On a February morning in 1948, strange footprints were discovered on a beach near the small town of Clearwater, Florida. The tracks, pressed deep into the sand, emerged from the surf and ran for 3 kilometres through the dunes before disappearing into the sea again. Most curious of all, the shape of the imprints resembled those of a penguin (if it wasn't for the fact that the bird in question would have to have the size and weight of two particularly chunky Grizzly bears riding piggyback).
Far from being an isolated incident, similar tracks started appearing on beaches all around the area. Later that same year, "Old Three-Toes" (as the creature was started to be called) even knocked over a lifeguard stand leaving feathers behind. That same summer, a student from a nearby flying school reported spotting a "huge furry beast waddling along the beach and then disappearing into the ocean". By now, the story had reached New York zoologist Ivan Sanderson* who travelled down to Florida to investigate the creature. He came to the conclusion that this was "definitely not a hoax" but rather evidence for a yet unknown species of giant penguin up to 4.5m in height (15 feet).
Photo from the Tampa Bay Times, 1948, showing Sanderson holding a plaster cast he made out of a footprint found on one of Clearwater’s beaches
Giant penguin-like footprints continued to appear around CLearwater for another ten years but nobody was ever able to observe the creature responsible. If they had, they would have observed a middle-aged car mechanic named Tony Signorini stomping around in three-toed oversized metal shoes on a beach in the middle of the night. Tony and his boss, Al Williams, from the local car repair shop had been inspired to this prank by a story in National Geographic on dinosaur footprints. With access to some welding equipment and a healthy dose of mischief, the giant penguin was born. However, it wasn't until 1988 that Tony finally revealed himself as the giant Florida penguin with his metal shoes to prove the story.
Tony Signorini in 1988 showing off his penguin shoes
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*After completing his studies in Biology at Cambridge University in the 1920s, Sanderson made a name for himself with expeditions to West Africa and the Caribbean developing a particular interest in studying unknown (and fantastical) creatures including lake monsters, sea serpents, Yeti, and Sasquatch. He also coined the term cryptozoology for this field of study.