Blathers is a special owl character who serves as the director of the museum in Animal Crossing: New Horizons and has served as such since his debut in Animal Forest+. However, this kind and knowledgeable director and head curator may be hiding a dark secret that could upend everything we thought to be true.
Through a thorough investigation from a Smithsonian librarian, we find that the fossils we’ve been giving to Blathers may not be the real deal. And this most intriguing Twitter thread will blow the scandal out of the water:
One of our special collections librarians has been playing a great deal of #AnimalCrossing in her downtime, and is about to blow the lid clean off the fossil trade
Blathers, hold onto your britches… pic.twitter.com/TGfzaIpoKL
— SmithsonianLibraries (@SILibraries) April 17, 2020
You can read more about his story on our blog: https://t.co/D1Oz9TCNNL
But… don’t these fossils look awfully familiar? pic.twitter.com/I5S1EDrxxj— SmithsonianLibraries (@SILibraries) April 17, 2020
To summarize the real life story of Johann Beringer, he was an up and coming scientist making his mark in the science world when he was appointed professor at the University of Wurzburg in 1694, only a year after achieving his doctorate in medicine. He eventually found his way into the study of “petrification” or fossils as we know them now by now.
Eventually jealously led to active plotting and several colleagues plus three assistants conspired together to find fake fossils for Beringer to purchase, display, and even write a book about, in order to tarnish his name. And tarnish they did, as the “lying stones” completely destroyed his academic reputation.
As you can see from these comparison pictures, the fossils that you bring to Blathers have an uncanny resemblance to the famous “lying stones” of the 1700s. The librarian continues to break things down as she examines these likely phony fossils:
At least Blathers recognizes the conflict of interest in purchasing fossils vs. accepting them as museum donations… Beringer was not shy about paying top dollar for his specimens! pic.twitter.com/IUajyBpz6o
— SmithsonianLibraries (@SILibraries) April 17, 2020
Browse the entirety of Beringer’s catalog of false fossils on @BioDivLibrary here: https://t.co/ldoaSeBGsZ pic.twitter.com/2hBK0Dc1gs
— SmithsonianLibraries (@SILibraries) April 17, 2020
On a serious note, this Twitter thread was a great way to learn more about the history behind a bizarre and surprisingly complex scandal in the early academic world. And relating it back to Animal Crossing is always a fun way to explore these real life stories.
According to Famitsu, Animal Crossing: New Horizons on Switch sold more than 1.88 million copies as of March 23th. The title released worldwide on March 20th, which means it managed to sell 1.88 millionphysical copies in Japan in only three days. Even more surprising is that Famitsu reported that according to its estimates, Animal Crossing had the best first-week sales ever for a Switch game in Japan, surpassing every other Nintendo Switch record such as Pokemon Sword and Shield, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Mario Odyssey, Splatoon 2, Super Smash Brothers Ultimate, etc.
In the months that led up to New Horizon‘s release, DOOM Eternal has been consistently paired with the former as the two games share a release date. This resulted in tons of wholesome crossover fanart, which culminated in a new animated video from 3D artist and animator The Dashing Doctor K. Said video (which was built in Source Filmmaker) brings together the worlds of Animal Crossing and DOOM, as it imagines the Doom Slayer making a new friend in Isabelle, with the two quickly becoming best buds and working together to fight off the demons of Hell.
And Tommy Wiseau, of The Room fame, has been apparently playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons as well. A recent tweet from the infamous actor, writer, and director showed off a screenshot that contains a ton of easter eggs from The Room. His in game room contains a football sitting on a desktop, a famous piece of iconography, and even a piece of art hanging up in the background which is a recreated still frame of himself from the movie.
If you’re new to the franchise and are still unsure, our glowing review of New Horizons is a good place to start. Make sure to check out our guide on how to import art into the game using the QR code system.
Featured Image Source: Ben Chopping, Outsider Gaming
The post Animal Crossing: New Horizons “Scandal”: Blathers’ Illicit Fossil Trade Revealed by Allisa James appeared first on DualShockers.