San Serriffe, 1977 British newspaper offered travel guide to idyllic, semi-colon-shaped islands	The Loch Ness Muppet, 1977 Suspiciously clear picture of creature in Loch Ness	Vilcabamba: the town of very old people, 1978 — A town in which age exaggeration was rampant
The Death of Alan Abel, 1980 Professional hoaxer reported his own death	Rosie Ruiz Wins the Boston Marathon, 1980 — Sweat-free runner's victory immediately questioned	Janet Cooke and Jimmy’s World, 1980 — Reporter's Pulitzer-Prize-winning stories exposed as partially fictional
Casablanca Rejected, 1982 Hollywood agents rejected Casablanca script when submitted with different title	The Hitler Diaries, 1983 Multi-volume Hitler diaries exposed as massive and costly fraud	Jane Somers (aka Doris Lessing), 1983 — Famous author conducted pseudonymous experiment
The Neiman Marcus Cookie Recipe — Popular outrage over rumor that upscale store was swindling customers	FAINT, 1985 Epidemic of fainting guests struck talk show	Sidd Finch, 1985 Mets fans excited by report of remarkable new pitcher joining their team
The Attack of Captain Midnight, 1986 — Hacker caused interruption of HBO broadcast	The Dayton Hudson Hoax, 1987 — Bizarre buyout offer caused company's stock price to fluctuate wildly	The Great Potato Play, 1987 Unorthodox pitch earned place in baseball history
The Tawana Brawley Case, 1987 — Brutal crime shocked community, but then suspicions grew	Billy Tipton, 1989 Famous jazz musician revealed at death to be a woman

All text Copyright © 2011 by Alex Boese, except where otherwise indicated. All rights reserved.