Old Photos of Giants in 19th-Century England Spark Conspiracy Theories

Daniel Bonfiglio Published 10/26/2023 in Funny

Back in January, we covered rumors of giants in Mexico, after multiple viral videos showed what appeared to be larger-than-life figures in the distant hills and mountains. A similar video was also taken in Canada.

Now, a picture claims to show “the last of the giants” in Great Britain, alleging that giants were common there until the mid-1800s when they were phased out by the Industrial Revolution.

At their peak, there were 35,000 giants in the UK. Now there are less than 85.

Every village used to have its own giant. They usually worked at the mills but they’d also clear roads and help put out fires.

However, towns gradually phased out giants. Technology was cheaper. pic.twitter.com/QRqaTHni4b
— Thinkwert (@Thinkwert) July 24, 2023

the last of the giants being paraded through the streets circa 1890
by u/ollyvass in midjourney

Reminds me of this photo of Jack Dorsey’s grandfather. pic.twitter.com/gOIxKrG8zP
— Voltaire’s Ghost (@spectervoltaire) July 24, 2023

“Towns gradually phased out giants, technology was cheaper,” @Thinkwert explained over Twitter. “Many immigrated to Canada and the Hokkaido island of Japan. Mostly they just died out.”

While some people were eager to learn more about the intriguing image — “I love giants, why did they leave?” Lucius tweeted — many posted their own paranormal theories about the image.

But the reality is, the photos are A.I. generated and were originally posted in the r/midjourney subreddit, with @Thinkwert’s “facts” made in jest and merely meant to play along with the bit. “You can make an entire youtube channel telling about fake events using these photos,” Pioneer4ik commented on the original Reddit post. “Actually two channels, the second for debunking the events of the first one.”

In short (sorry), this was all just a very tall tale.