About the Museum of Hoaxes
The Museum of Hoaxes is dedicated to promoting knowledge about hoaxes. Click here for opening hours, etc. Browse through our archives for hundreds of articles about the most notorious deceptions throughout history, from the middle ages to the present.
Hoax Museum Archives
HOAX FORUM: recent posts
Blog Categories
Advertising -
Animals -
April Fools Day -
Art -
Birth/Babies -
Body Manipulation -
Books -
Business/Finance -
Celebrations -
Celebrities -
Con Artists -
Conspiracy Theories -
Crop Circles -
Cryptozoology -
Death -
eBay -
Email Hoaxes -
Entertainment -
Exploration/Travel -
Extraterrestrial Life -
Fashion -
Food -
Free Energy -
Future/Time -
Gnomes -
Gross -
Hate Crimes/Terror -
Health/Medicine -
History -
Identity/Imposters -
Journalism -
Law/Police/Crime -
Literature/Language -
Magic -
Mass Delusion -
Military -
Miscellaneous -
Music -
Nessie -
Paranormal -
Pareidolia -
Photos/Videos -
Places -
Politics -
Pranks -
Products -
Pseudoscience -
Psychology -
Radio -
Religion -
Scams -
Science -
Sex/Romance -
Social Networking Sites -
Sports -
Tall Tales -
Technology -
Urban Legends -
Videos -
Websites
Blog Archive
November, 2009 |
October, 2009 |
September, 2009 |
August, 2009 |
July, 2009 |
June, 2009 |
May, 2009 |
April, 2009 |
March, 2009 |
February, 2009 |
January, 2009 |
December, 2008 |
November, 2008 |
October, 2008 |
September, 2008 |
August, 2008 |
July, 2008 |
June, 2008 |
May, 2008 |
April, 2008 |
March, 2008 |
February, 2008 |
January, 2008 |
December, 2007 |
November, 2007 |
October, 2007 |
September, 2007 |
August, 2007 |
July, 2007 |
June, 2007 |
May, 2007 |
April, 2007 |
March, 2007 |
February, 2007 |
January, 2007 |
December, 2006 |
November, 2006 |
October, 2006 |
September, 2006 |
August, 2006 |
July, 2006 |
June, 2006 |
May, 2006 |
April, 2006 |
March, 2006 |
February, 2006 |
January, 2006 |
December, 2005 |
November, 2005 |
October, 2005 |
September, 2005 |
August, 2005 |
July, 2005 |
June, 2005 |
May, 2005 |
April, 2005 |
March, 2005 |
February, 2005 |
January, 2005 |
December, 2004 |
November, 2004 |
October, 2004 |
September, 2004 |
August, 2004 |
July, 2004 |
June, 2004 |
May, 2004 |
April, 2004 |
March, 2004 |
February, 2004 |
January, 2004 |
December, 2003 |
November, 2003 |
October, 2003 |
September, 2003 |
August, 2003 |
July, 2003 |
June, 2003 |
May, 2003 |
January, 2003 |
November, 2002 |
October, 2002 |
September, 2002 |
August, 2002 |
July, 2002 |
Old Forum
This page has been viewed 33603468 times.
Page rendered in 0.4050 seconds with 52 queries executed
This page has been viewed 33603468 times.
Page rendered in 0.4050 seconds with 52 queries executed
REMOTE CONTROL FART MACHINE
Embarrass your boss, friends, and family! Press the remote button and set off one of 15 different fart sounds!
THE TOILET MONSTER
As the unsuspecting victim goes to use the bathroom, they'll scream as they lift the lid and are greeted by the Toilet Monster!
Embarrass your boss, friends, and family! Press the remote button and set off one of 15 different fart sounds!
THE TOILET MONSTERAs the unsuspecting victim goes to use the bathroom, they'll scream as they lift the lid and are greeted by the Toilet Monster!
|
The Hoax Museum Blog
Examining dubious claims and mischief of all kinds.
RSS Feed | Recent Comments | Submit a Link
Examining dubious claims and mischief of all kinds.
RSS Feed | Recent Comments | Submit a Link
io9.com accuses The Fourth Kind of being an unsuccessful hoax
The new movie The Fourth Kind tries to blur reality in the same way that movies such as Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project have successfully done. But according to io9.com, The Fourth Kind doesn't manage to pull it off convincingly:Alien abduction flick The Fourth Kind bills itself as containing "actual footage" from case histories. But this footage is so poorly faked that it insults the audience's intelligence...
The movie stumbled out of the gate by hanging most of its fear power on a fundamental dishonesty. There is no "archival footage." There are no "actual case studies." Instead, we get badly-acted, blatantly fake documentary footage which fuzzes out whenever anything alien happens...
I'm not against fake documentaries. I loved Paranormal Activity, which was effective because the actors seemed so effortlessly real. Nothing felt stagey or artificial about that movie's "documentary" evidence.
What pushes Fourth Kind from the merely bad into the actually insulting was the filmmakers' insistence that the documentary evidence was real. Actors from the "documentary" portions of the movie are uncredited, and many media outlets are still reporting that the footage is real.
The movie stumbled out of the gate by hanging most of its fear power on a fundamental dishonesty. There is no "archival footage." There are no "actual case studies." Instead, we get badly-acted, blatantly fake documentary footage which fuzzes out whenever anything alien happens...
I'm not against fake documentaries. I loved Paranormal Activity, which was effective because the actors seemed so effortlessly real. Nothing felt stagey or artificial about that movie's "documentary" evidence.
What pushes Fourth Kind from the merely bad into the actually insulting was the filmmakers' insistence that the documentary evidence was real. Actors from the "documentary" portions of the movie are uncredited, and many media outlets are still reporting that the footage is real.
I'll probably see it anyway (on dvd). My standards for horror movies are pretty low.
(Thanks, Joe!)
Save On All Jackets!
Random banner ad. (via Reddit)
Psycho-Acoustic Beatles Simulations
BlueBeat music is being sued for illegally selling Beatles songs. Their defense: the songs are not Beatles songs, but rather "psycho-acoustic simulations."BlueBeat's lawyers claim that the Website is "entirely lawful and does not constitute piracy" and that the plaintiffs are not likely to succeed. Also, the plaintiffs are well aware that the defendants "developed a series of entirely new and original sounds that it allows the general public to purchase" and that "copyright protection does not extend to the independant fixation of sounds other than those contained in their copyrighted recordings."
Link: consumerist.com
(Thanks, Joe!)
Viagra Corporate Headquarters
Irena wrote to ask whether this photo was genuine.
I assume the title is a joke. (It isn't really the corporate headquarters of Viagra.) I'm also pretty sure the photo has been doctored, since some of those phallic bushes appear to be growing out of concrete.
Posted By: Alex | Date: Thu Nov 05, 2009 |
Permalink |
Comments (1)
Category: Photos/Videos, Sex/Romance
Category: Photos/Videos, Sex/Romance
FAKE TATTOO SLEEVESGet "inked" by night and still keep your day job with "tattoo sleeves". The tattoo is printed directly on stretchable fabric sleeves fabric which is a machine washable nylon. They come in pairs; wear one or both.
Divining Rods for Bombs
Despite major bombings that have rattled the nation, and fears of rising violence as American troops withdraw, Iraq’s security forces have been relying on a device to detect bombs and weapons that the United States military and technical experts say is useless.
The small hand-held wand, with a telescopic antenna on a swivel, is being used at hundreds of checkpoints in Iraq. But the device works “on the same principle as a Ouija board” — the power of suggestion — said a retired United States Air Force officer, Lt. Col. Hal Bidlack, who described the wand as nothing more than an explosives divining rod. Still, the Iraqi government has purchased more than 1,500 of the devices, known as the ADE 651, at costs from $16,500 to $60,000 each.
Link: NY TimesThe small hand-held wand, with a telescopic antenna on a swivel, is being used at hundreds of checkpoints in Iraq. But the device works “on the same principle as a Ouija board” — the power of suggestion — said a retired United States Air Force officer, Lt. Col. Hal Bidlack, who described the wand as nothing more than an explosives divining rod. Still, the Iraqi government has purchased more than 1,500 of the devices, known as the ADE 651, at costs from $16,500 to $60,000 each.
The high price is probably part of the marketing psychology that helps sell these things. Buyers figure that, at that price, they must work.
(Thanks, Bob!)
Mr. Man on the Street Strikes Again
I wrote about Greg Packer, aka the phony Man on the Street, in Hippo Eats Dwarf:In 2003, media critics noticed that the same man kept popping up time after time in “man on the street” interviews. Greg Packer, a highway maintenance worker from upstate New York, was quoted by The New York Times, the New York Daily News, the Los Angeles Times, the New York Post, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the London Times, and other publications. He also appeared on CNN, MSNBC, and Fox. But he was always described as nobody special, just a random person.
Apparently Packer is still going strong. The Philadelphia Daily News admits that they were the latest paper to fall for his act.
(Thanks, Bob!)
Posted By: Alex | Date: Wed Nov 04, 2009 |
Permalink |
Comments (1)
Category: Identity/Imposters, Journalism
Category: Identity/Imposters, Journalism
Reverse Counterfeiting: The Case of the Gold Penny
Most counterfeiting takes something that is nearly worthless and turns it into something perceived to have value. Mr. Daws did just the opposite. He took value — approximately $100 worth of gold — and turned it into something perceived as nearly worthless, one cent. “It’s there, but if people don’t realize it, it’s the same as not being there,” he said. Of the 11 copper-plated gold pennies he made as part of his series, only this one was sent into the wider world...
Late this summer, when Ms. Reed was paying for groceries at the C-Town supermarket in Greenpoint, she noticed the penny because the gold color had started to peek through.
Link: NY TimesLate this summer, when Ms. Reed was paying for groceries at the C-Town supermarket in Greenpoint, she noticed the penny because the gold color had started to peek through.
I'm going to start checking any pennies I get more closely!
Mischief Night
I'd never heard of Mischief Night before, but then it seems to be local to northern England. From the BBC:Depending on where you live, it lands sometime around Halloween and Bonfire Night. And opinions vary on whether it is a chance for harmless fun or an excuse for anti-social behaviour.
Like many native traditions, its exact origins are unknown, but Mischief Night is thought to date from the 1700s when a custom of Lawless Hours or Days prevailed in Britain...
Since the 1950s, Mischief Night appears to have died out in all areas of the UK except northern England, and it is not at all clear why.
What is known is that it was exported to the United States, and recently re-imported as trick or treat, now popular across the UK.
Like many native traditions, its exact origins are unknown, but Mischief Night is thought to date from the 1700s when a custom of Lawless Hours or Days prevailed in Britain...
Since the 1950s, Mischief Night appears to have died out in all areas of the UK except northern England, and it is not at all clear why.
What is known is that it was exported to the United States, and recently re-imported as trick or treat, now popular across the UK.