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10/23/97 - NASI NEWS RELEASE: The North American Science Institute (NASI)
and the Bigfoot Field Researchers' Organization (BFRO) are pleased to announce
their new research alliance. NASI endorses the BFRO as the central repository
for all Bigfoot / Sasquatch witness reports and related observations. NASI
is disclosing all witness reports to the BFRO so they may be accessed online
by all Bigfoot researchers. In turn, the BFRO is making their database
available to all NASI researchers. NASI will also assist the BFRO with
Pacific Northwest field investigations through access to field equipment
and personnel. Research results will be shared between the two organizations.
NASI strongly encourages the entire Bigfoot community, from all parts of
the continent, to deposit Bigfoot reports with the BFRO. A
single central repository will enable researchers to more quickly and
accurately identify habitats and migration routes should the phenomenon
originate from an unclassified animal species. This database will also
help in the evaluation of theories for other possible origins of the phenomenon,
such as human manufacture. For additional information about the BFRO please
refer to the BFRO's web site http://www.moneymaker.org/BFRR/ Our affiliation
launches NASI's Research Affiliates Program. For additional information
about this program please contact: nasi@gorge.net
Tod Deery
Research Director
North American Science Institute
nasi2@gorge.net
Matt Moneymaker
Board Member
Bigfoot Field Researchers' Organization
mailto:mmkr@bigfoot.com
11/25/97 NASI: PATTERSON-GIMLIN FILM RESEARCH
RESULTS (CORRECTED)
INTRODUCTION
The analysis of the Patterson-Gimlin film began with
the Bigfoot Research Project and has continued under
the auspices of the North American Science Institute.
Two possible explanations for the film are the subject
is a human in a suit or it is an unclassified animal.
Biological parameters derived from the film may help
us determine the nature of the subject by demonstrating
the plausibility or implausibility of an unclassified
animal. Other biological parameters, in conjunction
with those presented here, may include or exclude the
possibility that the subject in the film is a human in a
suit.
In light of this, an important piece of objective data
needed from the film is the chest measurement which
may be used to estimate the mass and caloric
requirements of the subject.
Since the actual shape of the subject's chest is unknown,
it is necessary to approximate this shape by a geometric
figure. An ellipse is chosen, because measurements from
the film show that the subject is wider than it
is thick. The perimeter of an ellipse may be computed
from the major and minor axes of the ellipse which
correspond to the width and thickness of the subject as
measured from the film. Because the subject
has been filmed at an angle, it is not possible to
directly measure the width and thickness of the subject
from the film. Imagine looking at an object such as
a pencil straight on versus at an angle. At an angle, the
pencil appears shorter. This effect is observed in the
film and requires special computations to correct.
The methodology followed and the corresponding
computations are given below.
The results of this analysis are:
Chest Measurement: 82.98 inches
Biological parameters suggested by this analysis are:
Weight: 1,957 lbs.
Caloric Requirement: 15,600 calories per day
Time to Eat: 4 to 8 hours per day
METHODOLOGY & COMPUTATIONS
The major axis was extracted across the back of the
subject in frame 61, and the minor axis was extracted
from the side of the torso in frame 339. A scale reference
is also required which was previously calculated by this
research effort using frame 326 and a reference
photograph taken by Peter Byrne in 1972 during research
he conducted at the Bluff Creek site. The height of the
subject was calculated as 7 feet 3 1/2 inches which was
independently corroborated by Chris Murphy and
Rene Dahinden [Murphy 1996]. This defines a scale of
3.737 pixels per inch in the image plane of the subject
in frame 326.
Frame 61 was used to extract the major axis of the ellipse.
Ideally, the back of the subject would be parallel to the
film plane of the camera and the subject is clearly differentiated
from the background, however no suitable frame was
found. Instead, frame 61 was employed in which the image of
the subject creates an oblique projection on the film. To use
frame 61, the oblique projection must be compensated. A stable
and repeatable vertical reference is required to compute the
required compensation.
A right triangle was extracted from the side view
of the subject in frame 339. The hypotenuse consists of the line
from the sagittal crest to the left-most point of the buttocks.
Five sets of measurements were taken with the average of the
five used in the computation. The vertical component of the
right triangle is 155.8 pixels, and the horizontal component
is 79 pixels.
The same triangle exists in the rotated image of the subject in
frame 61. The geometric relationship between these two triangles
is used to extract the angle of the subject in frame 61. This can be
done because the triangle of frame 339 is an orthogonal projection,
hence the angle is 0 degrees. In frame 61 the angle which is being
determined results from the oblique projection which is measured from
the frame. The vertical component of this triangle in frame 61 is
131.8 pixels and the horizontal component 44.2 pixels. The vertical
components of the two triangles is used to establish vertical scale
which is 155.9/131.8 = 1.182. This is used to rescale the horizontal
component of frame 61 to match the scale of frame 339, which is
44.2 x 1.182 = 52.25 pixels. With the horizontal components at the
same scale, and because we know the 52.25 pixel measurement is the
result of the oblique projection of the 79 pixel measurement, we can
now compute the oblique angle of the subject: sin(t) = 52.25/79
which solving for t is: t = arcsin (52.25/79). Therefore t, the angle
of the subject relative to the camera is t = 41.4 degrees. Next, the
uncorrected width across the back was extracted as 70.4 pixels.
Correcting for the oblique projection: cos(41.4) = 70.4 / A
Solving for A: A = 70.4 / cos (41.4), therefore A, the major axis
after correction for the oblique angle of the subject is 93.853 pixels.
This is converted to a distance by establishing a scale
with frame 326. The center of the buttocks to the top of the head
is 131.8 pixels in frame 61 and 164.8 pixels in frame 326. This
establishes a scale in the plane of the subject of 164.8/131.8 = 1.25
Therefore the corrected major axis oblique projected value of
93.853 pixels scales to 93.853 x 1.25 = 117.3 pixels in frame 326.
Using the established scale of 3.737 pixels per inch in the image
plane of the subject in frame 326, the major axis is therefore
117.3 pixels / ( 3.737 pixels/inch ) = 31.4 inches.
The minor axis was extracted from frame 339. Because the subject
is pitched forward in the film, the minor axis is also pitched forward.
This is accommodated by measuring the minor axis perpendicular
to the back. The measurement extracted was 74 pixels, and no
oblique correction was required. This is converted to a distance
by establishing a scale with frame 326. The center of the buttocks
to the top of the head is 155.8 pixels in frame 339 and 164.8 pixels
in frame 326. This establishes a scale in the plane of the subject
of 164.8 / 155.8 = 1.057766 Therefore, the unscaled minor axis
of 74 pixels scales to 74 x 1.057766 = 78.725 pixels. Using the
established scale of 3.737 pixels per inch in the image plane of
the subject in frame 326, the minor axis is therefore
78.275 pixels / ( 3.737 pixels / inch ) = 20.9 inches.
The following formula approximates the perimeter of
an ellipse [Hudson 1917]:
ellipse perimeter approx. = PI (( a + b ) / 4) [ 3 ( 1 + L ) + ( 1 / ( 1
- L )) ]
where,
L = [ ( a - b ) / ( 2 ( a + b )) ] ^ 2
a = major-axis / 2
b = minor-axis / 2, and
PI = 3.14159265359...
therefore,
a = 31.4 / 2 = 15.7 inches
b = 20.9 / 2 = 10.45 inches, and
L = [ ( 15.7 - 10.45 ) / ( 2 (15.7 + 10.45 )) ] ^ 2 = 0.0100766280724
therefore,
ellipse perimeter approx. =
3.14159 (( 15.7 + 10.45 ) / 4 ) [ 3 ( 1 + 0.0100766280724 ) + ( 1 / (
1 - 0.0100766280724 )) ] =
82.98 inches (210.8 centimeters)
The chest measurement of the film subject is approximately
82.98 inches. A separate error analysis is underway. The
chest measurement is approximately a one-to-one relationship
with the subject's height, which in humans principally occurs
with people of the mesomorph body type.
CONJECTURED BIOLOGICAL PARAMETERS
The mass of all primates has been shown to be allometrically
related to chest size [McMahon 1983]. The allometric
relationship that relates the chest measurement in
centimeters to mass in kilograms is:
dc = 17.1 m ^ 0.37
where,
dc = the chest measurement in centimeters
m = the mass in kilograms
therefore,
210.8 = 17.1 m ^ 0.37,
solving for m,
m = ( 210.8 / 17.1) ^ ( 1 / 0.37 ) = 887 kilograms (1,957 lbs.)
This allometric relationship estimates the mass
of the film subject as 1,957 lbs.
Kleiber's law expresses the relationship between
mammalian body weight and energy requirements
by the allometric relationship [Jones 1992]:
BMR = k W ^ 0.75
where,
BMR = the basal metabolic rate in Watts,
k = a constant = 4.34, and
W = body mass in kilograms.
Therefore,
BMR = 4.34 ( 887 ) ^ 0.75 = 705 Watts.
DISCUSSION
For comparison, for the average world human mass
of 57 kilograms, the BMR is approximately 90 Watts.
This suggests that the subject expends
705 Watts / 90 Watts = 7.8 times the energy of a human.
Assuming fundamentally similar digestive systems,
this implies the subject requires approximately
7.8 times the caloric intake of a human. Assuming a
human consumes 2,000 calories a day, the subject
requires 15,600 calories a day. This does not mean
the subject requires 7.8 times the
amount of time to eat its daily caloric intake because
of the larger scale of the subject. Preliminary
measurements suggest the subject has a jaw size twice
that of the human which would permit 2 to
4 times the amount of food to be eaten at once versus
the human. If a human expends 2 hours per day
eating, the subject would need 2 hours x 8 times =
16 hours / (2 to 4 times more food) = 4 to 8 hours
daily eating. This may be consistent with other large
mammals such as the bull moose and
needs to be investigated by research biologists.
The chest measurement computed here is far short of
the human world record. The 1995 Edition of the
Guiness Book of World Records [Mathews 1995],
reports the largest chest measurement of 124
inches as belonging to Robert Earl Hughes, deceased
1958. In 1995 largest chest of a living person
of 120 inches belonged to TJ Albert Jackson. However,
the largest muscular chest measurement of
74 1/16 inches belongs to Isaac Nesser and is
less than that observed in the film.
CONCLUSION
The following measurement has been
derived from the Patterson-Gimlin film:
Chest Measurement: 82.98 inches
Biological parameters suggested by the chest
measurement are:
Weight: 1,957 lbs.
Caloric Requirement: 15,600 calories per day
Time to Eat: 4 to 8 hours per day
These suggested biological parameters may be employed by
research biologists to test the plausibility for an unclassified
animal. For example, by determining if the environment is
capable of sustaining an animal with these requirements.
Another example is whether observed footprints are
compatible with these biological parameters.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Jeff Glickman
Board Certified Forensic Examiner
PHOTEK - First in Forensic Imaging
Illinois * Oregon
Please direct questions and inquiries to:
Jeff Glickman
Executive Director
North American Science Institute
209 Oak Avenue, Suite 202
Hood River, Oregon
(541) 387-4300
(541) 387-4301 (fax)
Email NASI@gorge.net
[Hudson 1917] Hudson, Ralph, The Engineer's Manual, 2nd. Ed.,
John Wiley and Sons, NY, 1917, p17.
[Jones 1992] Jones, Steve, Ed., et. al., The Cambridge Encyclopedia
of Human Evolution, Cambridge University Press, 1992.
[Mathews 1995] Mathews, Peter, Ed., The 1995 Edition of the
Guiness Book of World Records, Bantam Books, NY, 1995.
[McMahon 1983] McMahon, Thomas A., et. al., On Size and Life,
Scientific American Books, Inc., 1983, p129.
[Murphy 1996] Murphy, Chris and Dahinden, Rene,
Correspondence with The Bigfoot Research Project.
(C) 1997, North American Science Institute
Reprinting or publishing this research report requires
the written consent of the North American Science Institute.
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