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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…
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…
Bigfoot Hoaxes
Type: Legend. Summary: The legend of the existence of a giant ape native to North America has inspired numerous hoaxes. BIGFOOT HAIKUIf a tree branch falls in the woods and hits Bigfoot, does he make a sound? (by AB) Bigfoot, he saw me. Grabbed me and ran far away. I’ll…
Blue Laws of Connecticut
Type: Fake History. Summary: An eighteenth-Century historian wrote about repressive “blue laws” supposedly once practiced in Connecticut. The term ‘Blue Laws’ describes harsh, puritanical laws that regulate public morality. Such laws supposedly existed in colonial America, making it illegal to do such things as kiss a child or shave on…
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.…
Brazilian Invisible Fish
Type: Publicity Stunt. Summary: Crowds are lured to view an invisible fish. Harry Reichenbach (1882-1931) was a publicist whose career spanned the early twentieth century. He was responsible for promoting many movies and show business personalities. In his autobiography Phantom Fame (written with the help of David Freedman), Reichenbach described…
Brooklyn Bridge Scams
Type: Scams. Summary: The “selling the Brooklyn Bridge” scam has been around almost as long as the Bridge itself. The article describes the origins of the “selling” scam as well as Steve Brodie’s own unique Bridge scam. Posted by: Elliot Feldman When construction ended on the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883,…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
Filipino Monkey
Type: Rogue radio operator. Summary: For decades a mysterious prankster has interrupted ship-to-ship radio communications with obscenities and threats. The Filipino Monkey is the name of an infamous rogue radio operator who interjects lewd jokes, threats, obscenities, and animal noises into ship-to-ship radio communications conducted on VHF marine channel 16…
Flemish Secession Hoax
Type: Television News Hoax. Summary: In 2006, on a Belgian TV station news broadcast, it was announced that Flanders, the Dutch-speaking half of the country, had seceded from the country. Thirty minutes into the news bulletin, only after the station’s phonelines were swamped, it was revealed to be a hoax.…
Great Bottle Hoax of 1749
Type: Hoax. Summary: In 1749 hoaxers tried to gauge the gullibility of the public by seeing how many people would show up if they advertised that an impossible feat (jumping into a bottle) would be performed. Text from: Walsh, William. (1893). Handy-Book of Literary Curiosities. J.B. Lippincott Company. Philadelphia. 1893:…
Great Wall of China Hoax
Type: Media Hoax. Summary: In 1899 four Denver newspapers falsely reported that the Great Wall of China was going to be torn down. A rumor subsequently emerged suggesting that this hoax provoked the Boxer Rebellion in China. From the Lima News. August 4, 1899. Caption reads: “Great Wall of China…
History of Crowland
Crowland AbbeyCrowland Abbey, located deep in the Lincolnshire fens of England, was once a center for medieval religious life. Today, however, it lies mostly in ruins. A few quatrefoil window carvings and undamaged statues provide a sense of the building’s former glory, but the abbey itself is less well known…
Hitler Diaries
Type: Forgery. Summary: A fake set of diaries, supposedly written by Adolf Hitler, became one of the most costly forgeries in history. Gerd Heidemann (right) and Wolf Hess (left), son of Nazi leader Rudolf Hess, pose with a volume of the Hitler diaries. April, 1983. Table of Contents The Beginning:…
Hugo N. Frye
Type: College Prank. Summary: Republican leaders were tricked into praising the example of the “sturdy patriot” Hugo N. Frye, unaware that there was no such person. In 1930 letters were mailed to Republican leaders throughout the United States inviting them to a May 26 party at Cornell University in honor…
Instant Color TV
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoax. Summary: In 1962 Swedish television viewers were told they could receive color reception by placing a nylon stocking over the screen. Instant Color TV is listed at #3 in the Museum’s list of the Top 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes of All Time. INSTANT COLOR…
James Macpherson and the Ossianic Controversy
Type: Literary hoax. Summary: An eighteenth-century schoolmaster claimed to have found poems written by a third-century Scottish bard. The poems were actually written by the schoolmaster himself. James MacphersonIn 1760 a young Edinburgh schoolmaster named James Macpherson (1736-1796) published a translation of ancient Scottish verse titled Fragments of Ancient Poetry,…
Jonathan Swift
Type: Satirist. Summary: Jonathan Swift penned some of the most famous satires (and satirical hoaxes) of the eighteenth century. Jonathan SwiftThe relationship between satire and hoaxing is complex. Satire is defined as the use of wit to expose stupidity or vice, whereas a hoax is a sensational act of deception.…
Kidnapping of Nicole Riche
Type: Publicity Stunt. Summary: A French actress disappeared under mysterious circumstances. She later claimed she had been kidnapped by “Puritans” who lectured her about her immoral life. Nicole RicheAt 3 a.m. on the morning of Saturday, April 1, 1950 the 22-year-old French actress Nicole Riche (no relation to Nicole Richie)…
Killer Hawk of Chicago
Type: Hoax that is not a hoax. Summary: As Chicagoans excitedly followed reports of a hawk loose in the downtown area, newspapers began to suspect they may have been hoaxed. “The pirate of the air perched on the roof of the Art institute just after he had killed and was…
Kingdom of Redonda
Type: Fictitious Country. Summary: Science fiction author M.P. Shiel was also known as Felipe I, the second King of Redonda, an island nation that may or may not exist. Posted by: Elliot Feldman M.P. Shiel M.P. Shiel was a notable early 20th century British science fiction and fantasy author. Originally…
Lady Liberty on Lake Mendota
Type: College Prank. Summary: The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Pail and Shovel Party promised that, if elected to student government, they would move the Statue of Liberty to Lake Mendota, and they made good on their promise. Lady Liberty sinks into Lake Mendota. (Photograph by Ravi Kochhar). In February 1979 an…
Lafayette Mulligan
Type: Prank. Summary: A man calling himself Lafayette Mulligan presented the Prince of Wales with the key to the City of Boston. However, the Mayor of Boston had no idea who Lafayette Mulligan was. James Curley, former Mayor of Boston. In the Fall of 1924 the Prince of Wales visited…
Loch Ness Monster Hoaxes
Type: Cryptozoological critter. Summary: The legend of a monster living in Scotland’s Loch Ness has inspired many hoaxes. NESSIE HAIKULurking in the deep, centuries old. Addicted to tourist sushi. (by AB) Like Schroedinger’s Cat it matters not where she is --but that she might be. (by Armando C. Gomez) Through…
Lost Island of Hi-Brazil
Type: Geographical Legend. Summary: For centuries European map-makers believed that an island called Hi-Brazil was located in the Atlantic, even though no such island had ever been found. Detail from the Catalan map of 1350 showing the location of Hi-Brazil. (Image from Donald Johnson’s Phantom Islands of the Atlantic) In…
Madagascar or Robert Drurys Journal
Type: Undetermined. Probably not a hoax. Summary: There has been continuing debate about whether a popular tale describing survival in eighteenth-century Madagascar was truth or fiction. Ask your average eighteenth-century Englishman about the faraway land of Madagascar, and all you’d get was a blank stare. For the English, Madagascar was…
Man Flies By Own Lung Power
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoax. Summary: A widely printed photograph showed a man flying by means of a device powered by the breath of his lungs. 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 |…
Mary Toft and the Rabbit Babies
Type: Hoax. Summary: An eighteenth-century English woman claimed to have given birth to rabbits. An 18th-century portrait of Mary Toft. Note the rabbit in her lap. England during the reign of King George I (1660-1727) was full of oddities, shams, and charlatans. King George himself was a bit of an…
Miss Perfect Profile
Type: Publicity Stunt. Summary: The head of a modeling agency invented phony titles to promote his models. Newspapers and magazines like to print pictures of attractive young women, especially if the pictures are vaguely newsworthy. For instance, if the woman has just been awarded a title such as “Miss Congeniality,”…
Native of Formosa
Type: Impostor. Summary: During the early eighteenth-century a white-skinned, blond-haired man showed up in northern Europe claiming to be from Taiwan. Luckily for him, no one knew what a Taiwanese person should look like. George Psalmanazar, The Native of FormosaThose who travelled on European roads at the start of the…
Nazi Air Marker Hoax
Type: Overzealous press-agentry. Summary: Random patterns in fields were mistaken for Nazi “air markers.” On August 10, 1942, the U.S. Army’s public-relations office released a statement informing the press that fliers for the First Ground Air Support Command had discovered “secret markers” in rural areas of the east coast. These…
Olympic Underwear Relay
Type: Sports Prank. Summary: At the 1956 Olympics in Australia, a prankster carrying a pair of flaming underwear briefly took the place of the official torch bearer. Route of the 1956 Olympic torch relay, from Cairns to Melbourne. In 1956 runners bore the Olympic flame across Australia, on a path…
Pierre Brassau - Monkey Artist
Type: Art Hoax. Summary: The paintings of the avant-garde artist Pierre Brassau were revealed to be the work of a monkey. Peter the Chimp, aka “Pierre Brassau,” at work. In 1964 four paintings by a previously unknown avant-garde French artist named Pierre Brassau were exhibited at an art show in…
Ponzi Scheme
Type: Financial Scam. Summary: Charles Ponzi gave his name to the most famous financial scam of the twentieth century. Charles Ponzi (1883-1949) Charles Ponzi, an Italian immigrant living in Boston in the early twentieth century, was said by his worshipful followers to have “discovered money.” In fact, what he really…
Pope Joan
Type: Legend. (Possible case of gender concealment.) Summary: According to legend, a woman disguised as a man briefly served as Pope sometime in the ninth century. HOAX HAIKUMy girlfriend thinks she’s always right — infallible — just because she’s Pope. (by AB) Oh what a surprise! Pope is different to…
Predictions of Isaac Bickerstaff
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoax. Summary: An astrologer learns that he has died. Insists it isn’t so. 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…
Princess Caraboo
Type: Impostor Summary: A nineteenth-century British maid pretended to be a princess from the exotic land of Javasu. Princess Caraboo, by Edward BirdOn Thursday April 3, 1817, a strange woman appeared in Almondsbury, a small town near Bristol in Gloucestershire, England. She was five foot two, extremely attractive, and wore…
Principality of New Utopia
Type: Fictitious country. Summary: Howard Turney (AKA Lazarus Long) founded a “country” called New Utopia, supposedly based on the libertarian philosophy of novelist Ayn Rand. Unfortunately it became a center for offshore banking scams. Posted by: Elliot Feldman The Principality of New Utopia was an island country in the Caribbean…
Principality of Outer Baldonia
Type: Fictitious Country. Summary: The Principality of Outer Baldonia started as a practical joke among friends on a fishing trip and it became a country. Posted by: Elliot Feldman Russell Arundel was an executive with the Pepsi-Cola Company. He was also a well-known eccentric. In 1948, he purchased the four-acre…
Principality of Sealand
Type: Country of an ambiguous legal status. Summary: Sealand, the world’s smallest country, started as a WWII British naval installation, turned into a pirate radio station, and finally its own “country.” Posted by: Elliot Feldman Sealand. Sealand is the world’s smallest country, a fortified pontoon barge standing on two cylindrical…
Prophecies of Mother Shipton
Mother Shipton’s house in YorkshireMother Shipton, also known as Ursula Sonthiel Shipton, was born in 1488 in Yorkshire, England, and lived until 1561. According to legend, her birth was the result of a union between her mother and the devil. When she was born, she was reportedly hideously ugly. This…
Retractable Capitol Dome
Type: Satire Mistaken as News Summary: A Beijing newspaper mistakenly reported that the U.S. Congress was demanding the installation of a retractable Capitol dome. On June 3, 2002, the Beijing Evening News scooped its competitors with a shocking story from America: the U.S. Congress was threatening to leave Washington DC…
San Serriffe
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoax. Summary: On April 1, 1977 the Guardian published a seven-page supplement devoted to the previously unknown island state of San Serriffe. Table of Contents The Creation of San Serriffe The Special Report San Serriffe Geography San Serriffe Culture San Serriffe Advertisements The Response The Sequel…
Shroud of Turin
Type: Forgery. Summary: An ancient piece of fabric is alleged to be the burial shroud of Christ. HOAX HAIKUThree-dimensional Image burnt onto old cloth. Jesus, is that you? (by AB) Submit a haiku The Shroud of Turin first came to the attention of the public in 1355 when it was…
Silence Dogood
Type: False Identity. Summary: Sixteen-year-old Benjamin Franklin pretended to be a middle-aged widow named Silence Dogood. View the Discussion Page for this topic. In 1722 a series of letters appeared in the New-England Courant written by a middle-aged widow named Silence Dogood. The letters poked fun at various aspects of…
Space Cadets
Type: Reality TV hoax. Summary: In 2005, the British television show “Space Cadets” pulled off the most expensive and elaborate hoax in English television history. Posted by: Elliot Feldman In 2005, all of Britain was talking about a new Channel 4 reality series, “Space Cadets.” The show’s alleged concept: twelve…
Stone Age Discoveries of Shinichi Fujimura
One of the ‘smoking gun’ photographs that showed Fujimura burying artifacts By the age of 50, Shinichi Fujimura had established himself as one of Japan’s leading archaeologists. However, his career began as a hobby. He was working at a manufacturing company as a young man in 1972 when he developed…
Stone Age Tasaday
Type: Anthropological Hoax. Summary: A primitive, stone-age tribe found living in a rain forest in the Philippines was later alleged to be an elaborate fake. Table of Contents The Tasaday As A Real Tribe The Tasaday As A Fake Tribe The Revenge of the Tasaday Making Sense of the Tasaday…
Stotham Massachusetts
Type: Hoax. Summary: A Massachusetts town, described as an example of an unspoiled New England village, turned out not to exist. Frontispiece to Ripley’s articleThe White Pine Monograph Series was a series of carefully researched, high quality brochures, paid for by Weyerhaeuser mills and edited by Russell Whitehead, that collected…
Subways Are For Sleeping
Advertisement for Subways Are For Sleeping that ran in the New York Herald-Tribune. In 1961 an advertisement appeared in the New York Herald-Tribune for a Broadway play titled “Subways Are For Sleeping.” The play had not been doing very well at the box office. Nevertheless, judging by the ad, it…
Swiss Spaghetti Harvest
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoax. Summary: In 1957 the British news show Panorama convinced many of its viewers that spaghetti grows on trees. The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest is listed at #1 in the Museum’s list of the Top 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes of All Time. SPAGHETTI HARVEST HAIKUThere’s nothing…
Theft of the Sacred Cod
Type: College Prank. Summary: In 1933 Harvard students “codnapped” the Sacred Cod of Massachusetts. The Sacred Cod of Massachusetts. Theft is one of the classic and most-often-used tools in the toolbox of college pranksters. All manner of prized items are regularly spirited away at campuses throughout the world: statues, bells,…
The Third Eye
Type: Phony Tibetan monk. Summary: The son of a British plumber claimed to be a lama from a wealthy Tibetan family. Tuesday Lobsang Rampa The Third Eye, published in 1956 and authored by Tuesday Lobsang Rampa, purported to be Rampa’s autobiographical tale of his study and mastery of Tibetan Buddhism.…
Traveling Stones of Pahranagat Valley
Type: Media Hoax. Summary: In 1867 Nevada journalist Dan De Quille described some stones with a curious property—whenever separated from each other they spontaneously moved back together. On October 26, 1867 a story appeared in Nevada’s Territorial Enterprise newspaper describing some unusual stones recently found in the Pahranagat Valley of…
Vilcabamba
Type: Anthropological Hoax. Summary: During the 1970s, the Ecuadorian town of Vilcabamba became famous because of the apparent longevity of its residents. The town’s small population appeared to include numerous people over the age of 100. Later researchers discovered that the town’s elderly residents were systematically exaggerating their ages. In…
Virginia City Camel Race
Type: Hoax that became real. Summary: Virginia City, Nevada hosts an annual camel race that began as a hoax. In 1959 Bob Richards, the editor of the Nevada-based Territorial Enterprise, announced that a camel race would be held that year down the main street of Virginia City. He challenged other…
Walt Disney Frozen
Type: Urban Legend. Summary: According to rumor, Walt Disney’s cryogenically preserved body is kept in a tank under Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Posted by: Elliot Feldman Walt Disney Walt Disney died on December 15, 1966, but a rumor has long persisted that his body was cryogenically frozen and…
Wild Animal Hoax - Part 1
Type: Media Hoax. Summary: Complete text of the “wild animal hoax” published by the New York Herald in 1874. On November 9, 1874 the New York Herald published an article claiming that the animals had escaped from their cages in the New York zoo and were rampaging through the city.…
Wild Animal Hoax - Part 2
Type: Media Hoax. Summary: Continuation of the complete text of the “wild animal hoax” published by the New York Herald in 1874. (Continued from Wild Animal Hoax - Part 1.) On November 9, 1874 the New York Herald published an article claiming that the animals had escaped from their cages…
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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…
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…
Bigfoot Hoaxes
Type: Legend. Summary: The legend of the existence of a giant ape native to North America has inspired numerous hoaxes. BIGFOOT HAIKUIf a tree branch falls in the woods and hits Bigfoot, does he make a sound? (by AB) Bigfoot, he saw me. Grabbed me and ran far away. I’ll…
Blue Laws of Connecticut
Type: Fake History. Summary: An eighteenth-Century historian wrote about repressive “blue laws” supposedly once practiced in Connecticut. The term ‘Blue Laws’ describes harsh, puritanical laws that regulate public morality. Such laws supposedly existed in colonial America, making it illegal to do such things as kiss a child or shave on…
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.…
Brazilian Invisible Fish
Type: Publicity Stunt. Summary: Crowds are lured to view an invisible fish. Harry Reichenbach (1882-1931) was a publicist whose career spanned the early twentieth century. He was responsible for promoting many movies and show business personalities. In his autobiography Phantom Fame (written with the help of David Freedman), Reichenbach described…
Brooklyn Bridge Scams
Type: Scams. Summary: The “selling the Brooklyn Bridge” scam has been around almost as long as the Bridge itself. The article describes the origins of the “selling” scam as well as Steve Brodie’s own unique Bridge scam. Posted by: Elliot Feldman When construction ended on the Brooklyn Bridge in 1883,…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
Filipino Monkey
Type: Rogue radio operator. Summary: For decades a mysterious prankster has interrupted ship-to-ship radio communications with obscenities and threats. The Filipino Monkey is the name of an infamous rogue radio operator who interjects lewd jokes, threats, obscenities, and animal noises into ship-to-ship radio communications conducted on VHF marine channel 16…
Flemish Secession Hoax
Type: Television News Hoax. Summary: In 2006, on a Belgian TV station news broadcast, it was announced that Flanders, the Dutch-speaking half of the country, had seceded from the country. Thirty minutes into the news bulletin, only after the station’s phonelines were swamped, it was revealed to be a hoax.…
Great Bottle Hoax of 1749
Type: Hoax. Summary: In 1749 hoaxers tried to gauge the gullibility of the public by seeing how many people would show up if they advertised that an impossible feat (jumping into a bottle) would be performed. Text from: Walsh, William. (1893). Handy-Book of Literary Curiosities. J.B. Lippincott Company. Philadelphia. 1893:…
Great Wall of China Hoax
Type: Media Hoax. Summary: In 1899 four Denver newspapers falsely reported that the Great Wall of China was going to be torn down. A rumor subsequently emerged suggesting that this hoax provoked the Boxer Rebellion in China. From the Lima News. August 4, 1899. Caption reads: “Great Wall of China…
History of Crowland
Crowland AbbeyCrowland Abbey, located deep in the Lincolnshire fens of England, was once a center for medieval religious life. Today, however, it lies mostly in ruins. A few quatrefoil window carvings and undamaged statues provide a sense of the building’s former glory, but the abbey itself is less well known…
Hitler Diaries
Type: Forgery. Summary: A fake set of diaries, supposedly written by Adolf Hitler, became one of the most costly forgeries in history. Gerd Heidemann (right) and Wolf Hess (left), son of Nazi leader Rudolf Hess, pose with a volume of the Hitler diaries. April, 1983. Table of Contents The Beginning:…
Hugo N. Frye
Type: College Prank. Summary: Republican leaders were tricked into praising the example of the “sturdy patriot” Hugo N. Frye, unaware that there was no such person. In 1930 letters were mailed to Republican leaders throughout the United States inviting them to a May 26 party at Cornell University in honor…
Instant Color TV
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoax. Summary: In 1962 Swedish television viewers were told they could receive color reception by placing a nylon stocking over the screen. Instant Color TV is listed at #3 in the Museum’s list of the Top 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes of All Time. INSTANT COLOR…
James Macpherson and the Ossianic Controversy
Type: Literary hoax. Summary: An eighteenth-century schoolmaster claimed to have found poems written by a third-century Scottish bard. The poems were actually written by the schoolmaster himself. James MacphersonIn 1760 a young Edinburgh schoolmaster named James Macpherson (1736-1796) published a translation of ancient Scottish verse titled Fragments of Ancient Poetry,…
Jonathan Swift
Type: Satirist. Summary: Jonathan Swift penned some of the most famous satires (and satirical hoaxes) of the eighteenth century. Jonathan SwiftThe relationship between satire and hoaxing is complex. Satire is defined as the use of wit to expose stupidity or vice, whereas a hoax is a sensational act of deception.…
Kidnapping of Nicole Riche
Type: Publicity Stunt. Summary: A French actress disappeared under mysterious circumstances. She later claimed she had been kidnapped by “Puritans” who lectured her about her immoral life. Nicole RicheAt 3 a.m. on the morning of Saturday, April 1, 1950 the 22-year-old French actress Nicole Riche (no relation to Nicole Richie)…
Killer Hawk of Chicago
Type: Hoax that is not a hoax. Summary: As Chicagoans excitedly followed reports of a hawk loose in the downtown area, newspapers began to suspect they may have been hoaxed. “The pirate of the air perched on the roof of the Art institute just after he had killed and was…
Kingdom of Redonda
Type: Fictitious Country. Summary: Science fiction author M.P. Shiel was also known as Felipe I, the second King of Redonda, an island nation that may or may not exist. Posted by: Elliot Feldman M.P. Shiel M.P. Shiel was a notable early 20th century British science fiction and fantasy author. Originally…
Lady Liberty on Lake Mendota
Type: College Prank. Summary: The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Pail and Shovel Party promised that, if elected to student government, they would move the Statue of Liberty to Lake Mendota, and they made good on their promise. Lady Liberty sinks into Lake Mendota. (Photograph by Ravi Kochhar). In February 1979 an…
Lafayette Mulligan
Type: Prank. Summary: A man calling himself Lafayette Mulligan presented the Prince of Wales with the key to the City of Boston. However, the Mayor of Boston had no idea who Lafayette Mulligan was. James Curley, former Mayor of Boston. In the Fall of 1924 the Prince of Wales visited…
Loch Ness Monster Hoaxes
Type: Cryptozoological critter. Summary: The legend of a monster living in Scotland’s Loch Ness has inspired many hoaxes. NESSIE HAIKULurking in the deep, centuries old. Addicted to tourist sushi. (by AB) Like Schroedinger’s Cat it matters not where she is --but that she might be. (by Armando C. Gomez) Through…
Lost Island of Hi-Brazil
Type: Geographical Legend. Summary: For centuries European map-makers believed that an island called Hi-Brazil was located in the Atlantic, even though no such island had ever been found. Detail from the Catalan map of 1350 showing the location of Hi-Brazil. (Image from Donald Johnson’s Phantom Islands of the Atlantic) In…
Madagascar or Robert Drurys Journal
Type: Undetermined. Probably not a hoax. Summary: There has been continuing debate about whether a popular tale describing survival in eighteenth-century Madagascar was truth or fiction. Ask your average eighteenth-century Englishman about the faraway land of Madagascar, and all you’d get was a blank stare. For the English, Madagascar was…
Man Flies By Own Lung Power
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoax. Summary: A widely printed photograph showed a man flying by means of a device powered by the breath of his lungs. 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 |…
Mary Toft and the Rabbit Babies
Type: Hoax. Summary: An eighteenth-century English woman claimed to have given birth to rabbits. An 18th-century portrait of Mary Toft. Note the rabbit in her lap. England during the reign of King George I (1660-1727) was full of oddities, shams, and charlatans. King George himself was a bit of an…
Miss Perfect Profile
Type: Publicity Stunt. Summary: The head of a modeling agency invented phony titles to promote his models. Newspapers and magazines like to print pictures of attractive young women, especially if the pictures are vaguely newsworthy. For instance, if the woman has just been awarded a title such as “Miss Congeniality,”…
Native of Formosa
Type: Impostor. Summary: During the early eighteenth-century a white-skinned, blond-haired man showed up in northern Europe claiming to be from Taiwan. Luckily for him, no one knew what a Taiwanese person should look like. George Psalmanazar, The Native of FormosaThose who travelled on European roads at the start of the…
Nazi Air Marker Hoax
Type: Overzealous press-agentry. Summary: Random patterns in fields were mistaken for Nazi “air markers.” On August 10, 1942, the U.S. Army’s public-relations office released a statement informing the press that fliers for the First Ground Air Support Command had discovered “secret markers” in rural areas of the east coast. These…
Olympic Underwear Relay
Type: Sports Prank. Summary: At the 1956 Olympics in Australia, a prankster carrying a pair of flaming underwear briefly took the place of the official torch bearer. Route of the 1956 Olympic torch relay, from Cairns to Melbourne. In 1956 runners bore the Olympic flame across Australia, on a path…
Pierre Brassau - Monkey Artist
Type: Art Hoax. Summary: The paintings of the avant-garde artist Pierre Brassau were revealed to be the work of a monkey. Peter the Chimp, aka “Pierre Brassau,” at work. In 1964 four paintings by a previously unknown avant-garde French artist named Pierre Brassau were exhibited at an art show in…
Ponzi Scheme
Type: Financial Scam. Summary: Charles Ponzi gave his name to the most famous financial scam of the twentieth century. Charles Ponzi (1883-1949) Charles Ponzi, an Italian immigrant living in Boston in the early twentieth century, was said by his worshipful followers to have “discovered money.” In fact, what he really…
Pope Joan
Type: Legend. (Possible case of gender concealment.) Summary: According to legend, a woman disguised as a man briefly served as Pope sometime in the ninth century. HOAX HAIKUMy girlfriend thinks she’s always right — infallible — just because she’s Pope. (by AB) Oh what a surprise! Pope is different to…
Predictions of Isaac Bickerstaff
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoax. Summary: An astrologer learns that he has died. Insists it isn’t so. 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…
Princess Caraboo
Type: Impostor Summary: A nineteenth-century British maid pretended to be a princess from the exotic land of Javasu. Princess Caraboo, by Edward BirdOn Thursday April 3, 1817, a strange woman appeared in Almondsbury, a small town near Bristol in Gloucestershire, England. She was five foot two, extremely attractive, and wore…
Principality of New Utopia
Type: Fictitious country. Summary: Howard Turney (AKA Lazarus Long) founded a “country” called New Utopia, supposedly based on the libertarian philosophy of novelist Ayn Rand. Unfortunately it became a center for offshore banking scams. Posted by: Elliot Feldman The Principality of New Utopia was an island country in the Caribbean…
Principality of Outer Baldonia
Type: Fictitious Country. Summary: The Principality of Outer Baldonia started as a practical joke among friends on a fishing trip and it became a country. Posted by: Elliot Feldman Russell Arundel was an executive with the Pepsi-Cola Company. He was also a well-known eccentric. In 1948, he purchased the four-acre…
Principality of Sealand
Type: Country of an ambiguous legal status. Summary: Sealand, the world’s smallest country, started as a WWII British naval installation, turned into a pirate radio station, and finally its own “country.” Posted by: Elliot Feldman Sealand. Sealand is the world’s smallest country, a fortified pontoon barge standing on two cylindrical…
Prophecies of Mother Shipton
Mother Shipton’s house in YorkshireMother Shipton, also known as Ursula Sonthiel Shipton, was born in 1488 in Yorkshire, England, and lived until 1561. According to legend, her birth was the result of a union between her mother and the devil. When she was born, she was reportedly hideously ugly. This…
Retractable Capitol Dome
Type: Satire Mistaken as News Summary: A Beijing newspaper mistakenly reported that the U.S. Congress was demanding the installation of a retractable Capitol dome. On June 3, 2002, the Beijing Evening News scooped its competitors with a shocking story from America: the U.S. Congress was threatening to leave Washington DC…
San Serriffe
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoax. Summary: On April 1, 1977 the Guardian published a seven-page supplement devoted to the previously unknown island state of San Serriffe. Table of Contents The Creation of San Serriffe The Special Report San Serriffe Geography San Serriffe Culture San Serriffe Advertisements The Response The Sequel…
Shroud of Turin
Type: Forgery. Summary: An ancient piece of fabric is alleged to be the burial shroud of Christ. HOAX HAIKUThree-dimensional Image burnt onto old cloth. Jesus, is that you? (by AB) Submit a haiku The Shroud of Turin first came to the attention of the public in 1355 when it was…
Silence Dogood
Type: False Identity. Summary: Sixteen-year-old Benjamin Franklin pretended to be a middle-aged widow named Silence Dogood. View the Discussion Page for this topic. In 1722 a series of letters appeared in the New-England Courant written by a middle-aged widow named Silence Dogood. The letters poked fun at various aspects of…
Space Cadets
Type: Reality TV hoax. Summary: In 2005, the British television show “Space Cadets” pulled off the most expensive and elaborate hoax in English television history. Posted by: Elliot Feldman In 2005, all of Britain was talking about a new Channel 4 reality series, “Space Cadets.” The show’s alleged concept: twelve…
Stone Age Discoveries of Shinichi Fujimura
One of the ‘smoking gun’ photographs that showed Fujimura burying artifacts By the age of 50, Shinichi Fujimura had established himself as one of Japan’s leading archaeologists. However, his career began as a hobby. He was working at a manufacturing company as a young man in 1972 when he developed…
Stone Age Tasaday
Type: Anthropological Hoax. Summary: A primitive, stone-age tribe found living in a rain forest in the Philippines was later alleged to be an elaborate fake. Table of Contents The Tasaday As A Real Tribe The Tasaday As A Fake Tribe The Revenge of the Tasaday Making Sense of the Tasaday…
Stotham Massachusetts
Type: Hoax. Summary: A Massachusetts town, described as an example of an unspoiled New England village, turned out not to exist. Frontispiece to Ripley’s articleThe White Pine Monograph Series was a series of carefully researched, high quality brochures, paid for by Weyerhaeuser mills and edited by Russell Whitehead, that collected…
Subways Are For Sleeping
Advertisement for Subways Are For Sleeping that ran in the New York Herald-Tribune. In 1961 an advertisement appeared in the New York Herald-Tribune for a Broadway play titled “Subways Are For Sleeping.” The play had not been doing very well at the box office. Nevertheless, judging by the ad, it…
Swiss Spaghetti Harvest
Type: April Fool’s Day Hoax. Summary: In 1957 the British news show Panorama convinced many of its viewers that spaghetti grows on trees. The Swiss Spaghetti Harvest is listed at #1 in the Museum’s list of the Top 100 April Fool’s Day Hoaxes of All Time. SPAGHETTI HARVEST HAIKUThere’s nothing…
Theft of the Sacred Cod
Type: College Prank. Summary: In 1933 Harvard students “codnapped” the Sacred Cod of Massachusetts. The Sacred Cod of Massachusetts. Theft is one of the classic and most-often-used tools in the toolbox of college pranksters. All manner of prized items are regularly spirited away at campuses throughout the world: statues, bells,…
The Third Eye
Type: Phony Tibetan monk. Summary: The son of a British plumber claimed to be a lama from a wealthy Tibetan family. Tuesday Lobsang Rampa The Third Eye, published in 1956 and authored by Tuesday Lobsang Rampa, purported to be Rampa’s autobiographical tale of his study and mastery of Tibetan Buddhism.…
Traveling Stones of Pahranagat Valley
Type: Media Hoax. Summary: In 1867 Nevada journalist Dan De Quille described some stones with a curious property—whenever separated from each other they spontaneously moved back together. On October 26, 1867 a story appeared in Nevada’s Territorial Enterprise newspaper describing some unusual stones recently found in the Pahranagat Valley of…
Vilcabamba
Type: Anthropological Hoax. Summary: During the 1970s, the Ecuadorian town of Vilcabamba became famous because of the apparent longevity of its residents. The town’s small population appeared to include numerous people over the age of 100. Later researchers discovered that the town’s elderly residents were systematically exaggerating their ages. In…
Virginia City Camel Race
Type: Hoax that became real. Summary: Virginia City, Nevada hosts an annual camel race that began as a hoax. In 1959 Bob Richards, the editor of the Nevada-based Territorial Enterprise, announced that a camel race would be held that year down the main street of Virginia City. He challenged other…
Walt Disney Frozen
Type: Urban Legend. Summary: According to rumor, Walt Disney’s cryogenically preserved body is kept in a tank under Disneyland’s Pirates of the Caribbean ride. Posted by: Elliot Feldman Walt Disney Walt Disney died on December 15, 1966, but a rumor has long persisted that his body was cryogenically frozen and…
Wild Animal Hoax - Part 1
Type: Media Hoax. Summary: Complete text of the “wild animal hoax” published by the New York Herald in 1874. On November 9, 1874 the New York Herald published an article claiming that the animals had escaped from their cages in the New York zoo and were rampaging through the city.…
Wild Animal Hoax - Part 2
Type: Media Hoax. Summary: Continuation of the complete text of the “wild animal hoax” published by the New York Herald in 1874. (Continued from Wild Animal Hoax - Part 1.) On November 9, 1874 the New York Herald published an article claiming that the animals had escaped from their cages…