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Minnesota Iceman
See Other Fossil Hoaxes
The Minnesota Iceman was a creature frozen in a block of ice and displayed at state fairs or carnivals in and around Minnesota in the late 1960s. Some have suggested the creature was a missing link, Bigfoot, or a yeti. But it was almost certainly a fossil hoax.
The owner of the "iceman," Frank Hansen, made a number of contradictory statements as to its origin, and as to how he obtained it. These statements led to criticism and charges of a hoax. Hansen reportedly claimed he had a real frozen creature and a replica, but that he only exhibited the replica due to the original's value and fragility.
 Source:
Unexplained!: 347 Strange Sightings, Incredible Occurrences, and Puzzling Physical Phenomena |
Two cryptozologists, Ivan Sanderson and Bernard Heuvelmans, examined the "iceman" and concluded it was a genuine creature such a Neanderthal Man or Bigfoot.
Heuvelmans wrote a paper titled "Preliminary Note on a Specimen
Preserved in Ice; Unknown Living Hominid," which was published in the
Bulletin of the Royal Institute of Natural Sciences of Belgium.
Sanderson wrote an article for Argosy magazine.
[Does anybody have copies of these articles? If so, please contact
epicidiot.com]
Some critics of evolution make much of the fact that these articles got published. What they fail to mention is that Heuvelmans was clearly on the fringe of the scientific community and also published a book on sea serpents. Argosy is primarily a fiction magazine and is not a scientific journal. He might as well have published it in the National Inquirer. This "iceman" never even came close to being accepted by mainstream science. Evolution critics claim that this hoax was accepted by scientists to prove evolution. In reality, the iceman was never properly studied and was never accepted by the scientific community. It was simply a money-making hoax perpetrated on carnival goers and mall shoppers. For groups, such as Answers In Genesis, to imply otherwise is misleading. See Lessons from Cold Fusion: Beware of Science by Press Conference.
The Smithsonian was reportedly briefly interested in the iceman, but backed off when they weren't allowed to do a proper investigation of the specimen.
Shortly thereafter, the iceman disappeared from public display. Hansen said it was withdrawn by its California-based owner. In a 1995 interview, Hansen reported that "I never did find out" if the iceman was genuine.
