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April Fools Day - 1844
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1844.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1860
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1860.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1866
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1866.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1878
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1878.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1888
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1888.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1900
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1900.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1915
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: News reports from April Fool’s Day, 1915.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 1919
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1919.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1920
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: News reports from April Fool’s Day, 1920.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 1925
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: News reports from April Fool’s Day, 1925.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 1933
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1933.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1934
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1934.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1936
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1936.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1937
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1937.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1940
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: News reports from April Fool’s Day, 1940.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 1949
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1949.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1950
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: News reports from April Fool’s Day, 1950.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 1959
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1959.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1960
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Items in the news from April Fool’s Day, 1960.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 |…
April Fools Day - 1965
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1965.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1969
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1965.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1971
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1971.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1972
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1972.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1973
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1973.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1974
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1974.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1975
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1975.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1976
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1976.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 1977
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1977.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 1978
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1978.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1979
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1979.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 1980
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1980.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 1981
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1981.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 1982
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1982.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 1983
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1983.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 1984
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1984.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 1985
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1985.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1986
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1986.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1987
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1987.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1988
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1988.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1989
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1989.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1990
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1990.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1991
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1991.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1992
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1992.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1993
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1993.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1994
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1994.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1995
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1995.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1996
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1996.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1997
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1997.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1998
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1998.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1999
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1999.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 2000
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 2000.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 2001
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 2001.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 2002
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 2002.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 2003
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 2003.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 2004
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 2004.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 2005
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 2005.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
Arm the Homeless
Type: College Prank. Summary: A phony organization urged people to help provide the homeless with guns and ammunition. HOAX HAIKUThe charity says, “Homeless are Americans, too, so give them guns!” (by Krista)Submit a haiku In the first week of December, 1993, a press release was distributed to the Columbus, Ohio…
A Neglected Anniversary
Type: Journalistic Hoax. Summary: Text of an article detailing a false history of the bathtub. What follows is the complete text of Henry L. Mencken’s article “A Neglected Anniversary,” published in the New York Evening Mail on December 28, 1917. The article presents a false history of the bathtub. Details…
Baby Adolf
Type: Photo hoax. Summary: A widely circulated photo of an evil looking baby was alleged to be Adolf Hitler as an infant. Fake Baby AdolfIn 1933 a picture supposedly showing Adolf Hitler as a baby began circulating throughout England and America. The child in the picture looked positively menacing. Its…
Benjamin Franklin
Type: Famous Hoaxer. Summary: Throughout his life Benjamin Franklin perpetrated many hoaxes. Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790). Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) was born the son of a candle and soap maker, but by his own efforts and intellect he rose to become arguably the most admired man of the eighteenth century. Throughout his…
Bequest of Francis Douce
Type: A practical joke played from the grave. Summary: Sixty-six years after his death, a scholar lets his colleagues know how he really felt about them. Francis Douce, portrait by James BarryFrancis Douce (1757-1834) was a wealthy English antiquarian, known for his collection of books, prints, drawings, coins, and artifacts.…
Berners Street Hoax
Theodore Hook (1788-1841)In 1810 London was the largest, wealthiest city in the world, linked by trade with every continent, and fed by the manufacturing might of northern British cities such as Liverpool and Manchester. Almost anything could be obtained in its shops, and on November 10 all of this mercantile…
Black Like Me
Type: Impostor. Summary: In 1959, a white man posed as a black man in the American Deep South for six weeks. The result was the bestselling book “Black Like Me.” Posted by: Elliot Feldman Black Like MeIn 1959, John Howard Griffin was a white native Texan novelist and journalist with…
Bonsai Kitten
Type: Hoax Website. Summary: A website that came online in late 2000 purported to offer instructions on how to raise kittens inside of glass jars. The Bonsai Kitten website. Bonsai describes the ancient Japanese art of growing miniature trees by rigorous pruning of their roots and branches. Because of their…
Bosnian Beheading Rumor
Type: Rumor. Summary: During the nineteenth-century, a rumor circulated in Bosnia suggesting that a person could earn a million florins by volunteering to be beheaded in place of Baron de Rothschild. Text extracted from: Walsh, William. (1893). Handy-Book of Literary Curiosities. J.B. Lippincott Company. Philadelphia. 1893: 473-474. The Levant Herald…
Brassiere Brigade
Type: Financial Scam. Summary: Female employees of the phone company stole thousands of dollars from their employer by hiding coin rolls in their bras. In September 1950, police in Miami, Florida accidentally discovered a crime ring that had been stealing thousands of dollars from the local phone company for years.…
Butterflies of Linnaeus
Type: Scientific hoax. Summary: A hoax butterfly species, invented as a practical joke, fooled many prominent naturalists. Three butterflies owned and described by Carl Linnaeus The three butterflies shown to the right were part of the collection of the great eighteenth-century naturalist Carl Linnaeus. In 1763 he named and described…
Calaveras Skull
Type: Hoax. Summary: A practical joke by miners confused scientists for decades. Front view of the Calaveras SkullOn February 25, 1866 workers found a human skull buried deep inside a mine on Bald Mountain in Calaveras County, California. The skull was located 130 feet below the surface, beneath a layer…
Caltech Sweepstakes Caper
Type: College Prank. Summary: In 1975 Caltech students flooded a McDonald’s sweepstakes with millions of entries. Caltech is known for producing world-class scientists and engineers. But a few of its students have also demonstrated a flair for the law, as a highly controversial 1975 prank that turned on the legalistic…
Captain Crunch
Type: Hacker. Summary: In the early seventies, a group of hackers called “phone phreaks” emerged, earning notoriety by creating high-tech ways to beat the costs of long distance calls. “Cap’n Crunch” was the most notorious of them all. Posted by: Elliot Feldman blue box John Draper is one of Silicon…
Captain Midnight
Type: Hacker. Summary: In 1986 a tech-savvy hacker interrupted a cable channel broadcast with his own transmission. Posted by: Elliot Feldman On April 27, 1986, late night HBO subscribers watching the movie “The Falcon and the Snowman” were surprised by a sudden interruption of service. A color bar test pattern…
Cardiff Giant
Type: Hoax Summary: A stone figure unearthed in 1869 turned out not to be as ancient as many, at first, believed. HOAX HAIKUWhatever you do, Don’t call him jolly or green. It’ll make him mad. (by AB) Made for cash or pride He’s a man-made Man of stone Guess who’s…
Casablanca Rejected
Type: Literary Hoax. Summary: The script of Casablanca was sent to over 200 movie agents. A large number of them rejected it, many with disparaging remarks about its quality. Too much dialogue, not enough exposition, weak story line Casablanca is arguably the most famous movie in the history of film.…
Case of the Midwife Toad
Type: Scientific Fraud. Summary: Scaly bumps that suddenly appeared on a species of toad were offered as proof of Lamarckian inheritance. But the bumps turned out to be injected inkspots. Paul KammererCan acquired characteristics be passed on to one’s offspring? For instance, if a person acquires a limp during their…
Case of the Miraculous Bullet
Type: Scientific Hoax. Summary: A journal article published in 1874 described the case of a woman impregnated by a bullet that had first passed through the testicles of a soldier. In November 1874 an unusual article appeared in the introductory volume of The American Medical Weekly, a Louisville medical journal.…
Cassie Chadwick
Type: Con Artist. Summary: A woman financed a lavish lifestyle by claiming to be the daughter of Andrew Carnegie. Cassie Chadwick claimed to be the illegitimate daughter of Andrew Carnegie. She said that Carnegie was paying her huge sums of money in order to keep their relationship a secret. Based…
Central Park Zoo Escape
Type: Media Hoax. Summary: Panic ensued after the New York Herald reported that wild animals had escaped from the New York City Zoo. “Another Awful Calamity. The Intellectual Department of The New York Herald Let Loose Upon the Public.” Front cover of the Daily Graphic (Nov. 13, 1874), mocking the…
Cerne Abbas Giant
Type: Historical controversy. Summary: A famous chalk figure carved into the side of a hill in Dorchester, England may be an enormous seventeenth-century hoax. The Cerne Abbas Giant Deep in the heart of Dorchester stands the Cerne Abbas Giant. He’s a naked chalk figure carved into the side of a…
Cesky Sen Hypermarket
Type: Hoax. Summary: Shoppers were promised a store that was too good to be true. In early 2003 advertisements began to appear throughout Prague promoting a new hypermarket called Cesky Sen (or “Czech Dream") opening soon in the Lethany Fairgrounds. The ads appeared on billboards, at bus stops, in newspapers,…
Channel Swim Hoax
Type: Sports Hoax. Summary: In 1927 Dorothy Cochrane Logan claimed to have swum the English Channel. She later admitted she had only swum the first and last miles. Text excerpted from The Fresno Bee, September 7, 1955: The famous channel swimming hoax, carried out to show how easily such a…
Chesterfield Leper
Type: Product Rumor. Summary: During the 1930s sales of Chesterfield cigarettes plummeted because of a rumor that a leper worked in one of their factories. This 1935 ad for Chesterfield cigarettes had the caption: “Machines like this—new and modern in every respect—make Chesterfields.”In the Fall of 1934 a rumor swept…
Civil War Gold Hoax
Type: Stockmarket Hoax. Summary: A plot to manipulate the price of gold during the American Civil War. Joseph Howard, city editor of the Brooklyn Eagle. (Image from Harper’s Weekly, June 4, 1864.)It was May, 1864. Grant was closing in on Lee in Virginia. New Yorkers were growing hopeful that the…
Claire Chazal Experiment
Type: Literary Hoax. Summary: A French magazine mocked a celebrity author by submitting a disguised copy of her novel to her own publisher, which rejected it. Claire Chazal Claire Chazal was a well-known newswoman who presented the evening news on France’s TF1 network. Like many French celebrities, she had decided…
Cottingley Fairies
Type: Photo Hoax. Summary: A series of photographs taken by two young girls appeared to provide evidence of the existence of fairies. The fairies in the photos were eventually revealed to be paper cut-outs. COTTINGLEY FAIRY HAIKUCamera ready, Two young girls patiently wait — Fairy paparazzi! (by AB) Holmes’ writer…
David Manning
Type: Fake testimonial. Summary: A movie reviewer who consistently gave rave reviews turned out not to exist. No matter how bad the movies of Columbia Pictures were, there was always one reviewer who was sure to heap lavish praise on them. That was David Manning of the Ridgefield Press. For…
Death in the Air
Type: Photo Hoax. Summary: Photographs of World War One aerial dogfights were, decades later, discovered to have been faked. A book called Death in the Air: The War Diary and Photographs of a Flying Corps Pilot was published in 1933. It contained numerous pages of spectacular aerial photographs of World…
Death of Titan Leeds
Type: Hoax. Summary: A (fake) astrologer predicted the death of his rival. Poor Richard’s Almanac. Poor Richard’s Almanac was a yearly almanac written by a hen-pecked, poverty-stricken scholar named Richard Saunders. It first appeared in 1733, offering a collection of wit, poetry, as well as some prophecies. In its first…
De Situ Brittaniae
Type: Historical Forgery. Summary: A fake map of Roman Britain fooled historians for over one hundred years. De Situ Brittaniae (click for larger version.) In 1747 word of a major new historical discovery reached England. Charles Bertram (1723-65), a 24-year-old English teacher in Denmark, had found an ancient manuscript and…
Disappearance of David Lang
Type: Hoax. Summary: A popular legend claims that in 1880 a Tennessee farmer vanished into thin air before a crowd of witnesses. This legend was actually invented by a mystery-novel writer in 1953. The Story David Lang was said to be a farmer who lived near Gallatin, Tennessee. On September…
Disumbrationist School of Art
Type: Art Hoax. Summary: A novelist painted deliberately bad paintings, which he submitted to art exhibits, claiming they were the work of a Russian genius. (left) Paul Jordan Smith; (right) Smith as Pavel Jerdanowitch In 1924 Paul Jordan Smith, a Los Angeles-based novelist and Latin scholar, painted a blurry picture…
Dominion of Melchizedek
Type: Fictitious Country. Summary: The Dominion of Melchizedek was a non-existent island country established by father and son con artists, Evan and Mark Pedley. Posted by: Elliot Feldman Melchizedek is a country that has no physical presence on the planet, yet its home to hundreds of financial institutions. … Wait…
Donation of Constantine
Pope Sylvester receiving the donation from Emperor ConstantineThe Donation of Constantine was a document supposedly written by emperor Constantine (285-337 A.D.) granting the Catholic Church ownership of vast territories within the western Roman Empire. The document stated that he made this generous gift out of gratitude to Pope Sylvester I…
Donside Lying Contest
Type: College prank. Summary: Two students turned a lying contest on its head by lying too convincingly. Many college pranks are the result of careful planning, but occasionally they come about simply when a student recognizes an opportunity and goes for it. Such was the case with the lying contest…
Doris Lessing as Jane Somers
Type: Literary hoax (of the spurious submission type) Summary: Doris Lessing used a pseudonym to submit copies of a new work by herself to the publishers of her previous works. In 1983 the novel The Diary of a Good Neighbor was published in Great Britain and United States. It told…
Dreadnought Hoax
Type: Prank. Summary: A group of upper-class youths fooled the British navy into believing they were a visiting group of Abyssinian dignitaries. “The Emperor of Abyssinia” and his suiteFrom left to right: Virginia Stephen (Virginia Woolf), Duncan Grant, Horace Cole, Anthony Buxton (seated), Adrian Stephen, Guy Ridley. On February 7,…
Duckbilled Platypus
Type: Real creature suspected of being fake. Summary: When western naturalists first discovered the duckbilled platypus, they suspected it was a hoax. HOAX HAIKUThe bizarre creaure In the river must be miffed, ‘Cause he isn’t real (by J) Egg-laying mammal With duck-bill that doesnt quack (Man that is so wack!)…
Eighteenth-Century Literary Hoaxes
Type: Literary Hoaxes. Summary: The eighteenth century is regarded as the great age of literary forgery. During the eighteenth century literary fakes poured forth from the pens of writers. A number of factors contributed to this. First, this was the period during which print culture became ascendant over oral culture.…
Empire City Massacre
Type: Media Hoax. Summary: Mark Twain invented a tale of a gruesome murder in order to embarrass the San Francisco newspapers. In 1863 San Francisco newspapers were spilling a lot of ink lambasting mining ventures that were cooking their books, and these same papers were encouraging investors to put their…
Emulex Stockmarket Hoax
A US Attorney announces the arrest of Mark Jakob at a press conference held on August 31, 2000. Behind him, a chart shows the downward spike that the hoax caused in the stock price of Emulex. On August 25 2000, shareholders of Emulex Corp. were greeted in the morning by…
Enigmatical Prophecies
Type: Hoax. Summary: A (fake) astrologer made ambiguous prophecies that inevitably came true. Poor, henpecked Richard Saunders was the apparent author of an annual American almanac, Poor Richard’s Almanac. But the real author was Benjamin Franklin. In 1736 Franklin put the credibility of his pseudonym on the line by making…
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April Fools Day - 1844
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1844.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1860
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1860.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1866
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1866.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1878
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1878.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1888
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1888.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1900
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1900.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1915
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: News reports from April Fool’s Day, 1915.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 1919
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1919.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1920
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: News reports from April Fool’s Day, 1920.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 1925
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: News reports from April Fool’s Day, 1925.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 1933
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1933.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1934
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1934.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1936
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1936.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1937
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1937.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1940
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: News reports from April Fool’s Day, 1940.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 1949
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1949.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1950
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: News reports from April Fool’s Day, 1950.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 1959
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1959.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1960
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Items in the news from April Fool’s Day, 1960.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 |…
April Fools Day - 1965
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1965.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1969
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1965.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1971
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1971.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1972
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1972.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1973
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1973.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1974
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1974.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1975
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1975.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1976
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1976.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 1977
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1977.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 1978
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1978.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1979
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1979.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 1980
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1980.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 1981
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1981.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 1982
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1982.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 1983
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1983.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 1984
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1984.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 1985
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1985.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1986
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1986.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1987
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1987.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1988
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1988.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1989
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1989.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1990
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1990.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1991
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1991.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1992
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1992.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1993
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1993.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1994
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1994.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1995
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1995.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1996
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1996.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1997
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1997.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1998
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1998.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 1999
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Notable hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 1999.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900…
April Fools Day - 2000
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 2000.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 2001
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 2001.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 2002
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 2002.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 2003
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 2003.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 2004
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 2004.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
April Fools Day - 2005
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoaxes. Summary: Hoaxes perpetrated on April Fool’s Day, 2005.April Fool’s Day Content in the Museum of HoaxesTop 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes—The Origin of April Fool’s Day—April Fool’s Hoaxes by Year1698 | 1708 | 1844 | 1860 | 1866 | 1878 | 1888 | 1900 |…
Arm the Homeless
Type: College Prank. Summary: A phony organization urged people to help provide the homeless with guns and ammunition. HOAX HAIKUThe charity says, “Homeless are Americans, too, so give them guns!” (by Krista)Submit a haiku In the first week of December, 1993, a press release was distributed to the Columbus, Ohio…
A Neglected Anniversary
Type: Journalistic Hoax. Summary: Text of an article detailing a false history of the bathtub. What follows is the complete text of Henry L. Mencken’s article “A Neglected Anniversary,” published in the New York Evening Mail on December 28, 1917. The article presents a false history of the bathtub. Details…
Baby Adolf
Type: Photo hoax. Summary: A widely circulated photo of an evil looking baby was alleged to be Adolf Hitler as an infant. Fake Baby AdolfIn 1933 a picture supposedly showing Adolf Hitler as a baby began circulating throughout England and America. The child in the picture looked positively menacing. Its…
Benjamin Franklin
Type: Famous Hoaxer. Summary: Throughout his life Benjamin Franklin perpetrated many hoaxes. Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790). Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) was born the son of a candle and soap maker, but by his own efforts and intellect he rose to become arguably the most admired man of the eighteenth century. Throughout his…
Bequest of Francis Douce
Type: A practical joke played from the grave. Summary: Sixty-six years after his death, a scholar lets his colleagues know how he really felt about them. Francis Douce, portrait by James BarryFrancis Douce (1757-1834) was a wealthy English antiquarian, known for his collection of books, prints, drawings, coins, and artifacts.…
Berners Street Hoax
Theodore Hook (1788-1841)In 1810 London was the largest, wealthiest city in the world, linked by trade with every continent, and fed by the manufacturing might of northern British cities such as Liverpool and Manchester. Almost anything could be obtained in its shops, and on November 10 all of this mercantile…
Black Like Me
Type: Impostor. Summary: In 1959, a white man posed as a black man in the American Deep South for six weeks. The result was the bestselling book “Black Like Me.” Posted by: Elliot Feldman Black Like MeIn 1959, John Howard Griffin was a white native Texan novelist and journalist with…
Bonsai Kitten
Type: Hoax Website. Summary: A website that came online in late 2000 purported to offer instructions on how to raise kittens inside of glass jars. The Bonsai Kitten website. Bonsai describes the ancient Japanese art of growing miniature trees by rigorous pruning of their roots and branches. Because of their…
Bosnian Beheading Rumor
Type: Rumor. Summary: During the nineteenth-century, a rumor circulated in Bosnia suggesting that a person could earn a million florins by volunteering to be beheaded in place of Baron de Rothschild. Text extracted from: Walsh, William. (1893). Handy-Book of Literary Curiosities. J.B. Lippincott Company. Philadelphia. 1893: 473-474. The Levant Herald…
Brassiere Brigade
Type: Financial Scam. Summary: Female employees of the phone company stole thousands of dollars from their employer by hiding coin rolls in their bras. In September 1950, police in Miami, Florida accidentally discovered a crime ring that had been stealing thousands of dollars from the local phone company for years.…
Butterflies of Linnaeus
Type: Scientific hoax. Summary: A hoax butterfly species, invented as a practical joke, fooled many prominent naturalists. Three butterflies owned and described by Carl Linnaeus The three butterflies shown to the right were part of the collection of the great eighteenth-century naturalist Carl Linnaeus. In 1763 he named and described…
Calaveras Skull
Type: Hoax. Summary: A practical joke by miners confused scientists for decades. Front view of the Calaveras SkullOn February 25, 1866 workers found a human skull buried deep inside a mine on Bald Mountain in Calaveras County, California. The skull was located 130 feet below the surface, beneath a layer…
Caltech Sweepstakes Caper
Type: College Prank. Summary: In 1975 Caltech students flooded a McDonald’s sweepstakes with millions of entries. Caltech is known for producing world-class scientists and engineers. But a few of its students have also demonstrated a flair for the law, as a highly controversial 1975 prank that turned on the legalistic…
Captain Crunch
Type: Hacker. Summary: In the early seventies, a group of hackers called “phone phreaks” emerged, earning notoriety by creating high-tech ways to beat the costs of long distance calls. “Cap’n Crunch” was the most notorious of them all. Posted by: Elliot Feldman blue box John Draper is one of Silicon…
Captain Midnight
Type: Hacker. Summary: In 1986 a tech-savvy hacker interrupted a cable channel broadcast with his own transmission. Posted by: Elliot Feldman On April 27, 1986, late night HBO subscribers watching the movie “The Falcon and the Snowman” were surprised by a sudden interruption of service. A color bar test pattern…
Cardiff Giant
Type: Hoax Summary: A stone figure unearthed in 1869 turned out not to be as ancient as many, at first, believed. HOAX HAIKUWhatever you do, Don’t call him jolly or green. It’ll make him mad. (by AB) Made for cash or pride He’s a man-made Man of stone Guess who’s…
Casablanca Rejected
Type: Literary Hoax. Summary: The script of Casablanca was sent to over 200 movie agents. A large number of them rejected it, many with disparaging remarks about its quality. Too much dialogue, not enough exposition, weak story line Casablanca is arguably the most famous movie in the history of film.…
Case of the Midwife Toad
Type: Scientific Fraud. Summary: Scaly bumps that suddenly appeared on a species of toad were offered as proof of Lamarckian inheritance. But the bumps turned out to be injected inkspots. Paul KammererCan acquired characteristics be passed on to one’s offspring? For instance, if a person acquires a limp during their…
Case of the Miraculous Bullet
Type: Scientific Hoax. Summary: A journal article published in 1874 described the case of a woman impregnated by a bullet that had first passed through the testicles of a soldier. In November 1874 an unusual article appeared in the introductory volume of The American Medical Weekly, a Louisville medical journal.…
Cassie Chadwick
Type: Con Artist. Summary: A woman financed a lavish lifestyle by claiming to be the daughter of Andrew Carnegie. Cassie Chadwick claimed to be the illegitimate daughter of Andrew Carnegie. She said that Carnegie was paying her huge sums of money in order to keep their relationship a secret. Based…
Central Park Zoo Escape
Type: Media Hoax. Summary: Panic ensued after the New York Herald reported that wild animals had escaped from the New York City Zoo. “Another Awful Calamity. The Intellectual Department of The New York Herald Let Loose Upon the Public.” Front cover of the Daily Graphic (Nov. 13, 1874), mocking the…
Cerne Abbas Giant
Type: Historical controversy. Summary: A famous chalk figure carved into the side of a hill in Dorchester, England may be an enormous seventeenth-century hoax. The Cerne Abbas Giant Deep in the heart of Dorchester stands the Cerne Abbas Giant. He’s a naked chalk figure carved into the side of a…
Cesky Sen Hypermarket
Type: Hoax. Summary: Shoppers were promised a store that was too good to be true. In early 2003 advertisements began to appear throughout Prague promoting a new hypermarket called Cesky Sen (or “Czech Dream") opening soon in the Lethany Fairgrounds. The ads appeared on billboards, at bus stops, in newspapers,…
Channel Swim Hoax
Type: Sports Hoax. Summary: In 1927 Dorothy Cochrane Logan claimed to have swum the English Channel. She later admitted she had only swum the first and last miles. Text excerpted from The Fresno Bee, September 7, 1955: The famous channel swimming hoax, carried out to show how easily such a…
Chesterfield Leper
Type: Product Rumor. Summary: During the 1930s sales of Chesterfield cigarettes plummeted because of a rumor that a leper worked in one of their factories. This 1935 ad for Chesterfield cigarettes had the caption: “Machines like this—new and modern in every respect—make Chesterfields.”In the Fall of 1934 a rumor swept…
Civil War Gold Hoax
Type: Stockmarket Hoax. Summary: A plot to manipulate the price of gold during the American Civil War. Joseph Howard, city editor of the Brooklyn Eagle. (Image from Harper’s Weekly, June 4, 1864.)It was May, 1864. Grant was closing in on Lee in Virginia. New Yorkers were growing hopeful that the…
Claire Chazal Experiment
Type: Literary Hoax. Summary: A French magazine mocked a celebrity author by submitting a disguised copy of her novel to her own publisher, which rejected it. Claire Chazal Claire Chazal was a well-known newswoman who presented the evening news on France’s TF1 network. Like many French celebrities, she had decided…
Cottingley Fairies
Type: Photo Hoax. Summary: A series of photographs taken by two young girls appeared to provide evidence of the existence of fairies. The fairies in the photos were eventually revealed to be paper cut-outs. COTTINGLEY FAIRY HAIKUCamera ready, Two young girls patiently wait — Fairy paparazzi! (by AB) Holmes’ writer…
David Manning
Type: Fake testimonial. Summary: A movie reviewer who consistently gave rave reviews turned out not to exist. No matter how bad the movies of Columbia Pictures were, there was always one reviewer who was sure to heap lavish praise on them. That was David Manning of the Ridgefield Press. For…
Death in the Air
Type: Photo Hoax. Summary: Photographs of World War One aerial dogfights were, decades later, discovered to have been faked. A book called Death in the Air: The War Diary and Photographs of a Flying Corps Pilot was published in 1933. It contained numerous pages of spectacular aerial photographs of World…
Death of Titan Leeds
Type: Hoax. Summary: A (fake) astrologer predicted the death of his rival. Poor Richard’s Almanac. Poor Richard’s Almanac was a yearly almanac written by a hen-pecked, poverty-stricken scholar named Richard Saunders. It first appeared in 1733, offering a collection of wit, poetry, as well as some prophecies. In its first…
De Situ Brittaniae
Type: Historical Forgery. Summary: A fake map of Roman Britain fooled historians for over one hundred years. De Situ Brittaniae (click for larger version.) In 1747 word of a major new historical discovery reached England. Charles Bertram (1723-65), a 24-year-old English teacher in Denmark, had found an ancient manuscript and…
Disappearance of David Lang
Type: Hoax. Summary: A popular legend claims that in 1880 a Tennessee farmer vanished into thin air before a crowd of witnesses. This legend was actually invented by a mystery-novel writer in 1953. The Story David Lang was said to be a farmer who lived near Gallatin, Tennessee. On September…
Disumbrationist School of Art
Type: Art Hoax. Summary: A novelist painted deliberately bad paintings, which he submitted to art exhibits, claiming they were the work of a Russian genius. (left) Paul Jordan Smith; (right) Smith as Pavel Jerdanowitch In 1924 Paul Jordan Smith, a Los Angeles-based novelist and Latin scholar, painted a blurry picture…
Dominion of Melchizedek
Type: Fictitious Country. Summary: The Dominion of Melchizedek was a non-existent island country established by father and son con artists, Evan and Mark Pedley. Posted by: Elliot Feldman Melchizedek is a country that has no physical presence on the planet, yet its home to hundreds of financial institutions. … Wait…
Donation of Constantine
Pope Sylvester receiving the donation from Emperor ConstantineThe Donation of Constantine was a document supposedly written by emperor Constantine (285-337 A.D.) granting the Catholic Church ownership of vast territories within the western Roman Empire. The document stated that he made this generous gift out of gratitude to Pope Sylvester I…
Donside Lying Contest
Type: College prank. Summary: Two students turned a lying contest on its head by lying too convincingly. Many college pranks are the result of careful planning, but occasionally they come about simply when a student recognizes an opportunity and goes for it. Such was the case with the lying contest…
Doris Lessing as Jane Somers
Type: Literary hoax (of the spurious submission type) Summary: Doris Lessing used a pseudonym to submit copies of a new work by herself to the publishers of her previous works. In 1983 the novel The Diary of a Good Neighbor was published in Great Britain and United States. It told…
Dreadnought Hoax
Type: Prank. Summary: A group of upper-class youths fooled the British navy into believing they were a visiting group of Abyssinian dignitaries. “The Emperor of Abyssinia” and his suiteFrom left to right: Virginia Stephen (Virginia Woolf), Duncan Grant, Horace Cole, Anthony Buxton (seated), Adrian Stephen, Guy Ridley. On February 7,…
Duckbilled Platypus
Type: Real creature suspected of being fake. Summary: When western naturalists first discovered the duckbilled platypus, they suspected it was a hoax. HOAX HAIKUThe bizarre creaure In the river must be miffed, ‘Cause he isn’t real (by J) Egg-laying mammal With duck-bill that doesnt quack (Man that is so wack!)…
Eighteenth-Century Literary Hoaxes
Type: Literary Hoaxes. Summary: The eighteenth century is regarded as the great age of literary forgery. During the eighteenth century literary fakes poured forth from the pens of writers. A number of factors contributed to this. First, this was the period during which print culture became ascendant over oral culture.…
Empire City Massacre
Type: Media Hoax. Summary: Mark Twain invented a tale of a gruesome murder in order to embarrass the San Francisco newspapers. In 1863 San Francisco newspapers were spilling a lot of ink lambasting mining ventures that were cooking their books, and these same papers were encouraging investors to put their…
Emulex Stockmarket Hoax
A US Attorney announces the arrest of Mark Jakob at a press conference held on August 31, 2000. Behind him, a chart shows the downward spike that the hoax caused in the stock price of Emulex. On August 25 2000, shareholders of Emulex Corp. were greeted in the morning by…
Enigmatical Prophecies
Type: Hoax. Summary: A (fake) astrologer made ambiguous prophecies that inevitably came true. Poor, henpecked Richard Saunders was the apparent author of an annual American almanac, Poor Richard’s Almanac. But the real author was Benjamin Franklin. In 1736 Franklin put the credibility of his pseudonym on the line by making…