Bigfoot's Enduring Popularity

Bigfoot marches alongside the fire engines

    Watching the Memorial Day parade in front of our house on Monday, I saw a Sasquatch walk by.  I missed getting a picture, but a few minutes later, another one came by.  There he (she?) was, walking out in the open, alongside the parade in front of hundreds of people, and right in front of our house.  This time I did get a picture, but from behind, and posted it above.  

 
  In truth, this is nothing new.  Bigfoot had already made the transition from folklore to popular culture decades ago.  There is the famous super 8 film of Bigfoot making his way through the woods (later refuted by an actor claiming it was actually him in a gorilla costume).  Since then there have been countless documentaries, and Bigfoot actually starred in a Saturday morning TV series on ABC (The Adventures of Bigfoot and Wildboy).  Lately, the Sasquatch has been seen in numerous TV commercials and music videos, sometimes even talking.  Bigfoot is everywhere.

   Although the legends and sightings originated with the folklore of the Pacific Northwest, the Sasquatch has been seen all over the country.  In fact, Bigfoot has been spotted in every state except Hawaii.  Washington and California lead the list, but there have been over 100 reported sightings in Michigan, Illinois, Florida, and Texas.  In Ohio, there have been 215 sightings, only 8 less than Oregon.  What is the source of all this data?  The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization (bfro.net).  Pennsylvania, where this picture was taken, has 94 reported sightings.  At least two walked by in this parade, so if we add them to the list, that would make 96.  Just four more Bigfoot sightings and Pennsylvania will become the tenth state to top 100.