Dr. Jeffrey Meldrum - America's "Bigfoot Professor"

[DennyT]

Re Crook in 1982, the year of the Heryford tracks:
“...the topic of Bigfoot became something of an obsession for Cliff Crook, he developed a variety of items for Bigfoot researchers as well as an extensive collection of items aimed at tourists. These items included the Bigfoot Totem postcard, Wild Creek Bigfoot postcard, Bigfoot Bumper stickers, buttons, ribbons, shirts, caps, the Bigfoot Map, the Bigfoot Trailblazer, the Bigfoot Trails newsletter and Bigfoot and the Moon. In 1976, Crook developed a seven point tracking test to detect hoaxed Bigfoot prints and in 1982 he established North America�s first Bigfoot Reports Headquarters and Research Data Base, called the Bigfoot Central.”

Crook became pretty famous but later became a persona non grata over some claims he made about the PGF, and also some fake photos and likely other stuff. Plus he looked like Snidely Whiplash. It would interesting to learn about his ostensible role in the Heryford matter, timing, etc. of course, Don J. would not find such matters worthy of his time.

 

[DennyT]

Given the fact that Crook was a bigfoot moneygrubber there were likely other unseemly escapades, especially since he closely resembled Snidely Whiplash. It would interesting to learn about his ostensible role in the Heryford matter, timing, etc. of course, Don J. would not find such matters worthy of his valuable rube-soaking time.

 

[DennyT]

See the infamous Wild Creek Bigfoot image that Crook brought forward. The source “photographer” has never been identified.
https://bigfootbase.com/bigfoot-evidence/pictures

 

[William Parcher]

Heryford himself or one of the other deputies might be considered but seem unlikely.

It doesn't seem unlikely to me. Deputy Sheriff Heryford was already a Bigfoot believer before these tracks were found by him.

 

[AlaskaBushPilot]

especially since he closely resembled Snidely Whiplash.

That's why I am at this community. Because you need these insights that you would otherwise overlook.

 

[AlaskaBushPilot]

I don’t think that Don J. will ever admit that he is wrong about Bigfoot.

Of course not.

I love when BLAARGers threaten how embarrassed we're going to be when bigfoot proves to be true.

Because the more noise you make about it, the more you stake your reputation on it, the longer you act like an obstinate ******* about it... the more of a prison you live in.

They pass a point of no return. Admitting you're wrong is invalidating a lifetime of alleged research. It's delicious irony: BLAARGers are projecting their own predicament onto skeptics.

We cannot predict what the next technical innovation is going to be. But it's always in the direction of more power and less expense.

In the end, because of technology, the decisive proof is the evidence of absence. You cannot argue an undetectable bigfoot. Merldumb needs to argue an undetectable bigfoot in order to argue tracks are real.

 

[DennyT]

The stompers used in the four or five Grays Harbor trackways were very beautiful and supposedly all different. Someone put a lot of time and trouble into that hoax. Obsessed or profit- oriented? Then what? Do we ever see these again? It’s like a serial killer who suddenly disappears. Was the goal just to sell casts? Did someone get caught and promise to never do it again?

 

[Castro]

^^^ I can see someone having a good laugh at the sheriff's (or the local footers' or Krantz's...) expense and then just deciding to move on.

 

[HarryHenderson]

...You cannot argue an undetectable bigfoot. Merldumb needs to argue an undetectable bigfoot in order to argue tracks are real.

What's probably factually unknown but a logical certainty is there is no way his ISU colleagues approve of his Bigfoot con. I doubt many say "yeah well, if he thinks it's true then maybe there's something to it." And if there is more than zero who think that, which there probably is, those people need to put the ethanol down and simply walk away from it cold turkey.

Not for a second have I bought his cockamamie 'mid-tarsal break' pablum as anything other than what it was. For one thing it was published by a company named Diabolical Inc. Snidely something or other runs the place. So as a scientist he knew long ago Bigfoot not only didn't exist but couldn't exist, yet goes ahead and comes out with an official scientific theory on the fake animal's specific form of locomotion? And then explicitly (and implicitly) berates anyone who questions the stupidity of such? Or even the seeming stupidity in coming out with any theory at all? The premise rings familiar and it's fiendish. A long con like this requires absolute gall if it requires anything and he's proven over and over his balls are definitely made of steel that way. Probably because it's all he's got left, his brain is mostly just mush now, e.g. constantly arguing scientifically that a completely undetectable Bigfoot makes easily detectable tracks.

 

[DennyT]

^^^ I can see someone having a good laugh at the sheriff's (or the local footers' or Krantz's...) expense and then just deciding to move on.

In one account, the tracks were found by two loggers. Further, they requested anonymity. Given the long-standing tradition of camp pranks among loggers, and the multiplicity of stompers, it may be that these guys were experienced carver/hoaxers; they made the tracks and soon moved on to other logging camps. They almost certainly used their masterpiece carvings again but no one took them as seriously as Heryford.

 

[Castro]

^Perfectly plausible. Of course a guy like Meldrum will always prefer the preposterous elusive giant monkey man explanation which, to be fair, is far better for his little business.

 

[AlaskaBushPilot]

So as a scientist he knew long ago Bigfoot not only didn't exist but couldn't exist, yet goes ahead and comes out with an official scientific theory on the fake animal's specific form of locomotion?

Well it is a lot more understandable if it is the little boy, not the grown up scientist, who decided to hoax a "scientific" treatise on bigfoot tracks.

He didn't know the "mid-tarsal break" would be his specific marketing niche so many years into the future.

But when young Merldumb is formulating his "what I am going to be when I grow up" plan, Roger Patterson and Al DeAtley are generating a million dollars in revenue off their PGF tour.

Looking at our handy CPI calculator, that's $7.5 million in today's dollars. You had examples of millionaires handing out grants (Oilman Tom Slick) setting up offices with cute secretaries, jeeps, room and board for teams of bigfoot hunters...

Who in science makes that kind of dough and gets to run around in the mountains in a jeep while boffing their hottie secretary? You know that Peter Byrne is doing that redhead, right? He's a tiger hunting guide from overseas being funded by a millionaire to go out to dinner and movies with. Expense account.

Kid Merldumb is probably figuring on book sales, movies, selling casts, jetting to conferences in Africa (!). Grants. And therefore hotties, under the ancient maxim "no money, no honey".

It didn't make him rich in the end. He is far under a million in terms of revenue generated in all those things, just a rough guess. Way over a hundred thousand, one grant alone was $50K from a private foundation. I have no idea what his book generated. Spots on TV shows? No idea, but I doubt anything has been more than low single-digit thousands.

I would say "hundreds of thousands", order of magnitude, is what he has generated.

 

[HarryHenderson]

...It didn't make him rich in the end. He is far under a million in terms of revenue generated in all those things, just a rough guess. Way over a hundred thousand, one grant alone was $50K from a private foundation. I have no idea what his book generated. Spots on TV shows? No idea, but I doubt anything has been more than low single-digit thousands.

I would say "hundreds of thousands", order of magnitude, is what he has generated.

Funny you mention his career Bigfoot cash take. I don't think I've ever thought he was going to make enough money for having "sold his soul to the devil for a shot at the big time." I wholly agree it's likely only in the 'hundreds of thousands' of dollars so far, and that's definitely not enough. Or maybe it is for a sociopath. Even Matt Moneymaker has made more money than that unintentionally unraveling The Don's theories on a Bigfoot TV show intended to bolster them, and he doesn't even know what PhD stands for. Talk about Don Jeff's bad luck.

Which ultimately exposes the real Don Meldrum. The PhD is the only reason he's able to cash in on Bigfoot at all. And it seems he really did obtain that level of degree solely to cash in on his childhood Bigfoot. Because otherwise he possesses literally none of the traits one would think necessary to lead Popular BLAARGing™ into the next paradigm shifting epic premiere colossal paradigm awakening shift event. Beyond his role as one of the WIMPIEST SCIENTISTS EVER for any subject on any show ever since the beginning of shows, he's also not some charming, energetic, fun loving type guy, nor is he in any way interesting, compelling, convincing or clever. He's flavorless, odorless, colorless and sodium free. He's low cal and low fat and has a one legged cat named Drat. And that's that.

 

[AlaskaBushPilot]

The PhD is the only reason he's able to cash in on Bigfoot at all. And it seems he really did obtain that level of degree solely to cash in on his childhood Bigfoot.

I believe this to be the essence of understanding him.

Because otherwise he possesses literally none of the traits one would think necessary to lead Popular BLAARGing™ into the next paradigm shifting epic premiere colossal paradigm awakening shift event. Beyond his role as one of the WIMPIEST SCIENTISTS EVER for any subject on any show ever since the beginning of shows, he's also not some charming, energetic, fun loving type guy, nor is he in any way interesting, compelling, convincing or clever. He's flavorless, odorless, colorless and sodium free. He's low cal and low fat and has a one legged cat named Drat. And that's that.

lol. But it is important in our study of him.

Because to conceive of such a plan as a boy, he knows he is a hoaxer. And the rule there is "O, what a tangled web we weave when first we practise to deceive".

You have to fake emotions, act like you are talking about the weather while proposing giant monsters that don't meet the slightest scrutiny...

Deadpan. Confusing, amorphous, double-talk.

If a monster really does exist you're going to be super-charged with enthusiasm and be flying ultralights over alleged sighting areas. What you're doing is going to be cool and interesting, like hunting for real big game.

I would like to say I pity being trapped into wearing that mask. I find it exhausting not being honest or true. Too much to remember. Too much work to always be on your game faking facial expressions, body language, etc. It comes off as phony. Creepy.

But oh well, it cannot be understood except in the eye of the Dark Triad personality. There's no shame. No empathy. Somebody quoted the line from the Terminatior in another thread - "Listen, and understand! That Terminator is out there! It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear! And it absolutely will not stop, ever...even if the PGF is debunked"

 

[The Shrike]

lol. But it is important in our study of him.

It is indeed interesting to consider the motivations of a scientist who rejects science, or at least employs it . . . selectively. Professionally, there is no more important question to me than "is this true?" It is difficult for me to imagine what happens in the mind of a person educated as a scientist to focus on anything else, yet we know this happens all the time, of course.

As Meldrum is an XY Homo sapiens, money and chicks are good hypotheses as motivators for his chicanery. But, we must not lose sight of the fact that this is a dude indoctrinated from infancy in Mormon theology (as was Krantz before him). We've had some Mormon graduate students come through our program in recent years, including some really outstanding scientists. If they believe what they practice in their faith, however, then there is an extraordinary ability in these folks to compartmentalize and rationalize unsupported and irrational beliefs with objective fact. On the spectrum of stupid stuff Meldrum ostensibly believes as a practicing Mormon scientist, bigfoot is pretty meh.

 

[DennyT]

I think there is a feeling (perpetuated by Meldrum) that his bigfootery jeopardized his career. I do not think this is actually the case. Rather, bigfootery enabled him to attract substantial grant money (much more than you realize) and publish several papers. We may quibble about the quality of the work but without them he would have never had a chance for academic tenure at the time when the matter was decided. Certainly the standard at ISU is lower than the usual research institution but it is what it is; the U decided that his input/output would stand up in court compared with their other faculty. Were he to come up for tenure today, he might not be so dependent on the pitiful Bigfoot papers.

To my way of thinking, bigfootery is responsible for him having a job.

 

[AlaskaBushPilot]

But, we must not lose sight of the fact that this is a dude indoctrinated from infancy in Mormon theology (as was Krantz before him).

Thank you so much for pointing this out. My God, statistically what are the odds! I can work that out, not right this minute but for the moment I want to agree with you on this, it is ipso facto extraordinary.

I think it generalizes beyond Mormons. There are some snake-bite charmer fundies, Parcher is keen on. The link between whack-a-do fundy beliefs and bigfoot.

Mormons have a distinctive trait though of being hard workers and quite capable academically. They're going to have legitimate PhD's, whereas the snake-charmers in the hills: not so much.

Great insight. About their compartmentalization skills in that Religion. Read Under the Banner of Heaven. Crazy beyond belief. Another great read is the book that covers Mark Hofmann's master forgery history and murder convictions. The Salamander letter, lol.

I agree with you.

 

[AlaskaBushPilot]

I think there is a feeling (perpetuated by Meldrum) that his bigfootery jeopardized his career. I do not think this is actually the case. Rather, bigfootery enabled him to attract substantial grant money (much more than you realize) and publish several papers. We may quibble about the quality of the work but without them he would have never had a chance for academic tenure at the time when the matter was decided. Certainly the standard at ISU is lower than the usual research institution but it is what it is; the U decided that his input/output would stand up in court compared with their other faculty. Were he to come up for tenure today, he might not be so dependent on the pitiful Bigfoot papers.

To my way of thinking, bigfootery is responsible for him having a job.

It was my understanding he got tenure before he came out of the closet. But that afterwards, yes indeed he did find grants that the University gets a cut of. Like up to 50%.

 

[The Shrike]

I think there is a feeling (perpetuated by Meldrum) that his bigfootery jeopardized his career.

Absolutely stated, promoted, and perpetuated by Meldrum. His Galileo narrative only works if he casts himself as the iconoclast who suffers for the truth.

This is also complete horse-hockey. Meldrum was hired as an assistant professor at a US Land-Grant University, he achieved tenure there, and was promoted to the highest academic rank we have in the US: full professor. That he was denied full professor in his first attempt to apply for it is immaterial, as that is a very common experience for academics.

 

[The Shrike]

Great insight. About their compartmentalization skills in that Religion.

I was a practicing Catholic PhD for a long time, so I understand compartmentalization. The difference I think is that I don't know any Catholic scientists who actually believe in the stuff. (I jettisoned mine ~13, as I was preparing for my Confirmation.) My still-practicing colleagues are culturally Catholic but that's about it. My experience with Mormons, however, is quite different. They seem to be in lock, stock, & barrel or completely out. We know that Meldrum is in deep, as several papers he claims on his CV are actually Mormon stuff.

How he got promoted to full professor with that crap is beyond me.