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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.
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.Prankplace.com
FUNNY T-SHIRTSBrowse our top quality t-shirts, and you are guaranteed to find one perfect for you, or to give as a funny gift to a friend or family member. Our shirts come in your choice of sizes, most are available in Medium, Large, XL, 2XL and 3XL.
REMOTE CONTROL FART MACHINEThe Brand New Fart Machine has “BoomBox” Technology, which allows more vibrant, natural sounding farts. Simply hide the little speaker, then from up to 100 feet away, press the included remote, and the hidden speaker lets out one of 15 disgusting fart sounds. Place under your co-workers desk, and let the laughter begin.
#3: Instant Color TV
In 1962 there was only one tv channel in Sweden, and it broadcast in black and white. The station's technical expert, Kjell Stensson, appeared on the news to announce that, thanks to a new technology, viewers could convert their existing sets to display color reception. All they had to do was pull a nylon stocking over their tv screen. Stensson proceeded to demonstrate the process. Thousands of people were taken in. Regular color broadcasts only commenced in Sweden on April 1, 1970.
Comments
Listed in chronological order. Newest comments at the end.
Page 2 of 4 pages < 1 2 3 4 >
st-st-st-stupid
Posted by d in nowhere on Mon Jun 21, 2004 at 03:03 PM
This is really pretty stupid I can't believe it that people actully felt for it. I guess people believe anything.
Posted by Script Doctor on Sun Jun 27, 2004 at 02:20 AM
Haha, I love this one! And i'm not surprised people fell for it. Remember, this was the early '60s - guess not many knew how a TV worked.
Posted by Jake on Sat Jul 10, 2004 at 05:10 PM
He he he... Just remember that in those days people ware much more naive and uneducated (uneducated in how machinery works) and believed what "experts" told them. Although you‰Ûªd think that people would realise that it should take more than a nylon stocking to get colour TV
Posted by UNDO_2000 in Sweden on Thu Jul 15, 2004 at 06:59 AM
Of course this couldn't work, because the sorce itself was black and white
Seriously, there's the "Moiree" effect, it really works if the nylon is properly stretched so it _almost_ matches the lines of the picture.
Posted by Seibert in Vienna on Mon Feb 28, 2005 at 05:57 AM
I remember those colored plastic sheets being advertised in the Sears Roebuck catalog.
I guess it worked OK for pictures of green grass and blue sky, but wasn't so lifelike for anything else. There was also a filter for a camera lens that had a similar effect. I'm not sure what the purpose of the camera filter was, since it would seem that you wouldn't need it with color film, and it wouldn't work with black & white film.
Another TV accessory, from about 10 or 15 years earlier, was a plastic magnifier you could stick over the whole TV screen (in those days, the TV sets were huge, but the screens were very small).
Posted by Big Gary C in Dallas, Texas on Mon Mar 28, 2005 at 04:21 PM
Daniel R: U're classic dude!!
I would most definitely be 1 of the dummies 2 fall 4 that...
Posted by Lichi in Cape Town RSA on Fri Apr 01, 2005 at 12:59 AM
Thank god for all tasty girls form Sweden tho!
What would we have done without em???!!!
Posted by Berry in York on Fri Apr 01, 2005 at 03:55 AM
Well, the thing is that this joke is not so hard to fall for. If you did not know it before,and I told you to put on one red-glassed and one green-glassed pair of pectacles and it would make you see 3d, you would'nt beleave me, right? I don't beleave that Stensson said that you would gain true-colour-tv from the nylon-sock, but a kind of 'colour-feeling' so to say, caused by the static electricity from the screen and the nylon fabric. And, swedes had a big 'if they say it on TV, it's true' -apprehension, since there only was one tv channel, and it had a big educative role with lots of documentarys and school-tv-programs.
Posted by MrMasse in Sweden on Sun Apr 03, 2005 at 09:25 AM
That is so hilarious!!
Posted by rachel sanchez in madisoville Texas on Mon Apr 04, 2005 at 05:28 AM
Dom kan bara vara så dumma i Swerige. Vi här har även Pirkka-tidningen som har massor av vinkkejä av hur man kan använda strumpbyxorna på olika sett. Ett färg-tv är bara ett kalpea aavistus av de besta användningsmetoder.
Posted by Pirkka-Pekka on Wed Apr 06, 2005 at 05:51 AM
Id sacrifice a nylon sock even if i didn't belive it, it _might_ work...:D
Posted by tim in sweden on Wed Apr 06, 2005 at 10:00 AM
Well, i actually think this joke has some simularity to commercials on TV's, i mena ,the guy showed how you did it and wow! there was colour! Same thing when ther is a commercial for a TV, which has a much better screen that your tv has, and they show something that looks so good! but , as a matter of fact, it is still your very own lousy TV that shows the possibilities of the new upgraded tv-screen
Posted by Jacob /swede on Sun May 15, 2005 at 12:51 PM
Also remember that the person explaining the procedure on TV was a famous technician in Swedish television, people believed him because he had gained trust with the swedish people. And as a previous poster said, this was the only TV-channel at the time and it was very educative.
If it's on TV, it's true.
Posted by Spiff on Sat May 21, 2005 at 08:41 AM
As everyone on this board knows by now, one thing is for sure, Sweden's "neighbors" can't spell =\
Posted by Mary on Mon Jun 27, 2005 at 11:41 AM
Well...it has got nothing to do with Swedes being stupid or not!
we mite not b fooled by this trick today but there r many things wich can fool us as well... (watch out anna)
Posted by Annie on Sat Dec 24, 2005 at 05:48 AM
Beautiful april fools!
It was possible back then when the masses were totally isolated in sweden - the media was totally controlled by the state. Think of this prank as something scary as well...
Posted by Jon in Sweden on Thu Mar 30, 2006 at 01:27 AM
Nice April Fool stories. Read more from our directory.
http://www.articles4free.com
Posted by Ibrahim Lodhi in United States on Thu Mar 30, 2006 at 06:15 AM
My mom actually fell for that, or at least she says she did, I wasn't around... =)
Posted by Malena in Sweden on Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 03:24 AM
I was just a kid at the time, but we have a picture in our family photo's of that plastic sheet that went over the front of the tv to give a blue sky and green grass. TRUE.
I like the other idea though. What better way to have a Swedish girl give up her stockings for you...?
Posted by leonard in anywhere USA on Fri Mar 31, 2006 at 08:07 AM
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