Episode 293: The Yeti: Myth or Monster?

On this episode of The Sofa King Podcast, we climb the Mount Everest of podcast topics to look for the tales and truths behind the Yeti. The Yeti, the Abominable Snowman, the Mi-Go, the Yeren; these are all apparently the same creature: a humanoid beast with feet like a man (smaller than a “Bigfoot”) who has been seen in the Himalayan mountains for centuries. Their gods and mythology tie back to this creature, and sightings and folk lore amount local Sherpas are vibrant and updated.

So why should anyone care about a mythological beast called a Yeti? Well, for one thing, a lot of pretty high rolling explorers saw them, claimed to saw them, or brought back evidence of them. Sir Edmund Hillary went on multiple expeditions to find this creature and even brought back evidence. Over the past hundred years, public calls have gone out to find proof. From oil millionaire Tom Slick to a British newspaper and even Oxford University, they all sent people or paid for evidence surrounding this. The Chinese government even has an official department that is dedicated to looking for the Wild Man of China.

So, with all of this research and folklore, what has been found? Well, a lot of tracks that either come from bears or can’t be identified. DNA that often matches mountain creatures but sometimes comes back as a mystery. Sometimes, it even came back as prehistoric bears from the Pleistocene era. What is the difference between a Bigfoot and a Yeti? Why is a Yeti considered to be more dangerous? Why did the actor Jimmy Stewart help smuggle a Yeti hand out of Tibet and into London? Listen, laugh, learn.

Jimmy Steward, Relic Hunter: https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/saga-of-the-yeti-hand