Skeptoid #1034: The Colorado Martian

·15 min·1 clip

In 1864, Colorado prospectors allegedly found a petrified Martian in a meteorite—but why did anyone believe this story?

The episode begins with host Brian Dunning introducing the 1864 tale of the Colorado Martian, where oil prospectors supposedly found a giant meteorite containing the petrified corpse of a Martian in a sarcophagus. Dunning notes that the story originated in a French newspaper, not Colorado, and provides his own translation of the article. The newspaper describes the meteorite as 45 yards in diameter, with workers boring into it to find a void filled with calcareous concretions and a small humanoid figure with a triangular skull and proboscis. Dunning points out that we do have Martian meteorites on Earth, with about 825 pounds recovered, the largest being 54 pounds found in Niger. He then shifts to debunking the story, noting scientific impossibilities like the meteorite's survival upon atmospheric entry. However, Dunning emphasizes that the episode's focus is not on debunking but on understanding why the story existed. He places it in historical context, explaining that the mid-19th century was a period rife with hoaxes and tall tales. Dunning cites Mark Twain's 1862 satire about a petrified man, published in the Territorial Enterprise, as an example of the era's petrifaction mania. He also mentions the infamous Cardiff Giant hoax of 1869 and the 1835 Great Moon Hoax by Richard Adams Locke, which described bat-winged humanoids on the moon. Dunning links these to broader debates about extraterrestrial life, referencing William Whewell's 1853 book 'Of the Plurality of Worlds'. The host concludes that the Colorado Martian story is remembered not for its accuracy but as a reflection of 19th-century pop culture, similar to modern urban legends. The episode includes ads for other Skeptoid content, such as upcoming adventures in New Orleans and a Maya cruise, as well as promotions for Hyperfixed podcast, Grow Therapy, and Shopify.

As heard by us

A tall tale from the newspaper age becomes a skeptical lesson in how Martian rocks reach Earth.

The episode takes a century-and-a-half-old newspaper story and turns it into a useful test of how a claim can feel true when it matches the legends and lore of its moment.

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Why you'd press play

You want a skeptical Mars story that turns into meteorites.

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