Flap: Barnstable County, Massachusetts, Jul–Aug 1875
3 reports · 3 separate documents
Water Monster (3).
In the 10 years either side we have 1 other report within 37 miles of here.
The reports, in order
- Jul 17, 1875 A passenger on the steamer Roman reports seeing a large sea serpent off Cape Cod on July 17, observed by others including sea-faring men.
Water Monster · Barnstable County, Massachusetts - Aug 1875 A gentleman on the steamer Roman near Cape Cod observed a large creature with a dorsal fin and scales that raised its head ten feet out of the water.
Water Monster · Barnstable County, Massachusetts - Aug 1875 The crew of the schooner Emily Holden discovered a sea serpent off Nantucket in August 1875, struck its fin, and was slapped by its tail.
Water Monster · Nantucket Island, Massachusetts
Sources: Newspaper (3).
How we find flaps
- Plain rules, no model: reports within 37 miles and about four months of each other are grouped, and a group counts only when it is at least 5 times what that place usually sees over the 10 years either side.
- A flap needs at least 3 reports from at least 3 separate documents: one article listing six sightings is one telling.
- Copies are not confirmations: a story reprinted in thirty papers counts once.
- Investigator logs (BFRO, NAWAC, the Loch Ness Register) are left out, because a busy field season looks just like a flap.
- Only reports placed to a town or county and dated to the month are used. A flap is a burst of reports, not proof of a creature: panics, hoaxes and newspaper fashions make flaps too.