Hello all! My name is Noah D. Henson. A few days ago I wrote an article analyzing the P-G film which was published at AnomalyMagazine.com and which was discussed, briefly, in this thread. Having recently discovered this excellent forum, and in particular this informative and entertaining thread, I'd like to take this opportunity to clarify a few points about my research, my sources of information, and my skills in the area of human and primate anatomy.
First, when I said "the subject's muscles slide over the skeleton", I was referring to the back muscles, specifically the teres major and minor, and the infraspinatus, both of which groups can accurately be said to "slide" or glide over the scapula beneath. The shoulder blade is a kind of floating anchor of bone, which slides like a gate with every movement of the arm. In the P-G figure, these muscles can clearly be seen sliding over the shoulder blade beneath. Thus Diogenes' stated opinion that "That's not what real muscles do" is incorrect.
Second, regarding my use of the word pendulous, to which Diogenes also objected, my Oxford defines the word as "1. hanging down; drooping and esp. swinging. 2. oscillating." Obviously the second denotation is not intended, since no breast, whether comprised of fatty tissue or of latex rubber, can be said to "oscillate". This leaves the first. Even the most severe critic of the P-G film will have observed that the figure's pectoral sacs hang down and droop; and many have commented here and elsewhere that the left sac, at the least, can be seen to swing. Herewith I submit the observation that it is Diogenes, and not myself, who "must have missed school, the day ' pendulous ' was discussed."
Third, it is absolutely correct that many of the observations I made in my above-referenced article have been debunked. In the interest of intellectual honesty, allow me to explain. When I wrote up my analysis of the film and published it at AnomalyMagazine, my conclusion -- that "Patty" could not be a person in a costume -- I had reached based on all the information I had at the time. This information consisted largely of the film itself (various versions, but especially MK Davis' enhanced digitization), the 1998 NASI report by Jeff Glickman, and my own skill in the area of human muscular anatomy.
Since then, in my efforts to shed light on various facets of the P-G film, I've discovered these remarkable forums, which have provided me a wealth of information I had never before seen, heard of or known about. Reading through every consecutive page of this thread and following perhaps 90% of the offered links, I've been enlightened as to: 1. The existence of mechanical prosthetics as early as 1940. 2. The "Gorn" muscle suit created in 1966. 3. The detailed account of the Roe sighting of a female bigfoot given by Patterson in his 1966 book, with attendant illustrations of a bigfoot with breasts. 4. The human skeletal overlay, showing how "Patty" has normal human proportions. 5. The inaccurate measurements in the NASI report and the five other studies which show a height of around 6'. All of these pieces of information and more combined to shatter my previous conclusions about the P-G film and its subject. All of these were unavailable to me at the time I wrote my initial analysis.
It would have been intellectually dishonest of me to cling to my prior conclusions when faced with all this new, damning information. It would have been prideful and foolish. My only choice, as an avowed skeptic and rational thinker, is to be frank about my new discoveries. I am not stating firmly nor with total assurance that there is NOT an uncatalogued primate roaming the woods of the Pacific Northwest (or elsewhere). However, I can state that I can no longer exclude the possibility that the P-G figure is a person in costume. Whether the other evidence for bigfoot's existence is invented, misidentified, the result of perceptual distortion or of willful manufacture, or demonstrably legitimate, I cannot yet say.
I will continue to examine the phenomenon, and to present what I consider to be the best evidence both for and against the possibility that this animal exists.
I look forward to many stimulating discussions on this and other questions.