There ’s just too much weird stuff in Florida to drop by the wayside after three days . mayhap a quaternary Strange States first appearance will allow us get it all out of our scheme …
The Giant Penguin of Clearwater, Florida
In February 1948 , the residents of Clearwater , Florida — then a small townspeople of only about 15,000 citizenry — were draw to the Gulf beaches not for swimming or sunbathing , but for the mysterious three - toed step in the sand . measure about 14 inches long and 15 inch across , the prints came up out of the water system , followed along the shore nearly two Admiralty mile , and then disappear back into the sea . The footprint were photographed and plaster cast were made , and though experts said the creature must have weighed intimately 2000 pounds to make prints so deep , no one do it what left them behind .
The prints continued to appear up and down the coast , on a nearby island , and even several miles northward along the Suwannee River . At one point the Clearwater Monster , also known as “ Old Three - Toes , ” knocked over a lifeguard stand , leaving unknown tomentum or feathers in the debris .
In July 1948 , scholarly person enrolled in the Dunedin Flying School aver they visualize what could only be the deep animal swim near the Clearwater Bridge . They draw it as a furry log with a oral sex like a big Sus scrofa . One brace said they learn a vast , furry savage waddling along the beach and then disappearing into the breakers . But because no one had see the creature up closely , it was inconceivable to say precisely what it was .
Around this time , noted zoologist Ivan Sanderson take an interest in Old Three - Toes . He traveled from New York City , where he often appeared on television talk shows with furry friends in towage , and open his own investigating . Sanderson had study mysterious creature before — in fact , he coin the term “ cryptozoology”—and after examining the evidence , declare it was “ emphatically not a hoax . ” In his practiced opinion , the most coherent account was a previously nameless species of giant penguin , perchance one up to 15 metrical unit tall .
The prints continued to appear on occasion for the next 10 years , but no one ever spot the Giant Penguin of Clearwater . If they had , they would have seen Tony Signorini stamp around in the guts wearing 30 - pound , three - toe , lead shoes . Signorini and his boss at Auto Electric , well - known prankster Al Williams , create the fraud after Williams saw a pic of dinosaur footprints in aNational Geographicstory . Using the tool in the motorcar repair shop , the men fabricated metal feet and attach tennis shoe to them . Then they row just off shore in the middle of the dark so Signorini could disembark , wander along the beach , and climb back into the gravy boat , pull up stakes behind mysterious footprints that would often be reported by one of their ally the next morning .
After Williams give-up the ghost in 1969 , and Sanderson in 1973 , Signorini waited another 15 years before ultimately divulge the artifice in 1988 . Signorini still had the metallic element place and gladly wore them for photos to show he really was the one known as Old Three - Toes .
You ’d opine a quaternary day of strange material in Florida would be enough , but you ’d be wrong ! We ’ll be back with another Strange States : Florida unveiling tomorrow . While you ’re hold off , understand all of our Strange States entireshere .
Primary photo courtesy ofOrgone Research .
