In February 1948, a Clearwater resident in Florida faced something completely unexpected. During his morning walk on the beach, he came across a number of remarkable footprints in the sand.

Fingerprints

The prints were huge, about 35 cm long and 28 cm wide, and more strangely, they had three fingers, terminated by long claws. The Florida Fringe Tourism website tells of strange footprints coming from the southern end of the Gulf of Mexico beach and walking around the coast for more than 3 kilometers before heading back to the water and disappearing. No one could figure out whose footsteps it was, but the 1,2 to 1,8-meter footsteps indicated that whatever it was, it was large.

Clearwater, Florida, photo by 2candle CC BY 2.5

Traces of an unknown creature have appeared on the beaches of various Florida cities for about two years. His footprints were seen in the towns between Clearwater and Sarasota and earned him the name "Old Three-toed". During this time, several people claimed to have seen the monster, what else could it be? They described him as a large bird-like creature or a large hairy trunk with a pig-shaped head.

People's reactions ranged from confused, through frightened to unbelievers. If it was really some strange creature coming from the water, what could it do to us if it wanted to? If it's a scam, who would put so much work into it and why?

Is this a scam?

Strange tracks were noticed by Ivan T. Sanderson, a renowned zoologist who wrote and commented on scientific topics in New York. Sanderson came to Florida to investigate the mystery, and for months he studied the tracks and talked to witnesses. According to an article in the Tampa Bay Times, he even dug up one fingerprint and took it home.

Other traces were found along the banks of the Suwannee River, 60 kilometers from the ocean

Sanderson was like Indiana Jones in the world of zoology. For Cambridge University and the British Museum, he took several trips to the African jungle, which subsequently inspired him to write a bestseller book. It was also he who came up with the term cryptozoology - referring to the persecution of mythical creatures such as Loch Ness. He believed that if anyone was to solve the mystery of those three-finger tracks, it would be himself.

After extensive research and investigation, he came to the conclusion that the prints could not be a hoax. They seemed to be pushed too deep to be created by a human or a machine. He even went so far as to say that he had seen the creature himself.

The imprint of a huge penguin

He described it as about 3,5 meters large, grayish-yellow in color, with massive fin-like arms. He said that when he swam, big waves formed around him, as if he had a very strong grip. His final conclusion, no matter how foolish the thought, was that the creature must have been a huge penguin. After that, traces appeared several more times in the 50s, but after 1958, no prints or giant penguins were seen.

Thirty years later, on June 30, 11, the mystery was finally solved. In St. The Petersburg Times published an article stating that the Old Finger was a hoax. The joker Tony Signorini from Clearwater and his friend admitted to the origin of the mysterious tracks. The author of the article went to Signorini's car service to interview him, and he showed her a pair of large, three-toe cast iron feet.

Giant footprints

According to Signorini, the idea of ​​creating giant tracks was the work of his friend and then-boss Al Williams. Williams must have been inspired by photos from Smithsonian magazine that showed a petrified trail of a dinosaur. After a while, Williams came up with the idea to make feet that fit the photos and have some fun.

Ivan T. Anderson, holding the "leg of the Florida Three-toed", a cast from 1948. Photo Orgone Research

When the feet were ready, they attached them to a pair of ankle sneakers. The two men then loaded them into a rowboat and sailed into the shallow water not far from the shore, where Signorini put on his shoes and came out of the water ashore. To reach a distance of feet far apart, Signorini always balanced on one leg and rocked the other leg to increase the reflection and then jumped on the other leg. Since each metal track weighed about 13 kg, the act required considerable physics and sufficient time.

Over the years, Signorini occasionally showed his feet to friends and family and told them the story of how the tracks actually formed. He later remained the only major witness to the events. His partner Al Williams died in 1970. Ivan Sanderson continued to take an interest in cryptozoology, and until his death in 1973, he devoted himself to mysteries such as Bigfoot and UFOs. Tony Signorini died in 2013 and the legendary feet were inherited by his son Jeff.

Ivan T. Anderson, holding the "leg of the Florida Three-toed", a cast from 1948. Photo Orgone Research

Jeff was then approached by several historical organizations that expressed interest in exhibiting these special pieces of Florida history, but Jeff resisted, noting that his father wished to keep his feet in the family. As he considered what to do with them, one of his nieces signed up for them, so they stayed in the family.

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