saying something like “We’re not saying it’s real, and we’re not saying it’s fake; you decide.” I hadn’t thought of it in years. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2006, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-see-the-creature-in-ice-fake-sasquatch-in-the-1970s/338948/3 "2006-01-08T02:46:16Z")
I think I saw one of the carnival, knock-off shows in the early eighties. A very poor and obvious fake, it was still pretty cool… The anticipation was worth it. [The D’s Sasquatch](http://www.alwaysrecord.com/mp3.htm) (This song will blow your ass out! ~ J.B.) “Scientists have proven that the sasquatch he is real Take a look at the plaster cast of his foot now you know he’s real Listen real close to the audio tape not human now you know he’s real Couldn’t be a man in gorilla suit no fuckin’ way now you know he’s real Real real real-real real real really-real real” ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2006, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-see-the-creature-in-ice-fake-sasquatch-in-the-1970s/338948/4 "2006-01-08T02:51:13Z")
It (or something like it) came to the mall near where I grew up. It was very strange. I had largely forgotten about it. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Ragiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6de8d8/32.png) [@Ragiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ragiel)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2006, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-see-the-creature-in-ice-fake-sasquatch-in-the-1970s/338948/5 "2006-01-08T03:21:14Z")
Wait a minute. By 1974 I had already been married and divorced and was living in Nashville trying to sing country music. :eek: I was not going to mall exhibits with my sisters and parents. Mid-60s is a more likely date for the “iceman” I remember. So it may not be the same one, unless he enjoyed a longer and more successful career than I’m giving him credit for. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2006, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-see-the-creature-in-ice-fake-sasquatch-in-the-1970s/338948/6 "2006-01-08T14:55:20Z")
> [@Ragiel](#): > > Yes! I recall its promoters saying something like “We’re not saying it’s real, and we’re not saying it’s fake; you decide.” I hadn’t thought of it in years. 🙂 I pretty much forgot about it too, which I find odd. As a “believer” until after I hit puberty or so, I thought it would have made a bigger impression on me. Perhaps I was more of a skeptic than I remember. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2006, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-see-the-creature-in-ice-fake-sasquatch-in-the-1970s/338948/7 "2006-01-08T15:35:57Z")
I remember reading the _Argosy_ article back in the 1960s. The writer was shown the creature in a block of ice by a carny somewhere. A drawing accompanied the article. IIRC, supposedly it was a Yeti that had been encased in a glacier, broke off, and was washed down a river in China. Yeah, right. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2006, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-see-the-creature-in-ice-fake-sasquatch-in-the-1970s/338948/8 "2006-01-08T15:45:29Z")
> [@](#): > > I asked him what he had in mind and he said: ‘I’d like to have it exhibited to the public so that they can form their own opinions as to what it might be. I don’t want it to be depicted as anything that would upset anyone, but just an interesting sideshow. I don’t want to die and go down in history as the man who upset the biblical version of creation. If you’re willing to put up the money yourself to build a show, I’ll let you have it for two years.’ Yes, that sounds entirely plausible. I suppose there’s places in Minnesota where one can purchase enough marijuana to find the guy’s story believable. I must say, though; I’m a bit distressed at Mr. Hansen’s insistence that he has the world’s oldest tractor on display. I myself have what appears to be an older tractor, that was entrusted to me personally by a shadowy cigarette-smoking figure in the parking garage of the Atlanta Marriott Marquis on the evening of September 3, 2005. The vehicle in question was supposedly discovered in the mid-1800’s on a remote island in the South China Sea, where it was worshipped as a god by the natives. It was recently smuggled into the United States disguised as a crate of live Madagascar lemurs for country music diva Lee Ann Womack (whose shameful dietary addiction is nonetheless well-known in certain circles). The machine is reputedtly crafted of mithril-steel and Atlantean _orichalc_; metallurgical tests are pending, as the mysterious patron does not wish to endanger his anonymity with the global archaeological and religious upheaval that would no doubt ensue from the revelation of antediluvian tractor worship. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2006, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-see-the-creature-in-ice-fake-sasquatch-in-the-1970s/338948/9 "2006-01-08T15:56:32Z")
> [@Terrifel](#): > > Yes, that sounds entirely plausible. I suppose there’s places in Minnesota where one can purchase enough marijuana to find the guy’s story believable. > > I must say, though; I’m a bit distressed at Mr. Hansen’s insistence that he has the world’s oldest tractor on display. I myself have what appears to be an older tractor, that was entrusted to me personally by a shadowy cigarette-smoking figure in the parking garage of the Atlanta Marriott Marquis on the evening of September 3, 2005. The vehicle in question was supposedly discovered in the mid-1800’s on a remote island in the South China Sea, where it was worshipped as a god by the natives. It was recently smuggled into the United States disguised as a crate of live Madagascar lemurs for country music diva Lee Ann Womack (whose shameful dietary addiction is nonetheless well-known in certain circles). The machine is reputedtly crafted of mithril-steel and Atlantean _orichalc_; metallurgical tests are pending, as the mysterious patron does not wish to endanger his anonymity with the global archaeological and religious upheaval that would no doubt ensue from the revelation of antediluvian tractor worship. Now that just silly, everyone knows Lee Ann Womack actually is addicted to [Fiji Island banded iguana](http://www.houstonzoo.org/Animal/viewAnimalDetail.asp?scriptaction=showanimal&Animal_Preview_Flag=0&animal_ID=59). You expect us to believe these stories at least make them plausible. Jim Invisible disclaimer: If anyone treats my responce seriously I feel very sorry for you, I don’t even know who Lee Ann Womack is other than a quick google. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2006, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-see-the-creature-in-ice-fake-sasquatch-in-the-1970s/338948/10 "2006-01-08T19:09:55Z")
I saw it at the state fair in the 1970s. ---
**Author:** ![Cuckoorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Cuckoorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cuckoorex)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-see-the-creature-in-ice-fake-sasquatch-in-the-1970s/338948/11 "2006-01-10T12:36:44Z")
I didn’t see it. I did, however, grow up in Erie, PA, born 1973, so maybe I was just too young to remember it being around, though. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-see-the-creature-in-ice-fake-sasquatch-in-the-1970s/338948/12 "2006-01-10T14:13:13Z")
> [@Cuckoorex](#): > > I didn’t see it. I did, however, grow up in Erie, PA, born 1973, so maybe I was just too young to remember it being around, though. That’s likely, I was born in 1969 and this is one of my earliest memories. What schools did you go to? I went to Asbury Elementary, and Westlake Middle school. The family moved before high school. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2006, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-see-the-creature-in-ice-fake-sasquatch-in-the-1970s/338948/13 "2006-01-10T14:59:01Z")
I’m sad that I have no recollection of any of this, child of the '70s that I was. But I’d like to suggest that maybe there was a host of these creatures, making the rounds. It’s not that hard to come up with an imitation, when you think about it. Hmm… maybe time for a revival? ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-see-the-creature-in-ice-fake-sasquatch-in-the-1970s/338948/14 "2006-01-12T04:01:33Z")
> [@Sal Ammoniac](#): > > I’m sad that I have no recollection of any of this, child of the '70s that I was. But I’d like to suggest that maybe there was a host of these creatures, making the rounds. It’s not that hard to come up with an imitation, when you think about it. Hmm… maybe time for a revival? The article says other carnies made mock-ups and fabrications, so there were indeed multiple ones out there. ---
**Author:** ![Mac\_Guffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mac\_Guffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mac_Guffin)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-see-the-creature-in-ice-fake-sasquatch-in-the-1970s/338948/15 "2006-01-12T05:34:31Z")
I saw one of those back then as well. I remember that one of its hands was near enough to the surface of the ice that you could see pores and the hairs on its wrists . If it was a fake, it was a pretty good one. As a \<10 year old, it scared the crap outta me. I remember that you could se a fair amount of its body as well. Its face was distorted and obscured by what appeared to be bubbles in th ice. I suppse it could have been a wax casting of a person, or a very detailed fake. Or even a real human corpse frozen. Never really thought much about it till now. Thanks for dredging up that little horror from my childhood memories. ---
**Author:** ![Mac\_Guffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2bfe46/32.png) [@Mac\_Guffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mac_Guffin)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2006, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anybody-else-see-the-creature-in-ice-fake-sasquatch-in-the-1970s/338948/16 "2006-01-12T05:41:08Z")
And now, having read the article, I am convinced that that was the same one I saw. The picture of the dispaly stand in a mall meshes exactly of my memory of it. So it WAS a phony then? Huh. Pretty damn good one.