The popularity of the Cardiff Giant, an allegedly petrified giant man found buried in New York, was so great that spectators continued to pay to view him even after he proved to be a hoax. This prompted showmen throughout America to exhibit their own petrified men. Among the greatest was McGinty, exhibited by the notorious western conman, Soapy Smith, in Creede, Colorado, in 1892. Incredibly, 119 years later, McGinty is still on display at Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe in Seattle, Washington, where he is known as Sylvester. Read McGinty’s story at Soapy Smith’s Soap Box.