It was a news release I couldn't ignore, merging archaeology and travel. Officials in New Ulm, Minn., have discovered a giant footprint, it said. "Is it real?" I asked the publicist, foolishly. She refused to answer directly, but reminded me that the print was, duh, found at New Ulm's Chamber of Commerce building and that, double duh, it's four feet long. The oversized cement impression is now on display, along with a plaque that says it's "rumored to be that of Hermann the German," the town's Teutonic mascot, and that anyone who touches it will have more fun. (But who wouldn't have fun in New Ulm, home of the August Schell Brewing Company and the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame?) The footprint is in need of a back story, so the town in Minnesota's River Valley has launched a "Legend of the Footprint" contest. People can submit their theory on the origins of the footprint at the town's facebook page until September 6; the winner will receive a prize package.