"If they can put a man on the moon," people would say when I was a kid, "then why can't they"... find Bigfoot? Two reasons: He doesn't exist or not enough time and money have been spent on the search.

We've got no chance to prove he doesn't exist, because in the United States only 5 percent of the land is taken up by urbanization. Even if you include cities, roads, suburbs and shopping malls, we still have a full 95 percent of woodlands, farmlands, wetlands, and open spaces that have no human population. There are too many places for Bigfoot, or a bunch of Bigfeet, to hide.

So we're left with the second reason: not enough time and money have been spent on the search. That's changing, as any fan of MonsterQuest can tell you. Real scientists are joining amateur researchers in the field. Credible eyewitnesses are now easily able to report sightings via the Internet. This allows researchers to target their search areas. The subject of Bigfoot is approaching a critical mass. Interest is at an all time high.

I think that's because our society, and the world for that matter, has just had a huge shock. It turns out the powers we trusted to run things should not have been trusted, and the economic engine they ran for us all just sputtered, and then conked out. If they don't know what they're doing, but have been insisting that they do for as long as I can remember, then what else don't they have a clue about?

Conventional Wisdom has had a bigger drop in value than the stock exchange. The Media might cover stories about people who believe that Bigfoot exists with the same snickering they always have, but the snickering doesn't have the same effect it once did, because they're part of the crowd that insisted they knew it all. In addition, with the rise of the Internet there are so many other sources of news.

One of the factors that has polarized our society is this huge number of news sources. If one is skewing things in an obvious way and you don't like it, you can find one that is skewing things in a way that you like, or one that tries not to skew at all. We're not all hearing about the same set of facts. Part of skewing the news is omitting the facts that don't help the skewer's case, and magnifying the facts that promote the skewer's case.

A fact that bolsters the case of a Bigfoot skeptic is that there are all kinds of goofballs in the community of believers in Bigfoot. There have even been some widely publicized hoaxes. Recently some guys tried to pass off a Bigfoot costume filled with possum intestines as a dead Bigfoot. They were trying to figure out how to make the most profit from the hoax when it fell apart. One of the guys is a Las Vegas promoter, another is a used car salesman. I bet legitimate used car salesmen everywhere were outraged. So were legitimate Bigfoot Researchers.

If you check the online forums regarding this or any other shenanigans by loony people who gather around the topic of Bigfoot, you'll find there is a war going on. The barbarians are losing to the methodical methods of the professional soldiers. Any lunacy is ostracized. Craziness is ignored, which is the most effective way to put a website out of business. Hoaxers are exposed. The camaraderie surrounding any niche subject, especially one like Bigfoot, doesn't shield a phony or a loony anymore.

This is one of the ways that they are approaching the critical mass I mentioned. Legitimate Bigfoot Researchers believe they are going to reach their goal and they have to purge their ranks of those who diminish their credibility or interfere with their advance toward their goal. To reach their goal, their cause needs credibility or it won't get funding. They're rounding up the loons and making them walk the plank.

The main reason research into discovery of an unknown North American Primate hasn't been adequately funded is because it has been made to look like a goofy cause. Recently Dr. Jane Goodall, a leading primate researcher who spent decades studying Chimps in the field and is highly regarded by other prominent scientists, came out and said she expects that there is an undiscovered North American Primate. This made Bigfooters cheer and skeptics sneer. (I'd hate to be a skeptic. Your Day-timer would be full of entries such as, "Tuesday, 10 am. Sneer.")

You may have noticed if you follow the subject of Bigfoot, that most photographic evidence is pretty lame. Legitimate Bigfoot Researchers call these photos "Blobsquatch". They consist of a forest and a shadowy figure off in the distance. They're more like a Rorschach test than proof of the existence of Bigfoot. They are also heavily criticized within the Bigfoot community. People that publicize Blobsquatch photos lose credibility. Its an odd dynamic: People that don't want their belief in Bigfoot sneered at have been put in a position where they must sneer at the kooks. But they're doing it.

I liken it to having company. You vaccuum, straighten up the livingroom, put on a nice set of clothes, maybe spray some air freshener and drop your loony uncle off at the Bingo hall. Make your visitors comfortable and welcome. Its a tell. These people are on the verge of finding Bigfoot.

I think that is so cool! I can't wait to hear them say, "Told ya."