The Minnesota Iceman
A hairy, man-like figure frozen in a block of ice toured American fairs, and two zoologists thought it was real.
What was reported
From 1967 the showman Frank Hansen exhibited a hairy, man-like body frozen in a block of ice at shopping centres and county fairs across the US. In 1968 the zoologists Ivan Sanderson and Bernard Heuvelmans examined it through the ice and became convinced it was a real, unknown kind of human.
Heuvelmans published a scientific description, and the Smithsonian took an interest. Hansen then said the figure on display was a model, and his account of an 'original' changed several times.
Explanations offered
It was most likely a latex model from the start; model makers later said they'd built it, and Hansen's own stories contradicted each other. A figure said to be the Iceman turned up for sale online in 2013 and went on show in a museum of oddities in Texas.
- When
- Shown from 1967
- Where
- Rollingstone, Minnesota, USA
- Witnesses
- Fairgoers and two zoologists
- Status
- Hoax
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.