About the Museum
The Museum of Hoaxes is dedicated to promoting knowledge about hoaxes. (Click here for opening hours, etc.) On our blog we post about dubious- sounding claims, and whatever else strikes our fancy. The site is also home to the Hoaxipedia (the museum's online encyclopedia of hoaxes), and the Hoax Forum.

The museum was created in 1997 by Alex Boese. He's assisted by a staff of deputy curators and docents. Alex is the author of three books, most recently Elephants on Acid: And Other Bizarre Experiments (which has nothing to do with hoaxes). Check out the list of the Top 20 Most Bizarre Experiments of All Time for a preview.



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#44: Tasmanian Mock Walrus
In 1984 the Orlando Sentinel featured a story about a creature known as the Tasmanian Mock Walrus (or TMW for short) that many people in Florida were adopting as a pet. The creature was only four inches long, resembled a walrus, purred like a cat, and had the temperament of a hamster. What made it such an ideal pet was that it never had to be bathed, it used a litter box, and it ate cockroaches. In fact, a single TMW could entirely rid a house of its cockroach problem. Reportedly, some TMWs had been smuggled in from Tasmania, and there were efforts being made to breed them, but the local pest-control industry was pressuring the government not to allow them into the country, fearing they would put cockroach exterminators out of business. Dozens of people called the paper trying to find out where they could obtain their own TMW. A picture of the Tasmanian Mock Walrus was included with the article, but what the picture actually showed was a real creature—the Naked Mole Rat. The Tasmanian Mock Walrus was entirely fictitious.

Comments
Listed in chronological order. Newest comments at the end.
Page 1 of 1 pages
It could rid an entire house of cockroaches? Move over armadillos!
Posted by Rod  in  the land of smarties.  on  Tue Mar 22, 2005  at  05:29 PM
this is a good joke!
(What is with the naked mole rats? First the Hotheaded Ice Borer, and now this...)
Posted by Aithne  on  Thu May 12, 2005  at  07:48 PM
The naked mole rat is a real animal as far as I know. If only the TMW were real...the end to roaches would be near and the world would be a better place! grin
Posted by Nikki  on  Wed Mar 29, 2006  at  09:33 AM
Cockroaches are a rarity in Tasmania- most people have never seen one in a house. Not much to eat for a TMW down here!
Posted by Daz  in  Tasmania  on  Tue Oct 24, 2006  at  07:51 PM
Where can I get one of these!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Man I wish that these were real

p.s. In some country some where (Mexico I think) they eat cockroaches (cooked ones)!!!!!!!
Posted by Da king  in  My land  on  Fri Mar 30, 2007  at  07:58 PM
If you published an article about Naked Mole Rats, people would assume it's an April Fools Joke. From WIkipedia:

...Naked mole rats have a complex social structure in which only one female (the queen) and one to three males reproduce, while the rest of the members of the colony function as workers. As in certain bee species, the workers are divided along a continuum of different worker-caste behaviors instead of discrete groups...

...This eusocial organisation social structure, similar to that found in ants, termites, and some bees and wasps, is very rare among mammals...

...when naked mole rats are cut, scraped or burned, they feel no pain...
Posted by HeyThereItsEric  on  Sat Mar 31, 2007  at  07:44 PM
Ironically, Orlando is now one of the better places to view Naked Mole Rats (NMRs to those in "the know"). Disney's Animal Kingdom has a colony in a very informative display. They're like cuddly ants, but with pointy teeth.
Posted by HeyThereItsEric  on  Sat Mar 31, 2007  at  08:10 PM
Wow. I really, really, really wish they were real. Walruses are my favorite animal!
Posted by Kento  in  Oregon  on  Sun Apr 01, 2007  at  01:28 PM
Walruses rock! I wish these things were real...
=D
Posted by Lucy  in  the USA  on  Sun Apr 01, 2007  at  05:58 PM
you can edit wikipedia pages whenever you want, so its a horrible source
Posted by wikipedia sucks  on  Sun Apr 01, 2007  at  06:14 PM
So wait a second, what the hell is that thing running around my house I bought back in '84?
Posted by Henry  in  Florida  on  Mon Apr 02, 2007  at  09:48 AM
those things are WICKED AWESOME! wish i had one...
too bad they aren't real. But my dog would eat it, so...:(
Posted by stringbassgirl  in  this galaxy, the world  on  Mon Apr 02, 2007  at  02:48 PM
oops my mistake, Mexican don't eat cockroaches, instead I think it is crickets!
Posted by Da' King  in  My Land  on  Fri Apr 27, 2007  at  01:53 PM
There is also a colony of naked mole rats to view at the San Diego Zoo, in the children's zoo section.
Posted by Katrina  in  Eugene, OR  on  Mon Oct 29, 2007  at  02:28 PM
This is one of the funniest stories I've read. Bravo to it's author!
Posted by Sandralah  in  Los Angeles  on  Fri Nov 02, 2007  at  05:07 PM
Just like the house hippo's totally cute and idealistic but also totally fictional. Shame really!
Posted by Genasai  on  Wed Dec 05, 2007  at  09:35 PM
Page 1 of 1 pages

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