# Bohemian Grove "owl" on the $1 bill **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [April 2, 2010, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-grove-owl-on-the-1-bill/534727 "2010-04-02T13:37:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-grove-owl-on-the-1-bill/534727/21 "2010-04-03T14:46:39Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > Here’s a [link](http://whatisthepyramid.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/dollar_spider.jpg)to a pic if you want to see it blown up. I reckon it’s a four-legged spider…or half an owl. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2010, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-grove-owl-on-the-1-bill/534727/22 "2010-04-03T20:37:58Z")
This video is fairly neutral. They put the dollar bill under a microscope and let people decide for themselves. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/A_M998_9xQ0/hqdefault.jpg "The One Dollar Bill Owl") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_M998_9xQ0) ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2010, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-grove-owl-on-the-1-bill/534727/23 "2010-04-04T03:13:55Z")
> [@](#): > > Do U.S. leaders perform satanic rituals at Bohemian Grove? No, they perform them in Washington, DC. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-grove-owl-on-the-1-bill/534727/24 "2010-04-05T17:57:29Z")
Thanks for that pic. I now see the “owl”. If you ignore the spider’s legs on the left and just look at the body, there is a bright spot at the top, a darker mid region, and bright lower part. The top has two tiny points like a horned owl, the dark middle forms wings and a beak, and the lower part forms owl legs. **wombatz** said: > [@](#): > > I have worked at one of the camps at the Grove for years, and I can tell you it is way more boring than you think. So what about the claims of nakedness and doing things with trees? **ivan astikov** said: > [@](#): > > It doesn’t require all of them to be involved, and unless you have the place bugged you have no idea what these people are discussing. Or you might have, but let’s pretend they are shooting the breeze with like-minded, well-intentioned other men. The rumor is that the ceremonies and such are satanic. If there’s a thousand people plus hundreds of paid workers wandering around and witnessing the ceremonies and stuff, it would be a little hard to justify those rumors. But if you want to propose that there is some tiny cabal of real “power players” who use the Bohemian Grove as a backdrop/cover story and secretly hold exchanges of info within their tiny cabal, layers upon layers of secrecy building up to the real “chosen few”, well I guess you can speculate anything you like. Got any evidence to go with that? ---
**Author:** ![chubseus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chubseus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chubseus)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-grove-owl-on-the-1-bill/534727/25 "2010-04-05T18:22:22Z")
Isn’t the “spider” just the tip of one of the lacey patterns on the bill cut off by the 1? There are several others on the bill that aren’t cut off and the tips of them look very similar. They look slightly different, but they all do. Sorry for the bad photo. ---
**Author:** ![chubseus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chubseus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chubseus)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-grove-owl-on-the-1-bill/534727/26 "2010-04-05T18:37:45Z")
[http://www.flickr.com/photos/36569141@N05/4493779247/](http://www.flickr.com/photos/36569141@N05/4493779247/) Sorry for the double post. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-grove-owl-on-the-1-bill/534727/27 "2010-04-05T18:53:55Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > **ivan astikov** said: > The rumor is that the ceremonies and such are satanic. If there’s a thousand people plus hundreds of paid workers wandering around and witnessing the ceremonies and stuff, it would be a little hard to justify those rumors. But if you want to propose that there is some tiny cabal of real “power players” who use the Bohemian Grove as a backdrop/cover story and secretly hold exchanges of info within their tiny cabal, layers upon layers of secrecy building up to the real “chosen few”, well I guess you can speculate anything you like. Got any evidence to go with that? I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you. Of course I haven’t! If it was that easy to acquire, they couldn’t call it a secret operation, could they? ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-grove-owl-on-the-1-bill/534727/28 "2010-04-05T19:24:39Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > Here’s a [link](http://whatisthepyramid.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/dollar_spider.jpg)to a pic if you want to see it blown up. Has there every been an official explanation on what it is? I figured it was an eagle designed to make it more difficult for counterfeiters. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-grove-owl-on-the-1-bill/534727/29 "2010-04-05T20:24:30Z")
It’s obviously a chipmunk. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-grove-owl-on-the-1-bill/534727/30 "2010-04-05T20:44:37Z")
You left out whats apparently one of the weirder hallmarks of the Grove, the Peeing: > [@](#): > > Members have cited their privilege to walk about in “various states of undress.” And former California governor Pat Brown has said publicly, many times, that the presence of women would keep Bohemians from enjoying their hallowed freedom to pee. > > The peeing is ceaseless and more than a little exhibitionistic. Everyone talks about it. Bohemian reminiscences describe such bizarre initiation rites as escorting new members to the redwood at which one of the founders “did his morning ablutions.” The Owl Hoots, which are poster-size cartoons racked up each day near the Camp Fire Circle, are filled with pissing pictures. One featured a spurious design for a commemorative stamp of club member U.S. Postmaster General Anthony Frank relieving himself on a redwood. [http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/bohemian\_grove\_spy.html](http://sociology.ucsc.edu/whorulesamerica/power/bohemian_grove_spy.html) ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-grove-owl-on-the-1-bill/534727/31 "2010-04-06T20:15:30Z")
**chubseus** said: > [@](#): > > Isn’t the “spider” just the tip of one of the lacey patterns on the bill cut off by the 1? There are several others on the bill that aren’t cut off and the tips of them look very similar. They look slightly different, but they all do. Sorry for the bad photo. You may be on to something. Need a magnifying glass. **ivan astikov** said: > [@](#): > > Of course I haven’t! If it was that easy to acquire, they couldn’t call it a secret operation, could they? The mating call of conspiracy theorists everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-grove-owl-on-the-1-bill/534727/32 "2010-04-06T20:24:28Z")
A critical part of the conspiracy theory is that anyone who reports on the Bohemian Club stating that there’s “nothin’ dirty goin’ on” must have either been threatened into silence or bought into silence. So one might just dismiss the entire column as “Cecil was obviously leaned on by the cabal.” OR, it could mean that Cecil _is_ a member of the group already. For all I know Alex Jones is a member; after all, his videos do so little to prove a conspiracy and so much to draw ridicule, they almost are in the category of counter-propaganda. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![wombatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@wombatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wombatz)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2010, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-grove-owl-on-the-1-bill/534727/33 "2010-04-06T22:58:13Z")
(from the guy who has worked there for years) Una is right, there is a prohibition on talking business, but it does sometimes creep in. Usually one of the people in the conversation does eventually remind them to stop. Guys don’t give each other business cards, but just like any social club, they can make connections for outside. Some political people give talks, which could sway opinions (usually just preaching to the choir), but most of the talks are about other things, science, industry, working as an actor, how redwoods grow. It ranges the gamut. By far there are more music performances than any other kind of show. About the Manhattan project, back in WWII, they did chose the Grove as a remote place to discuss if they should either make the bomb, or drop it (I’ve heard different stories). There were so many security people at that event, that it evidently was decided that things like that shouldn’t happen there again. Remember, that was in the 1940’s, and since then no sitting presidents, governors, etc. can attend because it would bring too much of the wrong kind of attention. Not that they are secretive, but rather they don’t want to be disturbed on vacation. It’s all about leaving the high stress world outside and drinking a martini in a deck chair. If you really want to know how boring it is, it is very, very easy to get a job there, and you can see it all for yourself. Drunk grandpas and men peeing on trees in all their glory. ---
**Author:** ![chubseus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chubseus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chubseus)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-grove-owl-on-the-1-bill/534727/34 "2010-04-07T13:27:29Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > You may be on to something. Need a magnifying glass. I’m quite sure now that it is just one of the lace tips cut off by the “1.” See the new images: [owl/spider in question](http://www.flickr.com/photos/36569141@N05/4500037868/) [bottom lace tip, cropped for comparison](http://www.flickr.com/photos/36569141@N05/4500037862/) [side lace tip, flipped and cropped for comparison](http://www.flickr.com/photos/36569141@N05/4500037864/) [overall picture of the bill marking image locations](http://www.flickr.com/photos/36569141@N05/4500037856/) And if you look at the pattern on the bill, you can see other places where the tip is completely hidden by other designs. It’s just part of the pattern. In fact, if you look on the opposite side of the bill, where the other “1” is, you can see the disconnected arch in the lace pattern that shows there should be a lace tip there, but it’s completely hidden by the engraving for the “1”: [Missing tip](http://www.flickr.com/photos/36569141@N05/4499428929/) ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2010, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-grove-owl-on-the-1-bill/534727/35 "2010-04-07T22:04:35Z")
Thanks for the further pics. I agree that it is in the correct place for the repeated pattern, and that it does resemble the same type of pinnacles in those other locations. You have me conviced. It still looks like a spider. 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bohemian-grove-owl-on-the-1-bill/534727.md?page=1)