In its April 1995 issue Discover Magazine announced that the highly respected wildlife biologist Dr. Aprile Pazzo had discovered a new species in Antarctica: the hotheaded naked ice borer. These fascinating creatures had bony plates on their heads that, fed by numerous blood vessels, could become burning hot, allowing the animals to bore through ice at high speeds. They used this ability to hunt penguins, melting the ice beneath the penguins and causing them to sink downwards into the resulting slush where the hotheads consumed them. After much research, Dr. Pazzo theorized that the hotheads might have been responsible for the mysterious disappearance of noted Antarctic explorer Philippe Poisson in 1837. "To the ice borers, he would have looked like a penguin," the article quoted her as saying. Discover received more mail in response to this article than they had received for any other article in their history.
Comments
Listed in chronological order. Newest comments at the end.

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My science teacher read this article to our class when it was published as fact! Then upon futher inquiry he realized that it was a hoax, and our class had a good laugh about it. I hope you're well Mr. T. (his nickname)
Posted by jesse hazelip  in  LA  on  Thu Apr 07, 2005  at  01:19 AM

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hahaha!! id like to meet one of those...lol
Posted by allie jr.  on  Thu Apr 07, 2005  at  05:26 AM

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The bigon is fake? That would explain why I've never been able to find anything about it from other sources.

I wasn't getting "Discover" in April 1995 but I read about the hotheaded naked ice-borers in "The Unofficial X-Files Companion." I had no idea it was a hoax until I visited this site today. Seriously, that "X-Files" book contains many grievous errors; don't take anything printed in it as fact (including information about the show) unless another source says the same thing.
Posted by Lee Sherman  on  Thu Jul 07, 2005  at  11:44 PM

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I AM a naked ice borer, and I resent greatly being told that I am ficticious. You're just jealous because I'm better looking than you, you disgusting smelly great hairless apes! Aaah, for a taste of fresh penguin blood...I think I'll do a little boring...

But before I go:

Danny Devito did not do my favourite snack any justice. In fact, it makes me a bit upset to my naked hairless stomach every time I even think about that movie...

Also, btw, we don't just eat penguins. We travel from one ice flow to the next by using a rope made from sea weed, attaching it to a group of penguins, hitching it around our waists, and getting them to fly to the next ice flow. Then, often, we eat them.

It's amazing how long they've kept their flying secret from people...

My second cousin is actually married to one (a penguin, not, for God's sake, a great hairless ape!). There is more and more inter-breeding these days, which doesn't do either species any great service, imho. This is how, in case you didnt know, sharpeis are made...
Posted by NIB  on  Tue Jul 12, 2005  at  03:04 PM

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This is a very interesting situation for me. I was given as assignment for school and i had to compare and contrast 2 articles for my biology class and this was one of the articles. I researched it a little bit further and found it was fake...who would have thought...lol. Thanks for letting me know because i got extra credit on this assignment
Posted by chris  in  waterbury connecticut  on  Wed Aug 31, 2005  at  01:53 PM

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haha that is funny.. people can be so stupid i cant beleive that some didnt realies that all boars are naked, not just hotheaded ice boorers. what idiots!!! i do feel sorry for Philippe Poisson's family though.
Posted by hailey  in  sydney australia  on  Fri Oct 28, 2005  at  10:39 PM

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i dont think that is real i think you just copied a picture of it because it looks like you just copied a picture of it it just looks so and i dare you to it
Posted by kattelin  in  37040  on  Wed Mar 29, 2006  at  06:32 PM

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I was taken in by this one.
High school science teacher set me straight.
The ice weasels will come for you too.
Posted by C-olin  in  Canada  on  Sun Apr 02, 2006  at  03:34 AM

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Well, I think it's pretty funny anyways.
It's nice that I could read this in foreign countries, too.
I'm Korean and I just came in to gather some information for April Fool's Day. Thanks for the information!
Posted by Diane  on  Sun Apr 02, 2006  at  04:10 AM

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Well, Well....I was really duped by this one!! My son got a Friday homework assignment for extra credit and seeing that he REALLY needed the extra credit, we were going to do this report and make it really count!! Needless to say we spent a whole afternoon at the library and quite a bit of money on poster board and such to make this the best report ever!!! My son told me all about this animal and I was amazed that God could create such a thing...but as I know people...I was not surprised.

Anyway about 3/4's of the way through our searching my son comes up with the website that shows us its a big hoax!! And to think that I wa thinking that we made it through another April 1st without any pranks!!

HA HA on us!......However my son did get the extra credit! : )
Posted by Mags  in  Arizona  on  Tue Apr 04, 2006  at  12:06 PM

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My girlfriend, Alice, showed me an article about these, and there was a hideous photo of the hotheads--different than the one here. We were both taken in! Remeber talking about how mysterious nature is...Does anybody have any more photos?
Posted by George  on  Thu Apr 06, 2006  at  11:41 AM

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The Joke is very funny, but in fact there are realy some animals who live in the ice. There are example the Ice worms (not as big as in the April fools but...) to finde out more http://www.nichols.edu/departments/glacier/iceworm.htm or do your own google..
Posted by Fire_Shark  in  US  on  Fri Apr 07, 2006  at  10:51 AM

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i remember reading this story! i thought: "this has to be a joke!" today, all these years later: THANKS!
Posted by kc  in  usa  on  Sat May 06, 2006  at  09:02 AM

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I am so GLAD that I was not the only person fooled by the ice boarer hoax! Like one of the other commenters, I believe there are so many wondrous undiscovered things out there...
Posted by AmanitaEater  on  Thu Sep 28, 2006  at  12:11 PM

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I was not only taken in, but I spent YEARS telling everyone about it. It was my all time favorite animal. When after about five years I discovered I had been tricked by a magazine who I trusted with scientific info, it guaranteed that I would never again buy their magazine.
Posted by Marc  in  Indiana  on  Wed Nov 15, 2006  at  04:20 PM

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I was totally taken in by this one. I believed it for years I am embarrased to say. I used to show everyone that issue of Discover thinking the world needed to know about the naked hot headed ice borers. It was only years and years later when I was reading a similar list of april fools jokes that I learned the truth. That was quite an embarrassing moment.
Posted by Bob  in  NJ  on  Fri Mar 30, 2007  at  07:21 PM

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I remember totally being taken in by this one. It was just a small article, but it seemed to have huge ramifications. A small mammal, in Antarctica, capable of melting ice, and eating not only penguins, but humans???!!!! I was dumbfounded, amazed, and wasn't until the next issue when they revealed the hoax able to contain my excitement and stop telling my friends about the "scourge of Antarctica".
Posted by Joel  in  florida  on  Sat Mar 31, 2007  at  08:48 PM

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The article mentions Antarctic explorer "Dr. Philippe Poisson?"

"poisson d'avril" = "April Fool" in French
Posted by SoberG  in  California  on  Sun Apr 01, 2007  at  02:37 PM

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I WANT ONE. IT CAN LIVE IN MY FREEZER. I WILL HUG HIM AND SQUEEZE HIM AND CALL HIM GEORGE.
Posted by David  in  USA  on  Fri May 04, 2007  at  06:56 PM

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I remember this issue. I was taken in until I noticed the date of the magazine. I remember being very disappointed in them for being a science magazine and pulling this, and myself for believing it for even a few minutes. I mean c'mon imagine the calories it would need [removed]void(0);
LOL
Posted by Bernie  in  Indianna  on  Tue May 22, 2007  at  08:07 PM

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