The Cardiff Giant

After a heated religious argument with a revivalist preacher, George Hull—a cigar maker and ardent atheist—would go on to launch one of the most well-known hoaxes in American history in 1869. With the preacher's assertions that giants roamed the Earth in Biblical times, Hull claimed to have been "flabbergasted" and decided to make his own giant in an effort to disprove his religion. Creating relationships with a Chicago marble trader and a farmer named William "Stub" Newell in Cardiff, New York, cost Hull two years of his life and $3000.

The statue was buried by Newell and Hull on their property. Later, Newell persuaded laborers to dig a well where they allegedly found the remains of a 10-foot-tall figure. Soon after the "find" became public knowledge, hundreds of curious onlookers and amateur archaeologists swarmed to the location. The statue was displayed for viewers to make their own judgments, and despite the obvious poor quality of the statue, many were struck by the idea that it might have been real.

George Hull, a cigar maker and fervent atheist, got into a heated religious debate with a revivalist preacher that led to the beginning of one of the most well-known hoaxes in American history in 1869. Hull claimed to have been "flabbergasted" by the preacher's claims that giants inhabited the Earth in Biblical times and made his own giant in an effort to refute his faith. Hull lost two years of his life and $3,000 by developing friendships with a Chicago marble salesman and a farmer named William "Stub" Newell in Cardiff, New York.