At 9 am on November 10, 1810, a coal delivery man knocked on the door of Mrs. Tottenham, who lived at 10 Berners Street in London. He had a delivery of coal for her. She told him she hadn't delivered any coal, and he went away.

Mrs. Tottenham thought nothing of the incident, but soon after a bread delivery man knocked on her door. She sent him away too, but he was followed by delivery men bearing almost everything imaginable: furniture, musical instruments, flowers, fish, fresh vegetables, a wedding cake, and even tanks of lager piled high on a brewer’s dray. Tradesmen also showed up at her door: chimney sweeps, physicians, dentists, wig-makers, gardeners, housemaids, and undertakers.

Dignitaries then began to arrive. The Governor of the Bank of England showed up, searching for the widow who had written him of her intent to settle a sizeable endowment on the Bank. The Archbishop of Canterbury was close behind, followed by prominent businessmen, cabinet ministers, Dukes, and finally the Lord Mayor of London.

By midday, so many were people were crowded into the narrow street in front of her house that it was hard even to move. Mrs. Tottenham had no idea what to make of it all. Somehow a cart was knocked over, fighting broke out, and a near riot ensued. It was well past dark by the time the crowd began to thin out.

When the dust had all settled, two men emerged from a neighboring house, shook hands, and exchanged a guinea. The two men were Theodore Hook, a writer of popular comic operas, and his friend Samuel Beazley. Hook had bet Beazley a guinea that he could transform any house in London into the most talked about address in the city within a week. To win the bet Hook wrote hundreds of letters directing all the tradesmen, delivery men, and dignitaries in London to visit 10 Berners Street. Although Hook eventually confessed to being the mastermind behind the hoax, he never faced any punishment for it.