Game hunter Marmaduke Wethrell was hired by London Daily Mail to find the Loch Ness Monster. He quickly found a set of large footprints in December 1933, a monumental moment drawing huge crowds to the area and filling hotels and local lodgings. The newly constructed road became a parking lot for people trying to catch a glimpse of the monster. The craze was short lived. In January 1934, museum zoologists found that the prints were made using a hippopotamus foot attached to a pole. This led to 30 years filled with scientists brushing off sightings as mere hoaxes. Despite the constant denial, nearly 4,000 people still claimed to have seen the creature, which led author Constance Whyte to compile these accounts into a book, More Than a Legend.
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