The Farmhants knew that the Old Testament had spoken about a race of giants, but Cardiff, New York was a very long way from the promised land.

So you can imagine their surprise on that cool October morning in 1869,

when the men accidentally unearthed a petrified body of a massive 10-foot-tall man.

He laid flat on his back, as pale and chalky as soft plaster.

It was easy for the workers to recall the Bible story of

Goliath, being struck down by David's slingshot. The resemblance, in their mind, was striking.

The laborers couldn't believe their luck. They thought it was a weird and wonderful discovery,

and they set off to let the world know. But none of this was by

happenstance or happy accident. No, it was all part of a heavily choreographed and brilliantly

engineered plan, drummed up by a fellow named George Hull, one that involved a handful of years,

a couple thousand dollars, and a big chunk of gypsum. You see,

George was a skeptic by nature. He didn't believe in God. He certainly didn't believe in the Bible,

and definitely didn't believe in giants. This life was all there was, he thought, and anyone

trying to convince people otherwise were fraudsters. So George came up with an idea to hoodwink the faithful.

And he picked the perfect time, too.

Charles Darwin had just published his origin of species,

and the world as we knew it had been thrown into flux.

George roped in a cast of characters, a Chicago marble dealer, some sculptors, and a distant

relative by the name of Stubb Newell. The latter just happened to own a farm in upstate New

York, which would prove to be the perfect resting place for a faux fossil. Visitors soon began

pouring onto the property. Men left work and women brought their babies along.

They showed up to the farm in droves, trying to catch a glimpse of this fossilized giant.

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