# Real life Hobbits found? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 27, 2004, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-hobbits-found/271574 "2004-10-27T23:53:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2004, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-hobbits-found/271574/1 "2004-10-27T23:53:27Z")
Have real life hobbits been found? Well, no, but this find is way too amazing to be buried in another thread. So I’m reposting some of the major links here: The main story is from the [National Geographic](http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/10/1027_041027_homo_floresiensis.html), which will run a [special](http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=109&STORY=/www/story/10-27-2004/0002313262&EDATE=) on it next year. [Nature](http://www.nature.com/news/specials/flores/index.html) is putting up free links. ---
**Author:** ![Jojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecd19e/32.png) [@Jojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jojo)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-hobbits-found/271574/2 "2004-10-28T00:19:24Z")
The truly weird thing is that they may still be around, deep in the forests of Indonesia. From this BBC article : [Hobbit joins human family tree](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3948165.stm) > [@](#): > > The last evidence of this human at Liang Bua dates to just before 12,000 years ago, when a volcanic eruption snuffed out much of Flores’ unique wildlife. > > Yet there are hints H. floresiensis could have lived on much later than this. The myths say Ebu Gogo were alive when Dutch explorers arrived a few hundred years ago and the very last legend featuring the mythical creatures dates to 100 years ago. > > But Henry Gee, senior editor at Nature magazine, goes further. He speculates that species like H.floresiensis might still exist, somewhere in the unexplored tropical forest of Indonesia. ---
**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:** [October 28, 2004, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-hobbits-found/271574/3 "2004-10-28T00:24:02Z")
Yes, this is one of the most spectacular finds in recent history. Maybe even more exciting than “Lucy”. And, if the scientists can recover some DNA…!!! ---
**Author:** ![Soapbox\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Soapbox\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soapbox_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-hobbits-found/271574/4 "2004-10-28T00:32:26Z")
Wow, there is now more scientific evidence to back up Lord of the Rings than there is to back up the Bible. Maybe Tolkien was on to something. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-hobbits-found/271574/5 "2004-10-28T01:40:11Z")
**Exapno**. While I sympathize with your intent, you’ll have to live with a marker in GQ, pointing the way. There just wasn’t a question. Moved. **samclem** GQ moderator. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-hobbits-found/271574/6 "2004-10-28T01:46:20Z")
Coooooooooooooooooooooool! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-hobbits-found/271574/7 "2004-10-28T02:16:31Z")
It’s pretty friggen obvious why nobody has ever seen one, isn’t it, My Precioussss? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-hobbits-found/271574/8 "2004-10-28T04:36:05Z")
I’ll apologize for getting carried away in a fit of enthusiasm. But you just know that somebody else was going to ask the question soon: it was featured on Fark. And GQ was the right spot for the discussion. Ain’t doing much over here. Is is true that mods are meter-high fascists overly intimate with pygmy-sized elephants, if you know what I mean? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-hobbits-found/271574/9 "2004-10-28T05:02:28Z")
So, does this count as evidence of the paranormal? (Tongue in cheek.) ---
**Author:** ![Earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/90db22/32.png) [@Earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthling)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-hobbits-found/271574/10 "2004-10-28T06:28:02Z")
I heard this story on the radio today, and my first thought (after the slack-jawed astonishment) turned to the [menehune](http://www.spiritsouthseas.com/menehune.htm), a trbe (breed?) of tiny humans in Polynesian mythology. Given that many cultures have legends of small-statured people (gnomes, leprechauns, and whatnot), I wondered whether these may have been based on actual _Homo_ species that co-existed with _Homo sapiens_ in early culture. ---
**Author:** ![Earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/90db22/32.png) [@Earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthling)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2004, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/real-life-hobbits-found/271574/11 "2004-10-28T06:34:27Z")
Well, I see from the BBC article that leprechauns got mentioned. We’ll see, I suppose.