# Foot found in Yellowstone hot pool ID'd as that of LA man **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 18, 2022, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150 "2022-11-18T16:12:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/21 "2022-11-18T17:23:40Z")
Did they find any other body parts? What exactly does “de-fatting” mean and how do they do that? ---
**Author:** ![Tride](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tride/32/13907_2.png) [@Tride](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tride)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/22 "2022-11-18T17:31:17Z")
He was a little tight-lipped about it, but essentially skimming it like you would broth. I’ll see him Thursday and will ask for more details! ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/23 "2022-11-18T17:38:24Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > There are fences and warning signs everywhere. I think it would be hard to fall into a hot pool accidentally. It’s not hard if you deliberately ignore the signs. There was a [case in 2016](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/17/yellowstone-oregon-man-body-dissolved-hot-spring) that got a lot of coverage. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/24 "2022-11-18T17:51:03Z")
For a fictional account of the effect of thermal springs on bodies, see Ngaio Marsh’s novel, _Colour Scheme_, set at a thermal resort in New Zealand. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/25 "2022-11-18T17:52:50Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > There was a [case in 2016](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/nov/17/yellowstone-oregon-man-body-dissolved-hot-spring) that got a lot of coverage. That was a case of pure stupidity, and no amount of signage can stop that from happening. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/26 "2022-11-18T17:54:21Z")
So he was determined to have died in July but his foot was found this month in a hot spring. I’d doubt he fell in the hot springs back in July. My wag, he fell from a height, died and was scavenged. How it got in the spring? > [@steronz](#): > > Maybe he was eaten by a bear. Some scavenger picked up his foot and flew off, some other scavenger attacked in mid-air, and the foot fell into the hot spring. > > Who knows. Yellowstone is big. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/27 "2022-11-18T17:56:28Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > Yes, he died. But why was this a mystery for four months? If someone died and leaves their foot in a hot pool, wouldn’t somebody have said something about it? If you speak up then everyone else is going to want a foot in their soup too. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/28 "2022-11-18T19:00:09Z")
> [@Tride](#): > > He was a little tight-lipped about it, but essentially skimming it like you would broth. I’ll see him Thursday and will ask for more details! That might be of help in this thread too! > [@Quick removal of excess fat from broth](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/quick-removal-of-excess-fat-from-broth/974657): > > My Instant Pot is currently brewing a chicken destined to be soup. One big problem is no matter how finicky I get about trimming off excess fat pre-cooking, I always wind up with broth that needs to sit in the fridge for hours, until the fat in the broth gets to the top and solidifies for removal. There has GOT to be a faster way, but I’m not familiar with it. Suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/29 "2022-11-18T19:10:57Z")
> [@Loggins](#): > > Finding the other shoe might solve the mystery. The joke writes itself. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/30 "2022-11-18T19:16:38Z")
> [@chela](#): > > I’d doubt he fell in the hot springs back in July. My wag, he fell from a height, died and was scavenged. How it got in the spring? It’s very easy to slip into some of those pits if you walk too close. It’s very treacherous, and a lot of visitors don’t believe the warning signs or are too eager to look at the pretty colors and get something for Instagram. It happens in an instant, without warning, and there’s no opportunity for rescue. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/31 "2022-11-18T20:08:52Z")
Yes! Tourons will be prosecuted. > **[Woman Sentenced to 7 Days in Jail for Walking in Yellowstone’s Thermal Area...](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/27/us/yellowstone-hot-springs-woman-sentenced.html)** > > The authorities used her case to warn the public about the dangers of the park’s hot springs, geysers and steam vents. My Point being body parts in the hot pot would not be bobbing around for months intact. Man died elsewhere, parts ended up in soup, found by staff checking the area. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/32 "2022-11-18T20:29:19Z")
Agree. If you spend any time at all walking out in the woods, you will occasionally see a bone or a skull from some animal, but rarely a complete skeleton. If you do come across an intact dead critter, it’s likely to be recently died, before bits and parts are removed and taken elsewhere by whatever other critter. It’s possible his other remains are elsewhere undiscovered or scattered, but his foot/shoe by chance happened to be dropped/left in a spot frequented by other people and easily found. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/33 "2022-11-18T20:50:33Z")
> [@snowthx](#): > > …but rarely a complete skeleton Oh, I’m lucky! I come across whole dead horses every now and then. I think most of the bits are too big to get trotted off easily. By the way, I would highly recommend the book “Death in Yellowstone” (I think that’s the title). It documents all the deaths that have occurred in the park. Pretty entertaining if you are into that kind of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/34 "2022-11-18T21:04:07Z")
My extensive experience in National Parks and other tourist attractions resulted in my inability to be surprised by even the dumbest things that tourists will do. That would include jumping into a hot spring without knowing whether or not it going to either a) boil you like an egg or b) dissolve you into your basic molecules. People are just that stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Dogginit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogginit/32/16920_2.png) [@Dogginit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogginit)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/35 "2022-11-18T21:04:25Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > That was a case of pure stupidity, and no amount of signage can stop that from happening. Nor a college education, apparently 🙄 ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2022, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/36 "2022-11-18T22:13:47Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > How did they do a nationwide DNA search Probably the same way they caught the Golden State Killer. There is at least one website where you can share the results of your DNA. If enough of his family, including extended family, added their information to that website, the investigators could have found his family that way. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2022, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/37 "2022-11-19T05:14:23Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > For a fictional account of the effect of thermal springs on bodies, see Ngaio Marsh’s novel, _Colour Scheme_, set at a thermal resort in New Zealand. Also a Rex Stout Nero Wolfe mystery featuring a suicide by a person stripping nude and jumping into a hot spring in Yellowstone Park, with the body never recovered. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2022, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/38 "2022-11-19T05:18:55Z")
A pH must be less than 7 to be acid; more than 7, and it’s alkaline. “Corrosive” might be a better word. (The pedant in me: When I was taking chemistry, I was working at a restaurant, and saw and heard the manager tell another employee that he was pouring acid down the floor drain. The container clearly said “SODIUM HYDROXIDE”, which is lye, and about as opposite-acid/alkaline as can exist on earth. I came very close to explaining to him why he was wrong, and decided not to.) ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2022, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/39 "2022-11-19T05:19:58Z")
I’ve read that book myself. There’s a similar one called “Death In The Grand Canyon”, and I’m pretty sure it’s also by the same authors. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2022, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150/40 "2022-11-19T21:48:44Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > > [@Loggins](#): > > > > Finding the other shoe might solve the mystery. > > The joke writes itself. The games afoot. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foot-found-in-yellowstone-hot-pool-idd-as-that-of-la-man/975150.md?page=3)