In October 1869, workers digging a well on a farm in Cardiff, New York, uncovered a ten-foot-tall petrified human figure. The discovery caused a national sensation, drawing thousands of paying spectators eager to glimpse physical proof of ancient giants. In reality, the figure was the brainchild of George Hull, an atheist tobacconist who engineered the scam to mock a fundamentalist preacher arguing that Earth was once inhabited by biblical giants.
Hull commissioned a block of gypsum in Iowa, hired sculptors to carve a colossal man, aged it with acid and needle marks, and secretly buried it a year prior. As crowds poured in at 50 cents a ticket, famous showman P. T.
Barnum offered $50,000 to buy the petrified man. When the owners rejected his offer, Barnum hired a sculptor to secretly copy the giant out of plaster and wax. He then put his duplicate on display in New York City, declaring that his exhibit was the genuine giant and the Cardiff original was a fake.
The absurdity escalated as both exhibits drew massive crowds simultaneously. When the truth finally emerged that both giants were completely fabricated, public fascination only grew, leading a judge to famously remark that Barnum could not be sued for calling a fake giant a fake.