The Cardiff Giant The "petrified man" found by workers digging a well: about 10 feet 4.5 inches long and 2,990 pounds. The picture shows it on display in Syracuse around 1869.
1 Sources 8 Connections George Hull A New York tobacconist. After losing an argument with a minister over the giants of Genesis, he set out to show how easily people could be fooled. He spent $2,600 on the hoax.
1 Sources 2 Connections William Newell Hull's cousin, on whose farm the giant was buried. He put up a tent and charged 50 cents for 15 minutes.
1 Sources 2 Connections The gypsum block Quarried in Fort Dodge, Iowa, on the pretext of a Lincoln monument, carved by a stonecutter in Chicago and aged with acid and needles.
1 Sources 1 Connections Othniel C. Marsh The Yale paleontologist who noted that soluble gypsum buried in wet earth for centuries would not still show fresh tool marks, and called it "a most decided humbug".
1 Sources 1 Connections Andrew D. White Cornell's first president. He judged it a hoax, noting there was no reason to dig a well at a spot convenient to neither house nor barn, with a spring and a stream already at hand.
1 Sources 1 Connections David Hannum Head of the five-man syndicate that bought Hull's interest for $23,000. "There's a sucker born every minute" was reported as his remark, though it is often misattributed to Barnum.
1 Sources 1 Connections P. T. Barnum Refused when he tried to buy the giant, he had it secretly modelled and made a plaster copy, which he displayed in New York as the real one, calling the Cardiff Giant a fake.
1 Sources 2 Connections The court ruling After Hull confessed to the press on 10 December 1869, both giants were revealed as fakes in court on 2 February 1870. The judge ruled that Barnum could not be sued for calling a fake a fake.
1 Sources 1 Connections Cooperstown The giant was sold in 1947 to a farm museum in Cooperstown, New York, where it is still displayed. The photo was taken there in 2013.
1 Sources 1 Connections made and buried cousin of charged to see was carved into called a humbug judged a hoax bought into copied ruled he could not be sued displays Control map, One finger scrolls the page. Two fingers move or zoom the map.
Select a card or connection to inspect it. − 100% + Fit board
Connected clues12 Source index1 Open questions2
Follow recorded connections through a shared clue. This does not establish a direct relationship between the endpoints.
Item The Cardiff Giant The "petrified man" found by workers digging a well: about 10 feet 4.5 inches long and 2,990 pounds. The picture shows it on display in Syracuse around 1869. User contribution ↑ made and buried Buried on the farm in November 1868. Sources 1 Person George Hull A New York tobacconist. After losing an argument with a minister over the giants of Genesis, he set out to show how easily people could be fooled. He spent $2,600 on the hoax. User contribution ↑ charged to see 50 cents for 15 minutes. Sources 1 Person William Newell Hull's cousin, on whose farm the giant was buried. He put up a tent and charged 50 cents for 15 minutes. User contribution Person George Hull A New York tobacconist. After losing an argument with a minister over the giants of Genesis, he set out to show how easily people could be fooled. He spent $2,600 on the hoax. User contribution ↓ made and buried Buried on the farm in November 1868. Sources 1 Item The Cardiff Giant The "petrified man" found by workers digging a well: about 10 feet 4.5 inches long and 2,990 pounds. The picture shows it on display in Syracuse around 1869. User contribution ↓ cousin of He used his cousin's farm. Sources 1 Person William Newell Hull's cousin, on whose farm the giant was buried. He put up a tent and charged 50 cents for 15 minutes. User contribution Person William Newell Hull's cousin, on whose farm the giant was buried. He put up a tent and charged 50 cents for 15 minutes. User contribution ↑ cousin of He used his cousin's farm. Sources 1 Person George Hull A New York tobacconist. After losing an argument with a minister over the giants of Genesis, he set out to show how easily people could be fooled. He spent $2,600 on the hoax. User contribution ↓ charged to see 50 cents for 15 minutes. Sources 1 Item The Cardiff Giant The "petrified man" found by workers digging a well: about 10 feet 4.5 inches long and 2,990 pounds. The picture shows it on display in Syracuse around 1869. User contribution Person P. T. Barnum Refused when he tried to buy the giant, he had it secretly modelled and made a plaster copy, which he displayed in New York as the real one, calling the Cardiff Giant a fake. User contribution ↓ copied He claimed his copy was the real one. Sources 1 Item The Cardiff Giant The "petrified man" found by workers digging a well: about 10 feet 4.5 inches long and 2,990 pounds. The picture shows it on display in Syracuse around 1869. User contribution ↑ ruled he could not be sued He had only called a fake a fake. Sources 1 Item The court ruling After Hull confessed to the press on 10 December 1869, both giants were revealed as fakes in court on 2 February 1870. The judge ruled that Barnum could not be sued for calling a fake a fake. User contribution More shared clues (8) AI research is a draft. Read the sources and check the context.
