The Fake Giant

"The Fake Giant – The 10-foot stone man that fooled America" tells the story of the Cardiff Giant, the greatest hoax in American history. In 1869, workers digging a well in upstate New York hit something hard: a 10-foot-tall petrified man. Theologians claimed it was proof of the biblical giants (Genesis 6:4), and thousands paid to see it. Author Victor Rock details the revenge plot of atheist George Hull, who spent years carving the giant from gypsum and burying it, just to win an argument with a Methodist preacher. The story gets crazier when P.T. Barnum tried to buy the giant, was refused, built a fake copy, and successfully claimed his fake was the real giant. "The Fake Giant" is a comedy of errors about belief and capitalism. It explores why people are so eager to believe in miracles that they will pay to see a lie, even after the liar has confessed.