It's October 16th, 1869, on a farm in the village of Cardiff, New York.

Agricultural laborer Henry Nichols stabs the ground with a shovel, pushing down with his

foot, then levering up a chunk of soil out of a three-foot deep hole.

He straightens up and tosses the dirt into a growing pile beside him.

His back aches and his arms are burning.

For the past several hours, Henry and another laborer have been digging a new well shaft.

It's hard work. Right now, Henry is craving a pitcher of beer that the farms owner promised when they were finished.

But they're nowhere near done with their task.

The next time Henry cuts into the ground with his shovel, the metal edge strikes a stone.

Henry rolls his eyes.

If there are rocks in the soil, their tough job just got even tougher.

Henry tries to dig around the stone, but it's huge. He can't find where it ends.

He calls his colleague over, and together they scrape the soil away from the pale rock.

But this is no ordinary stone.

As they clear the dirt away, it gradually takes the shape of a human foot.

Henry drops his shovel and shock.

He isn't sure what they found, but he does know that this macabre discovery gives him the creeps.

After Henry reports his grisly find, farm owner William Newell will help excavate the area.

Together they'll uncover a ten foot tall stone figure that farm owner William will confidently declare is a petrified giant dating back to Biblical times.

The Cardiff giant, as their discovery will be named, will cause a sensation and be hailed as proof of the literal truth of the Bible.

But it will soon be exposed as a clever fake, and William will be unmasked as one of the conspirators behind the hoax,

but not before he makes a fortune.

...