Bigfoot has long been considered a combination of folklore, misidentification, and hoax, but one thing is for sure, the idea of a prowling hairy ape-man has captured the public's imagination for nearly 70 years.

It dates back to a small news item in 1958 which gripped readers who were lured in by the idea of a North American counterpart to the Himalayan region's mythical monster, the Abominable Snowman, or Yeti.

Journalist Andrew Genzoli, of the Humboldt Times, highlighted an entertaining letter from a reader about loggers in northern California who had discovered mysteriously large footprints.

Such was the unexpected level of interest that Genzoli then published a series of follow-up articles, including how the loggers had named the so-called creature who left the tracks 'Bigfoot'. And with that, the legend was born.

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