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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…
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…
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…
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…
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:…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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 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…
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…
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…
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.…
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There are 2 subcategories for this categoryArticles in category "Location -> United Kingdom":
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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…
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…
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…
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…
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:…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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 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…
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…
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…
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.…