Comments on: April 28th Is Atlas Obscura Day

By: PoeticsOfBigfoot

PoeticsOfBigfoot — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 17:31:46 +0000

Man, I would so totally wear that cowboy-funk shirt today! Throw in some pearl snaps and you got yourself a timeless classic, my friends. But I gotta say, it would go better with pointy-toed cowboy boots.

By: mandors

mandors — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 15:50:45 +0000

Corrick, I'm sorry, but the kid's drawing looks NOTHING like a barbary ape: or a macaque: Your escaped monkey theory is interesting, but it is just as unproven as trying to claim the thing was an extraterrestrial (something to which I do not subscribe). You have just made up a plausible story, not even a hypothesis. Where are the nearest research centers? Do they even use monkeys? Did any escape? FYI: Dover was and is a posh, relatively rural suburb outside of Boston around which there are many large stretches of wooded conservation land. Back in the 70s, it was a long way from Boston. I don't know about "numerous" controlled studies, and based on the conduct and acumen of "soft" scientists over the past thirty years, I have little faith that any of them are free of significant scientific errors, and they do not show "we are very good at it." We had to have been; it's how we survived as a species.

By: corrick

corrick — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 23:14:27 +0000

mandors
Those pictures look the same because they were taken from the same drawing. And you might want to take a look at some photographs of the Barbary ape and Japanese macaque in particular..
Sorry, but numerous controlled scientific studies have been done as to human ability to estimate size and distances and they all show we aren’t very good at it..

By: mandors

mandors — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 16:41:49 +0000

Hey Loren, we used have “Reuben Kincaid” parties back in college, just a thought for your 70s event!

By: mandors

mandors — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 16:41:08 +0000

Very interesting that the picture the kid drew looks little like the main picture at the top that was run in the paper. To my eye the witness’ picture doesn’t look much like a monkey. Also very interesting is that the large head was the most prominent feature.

Corrick, people are actually pretty good at size and distance estimation. A few years ago one of the skeptical inquirer schmoes did a test for monster quest. The people he polled were quite able to judge the size of different cut out black cats at various distances.

By: corrick

corrick — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 19:10:22 +0000

For what it’s worth.
If it wasn’t all a hoax, then to my mind the most likely candidate for the Dover Demon is an escaped monkey.

The general appearance and more importantly the behavior exhibited fit. And Dover is not exactly in the middle of Wyoming. Dover is a suburb of Boston, only 16 miles away from the center of the city. And greater Boston has always been a major center for medical and biological research. Where rhesus macaques are used extensively.

Admittedly, a rhesus monkey might initially seem too small, but I think we all understand the unreliability of eyewitness testimony, especially when estimating size and distance. I know, the rhesus monkey has a tail which was not observed. Two superior candidates I would submit then are either the Barbary ape or Japanese macaque. No tails and match the physical descriptions and behavior almost exactly.

Let me put it this way. If it wasn’t a hoax, what is more likely? An escaped monkey or some unknown animal lurking in the suburbs of Boston?

By: TheForthcoming

TheForthcoming — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 18:41:35 +0000

A blast from the past! I’m glad there were people like you guys to investigate this mysterious incident, btw.

By: Jerry D. Coleman

Jerry D. Coleman — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 14:36:27 +0000

Man, wish I could be there for the Special Expanded Obscura Day! Don’t forget to display the “Myth or Real” Dover Demon collector cards.
Fingers crossed hoping to see a short video of the event!
P.S. I must admit, I’m diggin’ the shirt!

By: Champ Voucher

Champ Voucher — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 06:40:00 +0000

Earth Shoes ! They still make em’