Prankster Claims He Came Up With Craigslist "Bigfoot Researcher Wanted" Job Posting

If you were one of those people who sent in your resumes to a job post for the position as a "Research Assistant -- Cryptozoology" on Craigslist-- we're sorry to tell you that you've been punked. According to a blog post by New Times editor, Chris Sweeney, the help-wanted ad was a well-crafted prank by an Ashton Kutcher wannabe named Tyler Reeves (the name may be a prank as well).

Reeves job posting on Craigslist (dated 8/22) was looking to hire a research assistant for a "grant funded" Cryptozoology study. The job position involved "spending several nights in the wilderness, checking motion cameras, collecting hair and dung samples for laboratory analysis amongst other related activities." Compensation was going to be based on experience and may last up to 6 months, "with the possibility of renewal".

New Times did an investigation and learned that Reeves was the mastermind behind the prank. Why did he do it? Read below:

When asked about how he came up with such clever phrasing and job duties to include the ad, Reeves explained that he had watched a Bigfoot special earlier in the week on the History Channel and remembered the lingo dropped by various cryptozoologists. Adding in the fact that the position was grant-funded and would likely only last six months was a stroke of genius.

But the Internet has a way of revealing dirty little secrets, and one commenter was quick to point out that Reeves' ad wasn't all that original after all. And New Times wasn't the first news outlet to go bananas over the prospect.

As documented in this MSNBC article and this All Over Albany article, somebody hit an upstate New York Craigslist board with the same posting. As far as we can tell, neither of these outlets bothered contacting the poster to determine the veracity of the post.

"I took it from somebody else and added some stuff to it," Reeves said when contacted on Monday.

The original ad isn't up on the New York Craigslist site anymore, as far as we can tell, so it's tough to figure out whether Reeves did in fact tweak and modify the ad as needed. He did at least change the locations to mention a few rural areas near the panhandle.

[via Bigfoot Lunch Club via New Times]