# Bigfoot and Genetic Memories **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 31, 2008, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bigfoot-and-genetic-memories/458422 "2008-07-31T22:54:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2008, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bigfoot-and-genetic-memories/458422/41 "2008-08-02T20:46:44Z")
[QUOTE=Terrifel] So, according to cryptozoologists, a large primate called “Orang” might exist somewhere in Sumatra? [/QUOTE] Well, “orang” means “man” in Maylay and both the real and supposed primate are called “man of the forest” and “small man”, respectively. But yeah, it’s kind of a head scratcher at first. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2008, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bigfoot-and-genetic-memories/458422/42 "2008-08-02T21:17:45Z")
[QUOTE=MrDibble] I’ve seen Neanderthal skulls, I think the average Neanderthal wouldn’t draw attention on Times Square if you put him in jeans and a T. [/QUOTE] Well, yeah, but Cecil the Seasick Sea Serpent would barely draw attention on Times Square, so that’s hardly a comparision. 😉 To the o.p., there is no evidence for “genetic memory”, per se. There are evolved instincts which can be passed down from generation to generation via the normal genetic mechanisms, but formed memories can only be shared by rearing. There is no evidence or mechanism for the conversion of memories into transmissible sequences, and this would be a dramatic departure from the Central Dogma of molecular biology, i.e. that inherited characteristics and behaviors are transmitted exclusively from nucleic acid to protein. Here is an [post=7958685]old thread[/post] regarding the cryptozoological unlikelyhood of the creature’s current or past existence. Do with it what you will, although sometimes you just have to overlook someone’s crazy bits if they’re otherwise a good fit. As long as she doesn’t end up claiming, “A Sasquatch took my baby!” I see relatively little harm in it. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2008, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bigfoot-and-genetic-memories/458422/43 "2008-08-02T21:41:23Z")
[QUOTE=John Mace] Well, “orang” means “man” in Maylay and both the real and supposed primate are called “man of the forest” and “small man”, respectively. But yeah, it’s kind of a head scratcher at first. [/QUOTE] Er… “Head scratcher” is one way to phrase it, I guess. From the list of physical characteristics: > [@](#): > > Frequently reported > Ground-dwelling > Bipedal > covered in short, grey-to-brown fur > 80cm to 150cm tall > divergent big toe (i.e. separated from other toes as a thumb is from the other fingers) > largely herbivorous > > Other reports > blackish-brown, red-brown, golden-brown, yellow, or orange fur > short-legged with long, powerful arms > seen in trees > inverted feet, to hide direction of travel That would be an orangutan, then. Seriously: how is this not a description of an orangutan? Except for the fact that it’s ostensibly ‘ground-dwelling’ (and therefore, logically ought to be a lot easier to find than a tree-dwelling primate-- oh, but it has been seen in trees too), and has inverted feet (of course! Which is why no one ever finds one! The tracks keep leading to orangutans instead!). Why in the hell would anyone need to postulate an unknown living fossil hominid to account for these sightings when _Sumatra already has orangutans?!_ ---
**Author:** ![SuntanTigerTamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@SuntanTigerTamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanTigerTamer)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2008, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bigfoot-and-genetic-memories/458422/44 "2008-08-02T21:46:37Z")
[QUOTE=Stranger On A Train] Here is an [post=7958685]old thread[/post] regarding the cryptozoological unlikelyhood of the creature’s current or past existence. Do with it what you will, although sometimes you just have to overlook someone’s crazy bits if they’re otherwise a good fit. As long as she doesn’t end up claiming, “A Sasquatch took my baby!” I see relatively little harm in it. Stranger [/QUOTE] So you’re saying that hysterectomy might not be a bad idea? Hmmm… I’ll run it by her and tell her a man on the internet told me so. I’m off! ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bigfoot-and-genetic-memories/458422/45 "2008-08-04T14:02:58Z")
[QUOTE=SuntanTigerTamer] I wish I could say that this is what I had intended, but Aft3rdD’s interpretation was the correct one. Dammit. [/QUOTE] Oh, **‘Attack’** will do fine, especially in light of the amount of time is takes to type **Aft3rdD** and since we’re all friends here. Despite the aggressiveness implicit in my username, I try not to attack much. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2008, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bigfoot-and-genetic-memories/458422/46 "2008-08-04T19:37:32Z")
I have nightmares brought about by recovered genetic memories of a Cro Magnon ancestor who was molested by her uncle. It was terrible for a while but luckily my [grandfather](http://nautilebleu.free.fr/files/baron_harkonnen.jpg) finally told her to shut the hell up.\* Actually, I don’t reject genetic memories in the form of certain “instincts” perhaps- no actual “visualization” but an instinctive fear of darkness/reptiles/etc… I also think Big Foot probably has some basis in fact- a rare species of bear perhaps that walked erect when defensive/offensive (as some bears do) and was sighted by people who only got a glimpse for just a second before running for their lives and humanized (or hominidized) it in the retelling. I doubt it’s a primate or their bones and tangible remains would have been found long ago (though otoh [Ishi](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ishi) managed to live a long time without being found or disturbed [but otooh that was long before modern development of land and aircraft were commonplace]). In any case I’m another “accept it as a quirk”. As mentioned in another recent trainwrecked thread I reject pseudoscience and am skeptical of most odd claims, but I believe in residual hauntings, so we all have our little chinks in the logical armor. \*(What’s this muad dib he keeps talking about me destroying, though? I asked if he was talking about the Mahdi [which I’m NOT going to take on Islamic fundies for him or anybody] but he says “No, I’m talking about muad dib, a holy man from the desert who’ll rally robed religious fanatics into a holy war” and I said, “Yeah, right, you’re talking about the Mahdi”, and he gets pissy.) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bigfoot-and-genetic-memories/458422/47 "2008-08-07T13:35:35Z")
[QUOTE=Kevbo] I took the hysterectomy thing to be based on the long obsolete medical notion that was a legitimate treatment for “female hysteria”…hence the name of the procedure. People still say “get thee to a nunnery!” after all. [/QUOTE] It’s kind of the other way round… The root “hyster-” comes from Greek (but for some reason there are symbols in the RAE webpage which don’t paste well in this one, so I can’t write it well) and means “uterus.” “hysterectomy,” “to cut out the uterus.” Hysteria was attributed to having an uterus, thus cutting out the uterus was expected to solve the medical problem. Sort of like expecting castration to solve a bad temper in a man :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Martiju](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@Martiju](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martiju)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2008, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bigfoot-and-genetic-memories/458422/48 "2008-08-07T14:05:36Z")
[QUOTE=Nava] It’s kind of the other way round… The root “hyster-” comes from Greek (but for some reason there are symbols in the RAE webpage which don’t paste well in this one, so I can’t write it well) and means “uterus.” “hysterectomy,” “to cut out the uterus.” Hysteria was attributed to having an uterus, thus cutting out the uterus was expected to solve the medical problem. Sort of like expecting castration to solve a bad temper in a man :smack: [/QUOTE] I think someone coming up to me and cutting my balls off is one thing guaranteed to put me in a bad mood…at least for an hour or two. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2008, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bigfoot-and-genetic-memories/458422/49 "2008-08-09T08:57:40Z")
[QUOTE=Wendell Wagner] In the OP, you said, “I was able to resist the urge to demand she have a hysterectomy . . .” If that’s supposed to be a joke, it’s an amazingly snide, nasty joke. Do you say things that mean to your girlfriend’s face? [/QUOTE] I took it to be a variation of [“I kicked her in the cunt, of course…”](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=478056) ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2008, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bigfoot-and-genetic-memories/458422/50 "2008-08-09T09:48:51Z")
Hey…if you have to tame a tiger… Is the OP’s user name a reflection of this suntanned tiger that must be tamed? ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2008, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bigfoot-and-genetic-memories/458422/51 "2008-08-09T09:50:41Z")
[QUOTE=Nava] It’s kind of the other way round… The root “hyster-” comes from Greek (but for some reason there are symbols in the RAE webpage which don’t paste well in this one, so I can’t write it well) and means “uterus.” “hysterectomy,” “to cut out the uterus.” Hysteria was attributed to having an uterus, thus cutting out the uterus was expected to solve the medical problem. Sort of like expecting castration to solve a bad temper in a man :smack: [/QUOTE] Someone needs to tell that to the idiots who make the [Hyster](http://www.customforklifts.com.au/images/Hyster2.5XM3.jpg) forklifts. Fuck those emasculated, girly forklifts. A real man uses a Caterpillar. ---
**Author:** ![OompaLoompa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/cab0a1/32.png) [@OompaLoompa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OompaLoompa)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2008, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bigfoot-and-genetic-memories/458422/52 "2008-08-09T10:34:38Z")
I think its worth pointing out that anthropology isn’t an exact science, , its a succession of theories which seem to fit the facts, and just because the latest neanderthal remains we’ve found date to 30k years ago (very roughly) doesn’t mean they all died out on that fateful day. Fossils are a tiny sample of what was, that happened to be both preserved and found. The orang pendek (island hobbit if you prefer) findings are specifically startling because they apparently indicate that groups of what we would think of as some lucy-like ancestor existed until (relatively) quite recently. Or maybe its island dwarfism. Either way, you’re just taking a guess at it based on findings. Orang pendek in the native culture has little to do with orang utan; the interesting point is that their tradition/legend of little primitive forest men has some basis in archaeological findings. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2008, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bigfoot-and-genetic-memories/458422/53 "2008-08-09T13:04:35Z")
Argent Towers writes: \> A real man uses a Caterpillar. Yeah, I’ve tried Caterpillars. They work well for a while, but then they go into pupa stage and eventually turn into butterflies. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanTigerTamer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@SuntanTigerTamer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanTigerTamer)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2008, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bigfoot-and-genetic-memories/458422/54 "2008-08-09T20:22:25Z")
[QUOTE=Argent Towers] Hey…if you have to tame a tiger… Is the OP’s user name a reflection of this suntanned tiger that must be tamed? [/QUOTE] Missed this post. SuntanTigerTamer is a Jonathan Fire\*Eater reference. And if you are familiar with them, heterosexuality be damned, you’re running away with me 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2008, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bigfoot-and-genetic-memories/458422/55 "2008-08-09T22:29:01Z")
[QUOTE=Wendell Wagner] Argent Towers writes: \> A real man uses a Caterpillar. Yeah, I’ve tried Caterpillars. They work well for a while, but then they go into pupa stage and eventually turn into butterflies. [/QUOTE] “I know not whether I was a real man dreaming that I drove a Caterpillar, or am now a butterfly dreaming about driving Bigfoot.” –Chang Tzu’s stoner brother Doug Tzu ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2008, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bigfoot-and-genetic-memories/458422/56 "2008-08-09T23:53:20Z")
There should be special tin hats for experts who offer outrageous explanations like Genetic memory and swamp gas. ---
**Author:** ![Baldwin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baldwin/32/7264_2.png) [@Baldwin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baldwin)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2008, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bigfoot-and-genetic-memories/458422/57 "2008-08-10T03:45:39Z")
It’s usually spelled Neandertal these days, to match the pronunciation. As I recall from the education provided to me by television in the 1970s, Bigfoot is actually a robot created by aliens. So, that’s settled. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bigfoot-and-genetic-memories/458422.md?page=2)