Episode 35 - Champ's no Chump: The Best Evidence for Lake Monsters

Squaring the Strange

Ben first reminds us all that the History Channel still has not made good on their promise to be transparent about their Amelia Earhart research debacle, and then the guys discuss a listener question regarding “asking questions” in a leading way. Then, for our main topic, we turn to Champ, the legendary monster said to inhabit Lake Champlain, which borders New York and Vermont. The best-known report of this monster is said to be from Samuel de Champlain himself in 1609—except it’s a falsified quote. Ben draws on his personal investigations of the legend, giving us an overview of the nineteenth century’s yellow journalism, the frequency and patterns of Champ sightings, and similarities to the UFO phenomenon. The best photographic evidence for any lake monster (after the famous Nessie photo was revealed as a hoax) was the photo of Champ taken in 1977 by Sandra Mansi. Ben talks about his interview with Mansi, his analysis of her photo, and the subsequent practical investigations he did with Joe Nickell at (and in) the lake itself. As you might expect, a few things didn’t add up, and Ben walks us through the puzzle. Wish Background Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/