From the Archives: The Nazi Air Marker Hoax
Status: Pareidolia

We live in paranoid times in which people are apt to interpret harmless objects (such as
battery-lit sweatshirts or
cartoon characters) as imminent threats. But we're really no more paranoid than previous generations. A case in point is the Nazi Air Marker Hoax of 1942.
On August 10, 1942 the Army public-relations office issued a press release warning the public of "secret markers" that had been found on farm fields throughout the eastern United States. These markers were patterns formed by the arrangement of fertilizer sacks or the way a field had been tilled. From the ground they looked like nothing, but from the air they formed the shape of arrows, apparently created by Nazi sympathizers in order to guide enemy bombers straight toward military factories and airfields.
There was a big public outcry. Editorials warned of the need to guard against the enemy within. But a few days later it turned out that the "secret markers" were really just random patterns. A case of military pareidolia. The Army admitted the story "may be untrue." In one case the pattern had been created by the Department of Agriculture, which had directed a farmer to plow his field in that way to help stop soil erosion.
More about this (as well as pictures of the "air markers") in the Hoaxipedia.
Posted By: Alex | Date:
Fri May 09, 2008 |
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Category:
Military,
Pareidolia
Holy Potato
Status: Pareidolia

Cranky Media Guy wants to know "Who in the press can we implore to PLEASE MAKE THIS NONSENSE STOP?"
He's referring to the most recent finding of a holy potato. From
thelocal.de:
A potato destined for the fryer has become a holy relic to some Berliners after a woman cut it open only to find an image of a cross inside.
Birgül Balta, 49, was cutting potatoes for French fries at her home in Berlin's Charlottenburg district when the cross-shaped cavity inside one of the spuds stopped her cold.
"There was a strange sort of crackling sound like pressure was being released. When she opened it she found that - two perfect crosses," Balta's husband, Robert White, told The Local.
Of course, I assume Cranky knows the answer to his question. There is no one we can appeal to. The nonsense will never stop. Ever.
Related post:
some other holy spuds
Posted By: Alex | Date:
Wed May 07, 2008 |
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Category:
Pareidolia,
Religion
Carrollton Mayor’s Questionable Singing Career
Status: Biographical fictions
Becky Miller, Mayor of Carrollton in Texas, claims that she once sang backup for Linda Ronstadt and Jackson Browne, and was once engaged to Don Henley. Problem is, none of these people have ever heard of her.
She also claims that her brother was killed in Vietnam. However, her father says that her brother is still alive in Maryland and was never in the service.
And Western Kentucky University can't find any record of her attendance, despite her insistence that she was a student there.
Clearly Mayor Miller is developing a bit of a
credibility problem, so it's a good thing she's in politics. She should go far. (Thanks, Joe)
Posted By: Alex | Date:
Wed May 07, 2008 |
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Category:
Identity/Imposters
Placebo Walk Buttons
Status: Urban legend
I've
previously posted about the issue of placebo walk buttons -- that is, the widespread suspicion that the walk buttons at intersections don't have any effect on traffic lights. (There's also a separate theory that you can
control the traffic lights by pushing the button in a special way.)
An article on canada.com addresses the issue of placebo buttons at some length. They insist the idea of placebo buttons is a myth (at least for the city of Victoria), and they interview a traffic planner to discover what really happens when the button is pushed:
Brad Dellebuur, city transportation planner, says pushing the button sends a signal to the intersection's traffic controller that a pedestrian is present and enters the "walk" signal into the system's cycle.
"If you don't press it, some intersections won't give a walk signal," Dellebuur says. The traffic light timing is also determined by the amount of vehicular traffic, which is picked up by sensors imbedded in the road.
In other words, pushing the button won't make the light change right away, or within a certain time from when the button is activated. You'll still have to wait, but a shorter period as the traffic light interval is shortened.
If you don't push the light, the pedestrian walk signal still comes on, but, for instance, after 60 seconds instead of 40.
Of course, many people insist on pushing the button even if it's already been pushed, in which case it isn't having any effect. Why do they do this?
It's not just distrust that makes people push a crosswalk button that has probably been pushed already. It's also ritual, says Jim Gibson, social psychologist at UVic, and very much like pushing an elevator button that is already illuminated.
"It's part of crossing the intersection," Gibson says. "We want to cross, and pushing the button first is part of that ritual.
"We go on automatic pilot because ritual behaviour saves our brains from having to think about activities that are very routine."
(via
Legends & Rumors)
Posted By: Alex | Date:
Wed May 07, 2008 |
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Category:
Psychology,
Urban Legends
Prankplace.com
FAKE TATTOO SLEEVESNow you can get "inked" by night and still keep your day job with our "tattoo sleeves". The tattoo is printed directly on the stretchable fabric sleeves fabric which is a machine washable nylon. They come in pairs; wear one or both.
Fake Road Signs
Status: Art/Prank
Fake road signs have been popping up around Frankston, Australia, amusing some and outraging others. The signs are said to be the work of a "mystery artist." From the
Frankston Leader:
The mystery Frankston signs have been carefully made to look like official road signs. Drivers have reported seeing them in Cranbourne-Frankston Rd, Langwarrin. Some think they are funny while others - and officials - aren't laughing...
Although VicRoads' media department thought the signs were "very amusing", its regional director Steve Brown was not laughing. The placement of inappropriate signs such as these was unsafe and illegal, he said. "VicRoads has arranged for them to be removed immediately and may request police to assist in identifying who was responsible."
It reminds me of the Fake Road Sign Project that artists conducted in Lyon, France back in 2004 (with the official endorsement of the Lyon city government). The Lyon Sign Project used to be online at bopano.net, but that link now appears to be dead. A few of the Lyon signs can still be seen
here,
here, and
here.
Related post:
Welcome to Detroit.
Posted By: Alex | Date:
Tue May 06, 2008 |
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Comments (2)
Category:
Art,
Pranks
Colorful Coastal Village
Status: Photoshopped
This looks like it would be a great place to visit.
It's
Cinque Terre in Italy. Unfortunately, it's not quite so colorful in real life. (via
City Comforts)
Posted By: Alex | Date:
Tue May 06, 2008 |
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Comments (5)
Category:
Photos/Videos,
Places
Missing Child Experiment
Status: Deceptive experiment

Local 6, an Orlando news station, recently conducted a "missing child experiment." They plastered posters all over a mall claiming that 8-year-old Britney Begonia was missing. Then they had Britney herself sit down alone a few feet from some of the signs. The question was: would anyone notice the poster and offer to help Britney?
The predictable result: Of the hundreds of people who walked past and saw the posters, only two stopped to ask Britney if she was OK. Many people, questioned later, said they noticed Britney's resemblance to the girl in the poster, but were "fearful of getting involved."
It's the
unresponsive bystander effect, well known to social psychologists. People don't like sticking their neck out to get involved in a potentially uncomfortable situation, especially if no one else seems to be doing so.
I just realized that Local 6 is the same station that ran a similar experiment
back in February that I posted about, in which they had an actor pretend to be a criminal breaking into a car, and filmed the non-response of bystanders on the streets. They evidently think unresponsive bystanders make for compelling news. And luckily for them, social psychologists have devised all kinds of situations in which to test the phenomenon, including the
bystander response to arterial bleeding. So Local 6 shouldn't run out of material anytime soon.
Posted By: Alex | Date:
Tue May 06, 2008 |
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Comments (10)
Category:
Psychology
Milfs Appalled by Racy Books
Status: True
Heraldnet.com (the newspaper of Snohomish County) recently ran
this story:
Mom appalled at racy books in store for teens at Alderwood mall
By Scott Pesznecker
Herald Writer
LYNNWOOD -- Marci Milfs went to Urban Outfitters to find clothes for her teenage son. She was surprised to find sexually charged books that she believes have no place in a clothing store for teens and young adults. On one end of the spectrum was "Porn for Women," a photo book showing men doing housework. On the other was "Pornogami: A Guide to the Ancient Art of Paper-Folding for Adults," a guide for making anatomically correct artwork. "When I saw it, I was shocked," Milfs said... Milfs was so appalled that she is preparing to file a complaint with the city of Lynnwood, and has already aired her frustrations to State Rep. Norma Smith, R-Clinton, and organizations including Morality in Media, Concerned Women of America and the American Family Association.
When I saw this story I assumed either it had to be a joke, or the reporter had fallen for a prank. Kind of like when reporters are tricked into quoting "Haywood Jablome" as a source.
A "MILF" (for anyone unfamiliar with the term) is popular internet slang for any attractive older woman. By internet standards, that means any woman over the age of 25. It stands for "Mom I'd like to f***".
So a story about "Marci Milfs" being appalled by racy books has to be a joke. Right? Apparently not. It's just another example of an
unfortunate last name. Marci Milfs seems to be a
real person.
Posted By: Alex | Date:
Tue May 06, 2008 |
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Comments (8)
Category:
Literature/Language,
Sex/Romance