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
January, 2010 |
December, 2009 |
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 34373186 times.
Page rendered in 0.5025 seconds with 41 queries executed
This page has been viewed 34373186 times.
Page rendered in 0.5025 seconds with 41 queries executed
|
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
Boy suspended from school for drawing Jesus
Outrageous! A young boy was suspended from school for drawing a picture of Jesus on the cross! Let's all get worked up about this.Oh, wait a second. Turns out the story was mostly b.s. cooked up by the boy's father. The boy wasn't suspended, though a teacher did order a psychological evaluation of the boy: "She said the drawing was seen as a potential cry for help when the student identified himself, rather than Jesus, on the cross, which prompted the teacher to alert the school’s principal and staff psychologist. As a result, the boy underwent a psychological evaluation."
Link: boston.com (Thanks, Bob!)
Fake Gospel of St. Mark
A version of the Gospel of St. Mark, once thought to date from the Byzantine era, has now been determined to be a late-19th-century fake. From the Chicago Sun Times:The manuscript, written in Greek, originally was believed to have been written as early as the 14th century. But strong suspicions that it might not be nearly so old surfaced in 1989, after it was discovered that a blue pigment on one of the pages wasn't available until 1704, Mitchell said.
It took carbon dating, advanced microscope technology and good sleuthing to discover the faker's crafty handiwork.
Through analysis of parchment, ink and paints used in the book, Joseph Barabe, a senior research microscopist at Westmont-based McCrone Associates, determined the book was created after 1874 using materials not available until the late 19th Century.
It took carbon dating, advanced microscope technology and good sleuthing to discover the faker's crafty handiwork.
Through analysis of parchment, ink and paints used in the book, Joseph Barabe, a senior research microscopist at Westmont-based McCrone Associates, determined the book was created after 1874 using materials not available until the late 19th Century.
More support for Jean Hardouin's Theory of Universal Forgery.
Twiggy ad ruled misleading
The UK Advertising Standards Authority has ruled that an advertisement featuring Twiggy is misleading. The ad has Twiggy claiming that "Olay is my secret to brighter-looking eyes." In fact, the brightness of her eyes in the photo is due to digital manipulation. Link: sky.com |  |
| Real Twiggy | Fake Twiggy |
Posted By: Alex | Date: Wed Dec 16, 2009 |
Permalink |
Comments (6)
Category: Advertising, Photos/Videos
Category: Advertising, Photos/Videos
Steorn: perpetually in the news
Irish company Steorn is back in the news with their perpetual motion machine. Having had their claims dismissed by a jury of scientists earlier this year, they're now appealing directly to the public by staging a demonstration of their machine in Dublin. I still can't figure out if these guys really think they've developed a new, revolutionary technology, or if it's all a cynical publicity ploy.
Links: herald.ie, steorn.com/orbo
Related entries:
- Official verdict: Steorn didn't develop free energy technology (06/30/09)
- Perpetual motion machine introduction delayed (07/05/07)
- Steorn Develops Free Energy Technology (08/19/06)
Posted By: Alex | Date: Wed Dec 16, 2009 |
Permalink |
Comments (8)
Category: Free Energy, Technology
Category: Free Energy, Technology
The Yes Men Strike Again
Through a series of fake press releases and websites, the Yes Men briefly made it appear as if Canada had pledged to reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions by 40%. From the Globe and Mail: Canada's "Agenda 2020" set a goal of a 40-per-cent reduction in emissions from 1990 levels by 2020. It was a dramatic change from the current goal of 3 per cent. It also created a new fund, for which Canada pledged a whopping $13-billion next year, to help developing nations deal with climate change.
"We believe all people will benefit from an equitable climate deal that truly energizes the world economy," read a quote attributed to Mr. Prentice.
The news lit up the Bella Center, the vast Copenhagen convention hall where the climate-change negotiations are taking place. A story popped up on an apparent European affiliate of The Wall Street Journal. In a video on what looked to be a UN site, a Ugandan official congratulated Canada for its change of direction after "holding a loaded gun to our heads."
Soon after, "Canada" renounced the announcement, saying it was a fake. Though this second statement was correct in identifying the first so-called announcement as false, it too was a fake. As were the apparent WSJ article, Twitter account and the UN video.
Lost yet?
The hoax was an elaborate series of fake statements and articles meant to draw attention to Canada's lagging emissions-reduction targets. It left Prime Minister Stephen Harper's staff scrambling to set the record straight.
"We believe all people will benefit from an equitable climate deal that truly energizes the world economy," read a quote attributed to Mr. Prentice.
The news lit up the Bella Center, the vast Copenhagen convention hall where the climate-change negotiations are taking place. A story popped up on an apparent European affiliate of The Wall Street Journal. In a video on what looked to be a UN site, a Ugandan official congratulated Canada for its change of direction after "holding a loaded gun to our heads."
Soon after, "Canada" renounced the announcement, saying it was a fake. Though this second statement was correct in identifying the first so-called announcement as false, it too was a fake. As were the apparent WSJ article, Twitter account and the UN video.
Lost yet?
The hoax was an elaborate series of fake statements and articles meant to draw attention to Canada's lagging emissions-reduction targets. It left Prime Minister Stephen Harper's staff scrambling to set the record straight.
More details at gawker.com. (Thanks, Joe!)
GOP URL Shortener put to unintended use
Yesterday the GOP debuted its own URL shortener. Wired.com describes the results:Almost immediately after it launched yesterday, pranksters began using the service to link to controversial or ironically-intended websites such as the official site of the American Communist Party, a bondage website and a webpage advertising a sex toy in the likeness of Barack Obama. GOP.am started blocking such links apparently at some point Tuesday morning, and the GOP.am homepage is now offline.
Possibly the first branded URL shortener (Google also launched its own URL shortener yesterday afternoon), GOP.am was designed by the R.N.C.’s new media consultants, Political Media, to work somewhat like bit.ly in that it shortens URLs so that they can be more easily exchanged via short messaging services like Twitter.
But unlike bit.ly, GOP.am includes a toolbar at the top of the screen that follows the user as they click through to see whatever page the link goes to, and an animation of Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele walking around on the lower right as if he’s showing off the website — particularly awkward when that website is the alt.com bondage site.
Possibly the first branded URL shortener (Google also launched its own URL shortener yesterday afternoon), GOP.am was designed by the R.N.C.’s new media consultants, Political Media, to work somewhat like bit.ly in that it shortens URLs so that they can be more easily exchanged via short messaging services like Twitter.
But unlike bit.ly, GOP.am includes a toolbar at the top of the screen that follows the user as they click through to see whatever page the link goes to, and an animation of Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele walking around on the lower right as if he’s showing off the website — particularly awkward when that website is the alt.com bondage site.
How could they not have foreseen this would be the result if they created a URL shortener that made it look as if the GOP was endorsing any link a user entered?
Posted By: Alex | Date: Tue Dec 15, 2009 |
Permalink |
Comments (1)
Category: Websites, Politics, Pranks
Category: Websites, Politics, Pranks
Wanted: Lap Dance Researcher
A help wanted notice recently appeared on the website of the University of Leeds for a research officer whose job would be to research "The rise and regulation of lap dancing and the place of sexual labour and consumption in the night time economy."Sounds like a hard job. But is it real? Gill, who sent me the link, writes, "It LOOKS like a hoax, it SMELLS like a hoax, but....?"
I don't think it's a hoax. It's legitimately on the University of Leeds site, and sociologists definitely study the sex industry. Anyway, anyone who was thinking of applying is too late. The deadline was November 27.
Misdiagnosed coma patient—is he really that coherent?
The Belgian man believed to be in a coma for 23 years, but recently found to be conscious, has been big news for the past few days. But now problems are emerging with the story. No one doubts that he's sentient, since MRI scans have confirmed this. But his ability to communicate is being questioned. Skeptics are questioning whether the statements attributed to him really are his, or do they come from his "facilitator" (a woman who holds his hand to help him type on a keyboard)? Doctors are also questioning how someone could be so profoundly isolated for so long, and yet still be so sane and coherent. From Wired.com:“If facilitated communication is part of this, and it appears to be, then I don’t trust it,” said Arthur Caplan, director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Bioethics. “I’m not saying the whole thing is a hoax, but somebody ought to be checking this in greater detail. Any time facilitated communication of any sort is involved, red flags fly.”
There's also an ongoing discussion of the case in the hoax forum.