# The Little People **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 27, 2004, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-people/242347 "2004-04-27T20:56:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-people/242347/41 "2004-04-29T07:29:42Z")
> [@](#): > > However, the underlying point was that all it takes is for even one paranormal event to be objectively real in order to undermine the theoretical basis upon which a good deal of, hardcore, materialistic perspective rests. Yes, and this is something which hardcore materialistic scientists emphasize at every opportunity. It would only take one documented and proven incidence of the paranormal to change our worldview. A single Bigfoot skeleton, or a captive pixie. Just one person who can reliably and repeatedly “read” those cards with the squiggles on them. But, and here’s the important point, _that one necessary example has not yet surfaced_. The fact that, if the paranormal existed, it’d be so easily demonstrated, combined with the fact that it has _not_ been demonstrated, is very strong evidence for the conclusion that the paranormal does not exist. ---
**Author:** ![Dan\_Norder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@Dan\_Norder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dan_Norder)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-people/242347/42 "2004-04-29T12:27:55Z")
> [@Roland Deschain](#): > > Unfortunately, the primary method for investigating such events (hynotic regression) is of little more scientific value than the reported observations themselves. Actually, hypnotic regression has significantly less scientific value than reported observations. Unknowingly fabricating memories is even easier during hypnosis then it is at other times. As far as the gnomes go, the fact that the original poster mentions lack of sleep is a good indicator that he knew what the answer was before he finished asking. ---
**Author:** ![Catamount](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/catamount/32/2840_2.png) [@Catamount](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catamount)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-people/242347/43 "2004-04-29T14:11:43Z")
Let’s not just offhandedly dismiss the idea that the little people are real. There’s a gnome discussing business on my phone right now. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Amethyst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/919ad9/32.png) [@Amethyst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amethyst)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-people/242347/44 "2004-04-29T17:00:27Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > That’d be the one. Fun song. 😃 I have this song on an album (yes I still listen to vinyl) of rareties by David Bowie. And no one has used the line about the gnome going to the London School of Eco-gnomics. (But the song I have in my head from this thread goes back to Curious\_george7’s post QUOTE]I told him I didn’t want to hit the damn clowns and elephants that kept running across the road… Seriously, I saw airplanes taxiing down I-75. Rollercoasters in the middle of the road, dragons, etc, Wow. 😃 [/QUOTE] Looking out my backdoor by CCR (Tambourines and elephants are playing in the band, won’t you take a ride on the flying spoon… etc) ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-people/242347/45 "2004-04-29T20:05:14Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > It would only take one documented and proven incidence of the paranormal to change our worldview. A single Bigfoot skeleton, or a captive pixie. Um, I don’t know why Bigfoot is always put in the same class as the Wee Folk. A great ape living in Canada ain’t in quite the same earthshaking catagory as a miniature humanoid capable of magic. It’s the difference between, “Oh, kewl! I really didn’t think there were any of those. Maybe we’ll add a couple paragraphs to the next edition of the Anthro books,” and “Throw out all of the Biology, Physics, Chemistry, and Math textbooks, Doris! Everything we knew was wrong.” ---
**Author:** ![Ilsa\_Lund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a6a055/32.png) [@Ilsa\_Lund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ilsa_Lund)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2004, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-people/242347/46 "2004-04-29T20:16:28Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Um, I don’t know why Bigfoot is always put in the same class as the Wee Folk. A great ape living in Canada ain’t in quite the same earthshaking catagory as a miniature humanoid capable of magic. It’s the difference between, “Oh, kewl! I really didn’t think there were any of those. Maybe we’ll add a couple paragraphs to the next edition of the Anthro books,” and “Throw out all of the Biology, Physics, Chemistry, and Math textbooks, Doris! Everything we knew was wrong.” I agree. Especially if **ghuff1** isn’t hallucinating, 'cause then we’d need a whole new system of… … gnome-nclature! ---
**Author:** ![Rico](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rico/32/3582_2.png) [@Rico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rico)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-people/242347/47 "2004-06-30T18:21:15Z")
If you were to somehow obtain genetic material from these little creatures, would you find that it contained… (wait for it) Gee - gnomes? :smack: ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-people/242347/48 "2004-06-30T19:37:53Z")
I nominate the “Gee-gnomes” pun for best post of the day 🙂 as for the sightings: it seems that people “see” things that they are already familiar with. Nobody seems to hallucinate about, say, an unsymetrical orange blob with 3 tails of different lengths and a feather suspended inside the blob. The OP saw little people, just like his father, who surely had mentioned this to him sometime in his childhood,( even if only as a joke.) The tired driver (55 hours without sleep) saw airplanes, clowns and elephants–just like a child who points to an overhead plane, or loves the circus. In the middle ages (and Salem, Mass.) people saw witches and devils, who looked just like the sermons they heard as children. Australian Aborigines see the “Dream time”, just like their parents taught them to. But aborigines don’t see clowns, and Americans don’t see the dream time. ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2004, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-people/242347/49 "2004-07-01T03:45:28Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Nobody seems to hallucinate about, say, an unsymetrical orange blob with 3 tails of different lengths and a feather suspended inside the blob. **chappachula** , you’ve never looked in the back of my fridge. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2004, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-people/242347/50 "2004-07-01T04:05:39Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > Nobody seems to hallucinate about, say, an unsymetrical orange blob with 3 tails of different lengths and a feather suspended inside the blob. Speak for yourself, Bucky. I saw one of those gliding down the left lane of the Jersey Turnpike just yesterday. I had been 8 hours without sleep at that point, and was trying to make it from New Brunswick to East Rutherford without stopping… ---
**Author:** ![SnakeSpirit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snakespirit/32/7271_2.png) [@SnakeSpirit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakeSpirit)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2004, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-people/242347/51 "2004-07-01T04:39:43Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The fact that, if the paranormal existed, it’d be so easily demonstrated, combined with the fact that it has _not_ been demonstrated, is very strong evidence for the conclusion that the paranormal does not exist. Gee, I love it when cynics make ass umptions… **ghuff1** , don’t ever let ridicule stop you from seeking answers. Examine _all_ possibilities, and don’t stop till you find a satisfactory answer. Reject nothing out-of-hand, especially if others want to ridicule it. There’s a lot of “intelligent” people who resort to argument or ridicule when an idea clashes with their own beliefs. This is because of their arrogance, they believe they already have all the answers. “Intelligence” plus “arrogance” equals “ignorance.” The most likely explanation, I think, is sleep-deprived hallucinations. But, you may want to ask around in your area for others who may have experienced similar things, and if you get enough positive responses you might want to follow it up further. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2004, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-people/242347/52 "2004-07-01T05:50:43Z")
> [@SpazCat](#): > > Let’s not just offhandedly dismiss the idea that the little people are real. There’s a gnome discussing business on my phone right now. 😃 Obviously the other end of that famous movie call: “ET … phone gnome …” ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2004, 7:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-people/242347/53 "2004-07-01T07:23:38Z")
I think this has got to be one of the weirdest questions I’ve ever seen asked here. Because we as humans don’t really _know_ for-sure answers about the mysteries of life, I won’t dismiss what you saw as just an hallucination. I won’t 100% believe in it either, but it is pretty eerie that more people than just you have seen these “people”. If you want to do a little research, google “little people legends” and see what comes up. I’m part Native Canadian and there’s a native legend that’s been around for who knows how long about “Little People”. They’re said to be elusive, rarely seen humanlike creatures that enjoy playing tricks on humans. They apparently also traverse waterways in stone canoes. Weird, crazy sounding, but interesting nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![Largo62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/45deac/32.png) [@Largo62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Largo62)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2004, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-people/242347/54 "2004-07-01T07:37:08Z")
Now, children, close your eyes, tap your heels together three times and repeat after me: “There’s no race like Gnome. There’s no race like Gnome.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2004, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-people/242347/55 "2004-07-01T07:52:13Z")
I saw a leprechaun in the corner shop once. Clad in green, bright red beard, five feet tall, evil expression, leering eyes. I wasn’t sleeping but I was in a rather agitated state of mind. Nevertheless, it was pretty scary. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2004, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-people/242347/56 "2004-07-01T10:29:09Z")
I just want to add a link to [this video](http://www.absolutelyamazing.fsnet.co.uk/ghost_videos.htm) (first link), which has to be the lamest “ghost” video I have ever seen. The blurb says: > [@](#): > > a transparent figure can clearly be seen standing in the bushes beside a tree and then walk across the road. The figure has an eeriely human shape to it. when any fool can quite clearly see that it shows an out-of-focus smear on the windscreen, moving in relation to the road as the camera moves inside the car! :rolleyes: The camera even focuses in on it momentarily, revealing the smear. Also note how the other smears on the glass move in exactly the same way as the “ghost”. So what does this show? That people’s brains make patterns and human shapes when there are none. ---
**Author:** ![Klytus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Klytus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Klytus)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2004, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-people/242347/57 "2004-07-01T14:34:29Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > I just want to add a link to [this video](http://www.absolutelyamazing.fsnet.co.uk/ghost_videos.htm) (first link), which has to be the lamest “ghost” video I have ever seen. The blurb says: > when any fool can quite clearly see that it shows an out-of-focus smear on the windscreen, moving in relation to the road as the camera moves inside the car! :rolleyes: The camera even focuses in on it momentarily, revealing the smear. Also note how the other smears on the glass move in exactly the same way as the “ghost”. > > So what does this show? That people’s brains make patterns and human shapes when there are none. There are idiots, there are morons, and then, there are guys like this. Just because one lame-brain can’t tell the difference between a smear and an apparition doesn’t mean _everybody_ who sees things like that are like him. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2004, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-people/242347/58 "2004-07-01T15:28:25Z")
> [@Klytus](#): > > There are idiots, there are morons, and then, there are guys like this. > > Just because one lame-brain can’t tell the difference between a smear and an apparition doesn’t mean _everybody_ who sees things like that are like him. I know - I didn’t intend to lump the OP in with this nut job. Apparently this video got picked up by Art Bell (whoever _he_ is…). Tiredness does weird things. When I’ve been really tired I’ve been convinced that there are animals of some kind running along the skirting board in my room. When it’s dark it’s even worse - I don’t know how many times I’ve leapt out of bed to turn the light on so I can see just what the things crawling across the floor are. (Usually a pair of jeans :wally ) ---
**Author:** ![Klytus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Klytus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Klytus)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2004, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-people/242347/59 "2004-07-01T17:53:24Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] I know - I didn’t intend to lump the OP in with this nut job. Apparently this video got picked up by Art Bell (whoever _he_ is…). [QUOTE] You seriously don’t know who Art Bell is? Here’s a mild synopsis: [http://www.who2.com/artbell.html](http://www.who2.com/artbell.html) ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2004, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-people/242347/60 "2004-07-01T21:36:24Z")
I was motoring through rural Switzerland with a business associate several years ago and we saw a troupe of dwarfs dressed as Gnomes at a small village. Question: Did you not see “The Wizard of OZ” starring Judy Garland or “Babes in Toyland” with Oliver and Hardy? Both films had lots of dwarfs/gnomes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-people/242347.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-little-people/242347.md?page=4)