Hoax Museum Blog: Extraterrestrial Life

Operation EMU —
Status: Parody
imageOperationEMU.com offers up "Statements, theories and artifacts related to the alleged 1974 NASA experiment during which an entire Hollywood film crew, contracted by the government, disappeared in a remote section of Nevada." This seems to be the jist of what the site alleges happened: The Hollywood film crew was there to help stage a training exercise for the NASA-led Operation EMU (which stands for Operation Experimental Mitigated Universe). Operation EMU itself was some kind of NASA project to prepare for alien contact. And somehow a group of Meemaw Indians performing a solstice ritual were involved in this.

Sound a little bizarre? I think that's the intention. The site was created by B. Brandon Barker to promote his novel, for which he's shopping for a publisher. (The article about him in the Baltimore Sun should definitely help his chances with that.) Barker says that he designed his novel to be a parody of "pretentious sci-fi films like 2001: A Space Odyssey and the cult of alien-life true believers" (Hey, I like 2001: A Space Odyssey!). The strange thing is that although Barker's plot is pure fiction, some people now believe elements of it to be real. At least, according to the Baltimore Sun:
Some apparently think Operation EMU is for real. "It seems only logical that there are cover ups of major proportions that aren't discovered," forum member Robyn Zimmerman of Michigan writes in response to an e-mail query. Forum member John Nesbit, a 52-year-old crawfish farmer in Martinsville, La., used to be an Air Force mechanic and was stationed at Nellis in the early 1970s. He claims to have first-hand knowledge of Operation EMU. "I get less dubious the older I get," says Nesbit. "I did know about Operation EMU, but it was a NASA training thing. That's what we were told. Only much later did it come out that it was broader than that, that they were training the military to fight aliens. ... The film crew thing, that's documented."
Shades of Alternative Three there. If you create a hoax about a government cover-up, some people will inevitably insist that revealing it as a hoax is part of the cover-up.
Posted: Thu Jun 22, 2006.   Comments (7)

Alien Head Inside A Duck —
Status: a real x-ray (showing what looks like an alien head to me)
image It seems like it's been a while since there's been anything really unusual or novel offered on eBay, which is why this auction for an alien head inside a duck is a bit of a relief. At last, something new. (To be a bit more specific, what you get if you win the auction is an x-ray of an alien head inside a duck, not an actual alien head, nor a duck.) From the description of the item:

On Sunday, May 21st, an adult male mallard was brought to the International Bird Rescue Research Center (IBRRC), with what appeared to be a broken wing. Since 1971, the IBRRC has been rescuing birds from the devastating effects of oil spills around the world. Marie Travers, assistant manager of the center, radiographed the mallard and was immediately shocked by what was revealed on the x-ray. A very clear image of what appeared to be the face, or head, of an extraterrestrial alien was in the bird's stomach.

Bidding has already reached $3,450.00, and there's a couple of days left before the auction ends. I can't imagine Golden Palace will want to pass this up.

Posted: Mon May 29, 2006.   Comments (19)

Alien Autopsy Creator Revealed —
Status: News about a hoax
image Sculptor John Humphreys has confessed to being the guy who created the alien that appeared in the infamous "alien autopsy" video. Remember that journalistic gem... how the camera would inexplicably go out of focus every time it neared the obviously rubber body? The Manchester Evening News reports:

Until now, he says, he has kept secret his most well-known work - footage of an alleged post mortem of an alien which, some say, crashed to Earth in Roswell in the United States in 1947. For years sceptics have claimed it was a hoax, but John has stayed quiet - saying he was sworn to secrecy. But with the release of sci-fi comedy Alien Autopsy, which features Ant and Dec and which is based loosely on the Roswell film, John says he has decided to reveal his role in the making of the 1996 film.

I thought the alien autopsy video dated back to 1995, not 1996. Specifically, it aired on the Fox network on August 28, 1995. But whatever the case may be, John Humphreys certainly seems to have possessed the skills necessary to make the fake alien, which would make his confession a credible one.

However, although I've never researched the Alien Autopsy hoax in great detail, from what I recall there were two autopsy films, the first one shot in a tent, and the second (more famous one) shot in an operating room. I assume Humphreys is confessing to creating the model used in the operating room footage. A guy named Ray Santilli is also frequently mentioned as the producer of the footage. So was Humphreys hired by Santilli? The article sheds no light on this.

Update: I see that the Wikipedia entry for Ray Santilli mentions Humphreys as the sculptor he hired. So evidently Humphreys involvement in the hoax was already widely known, or at least rumored, before his current confession.
Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2006.   Comments (15)

Alien Baby Found In Attic —
Status: Undetermined
image The Guardian reports that screenwriter Barney Broom has discovered a baby alien in his attic, "stored in an old toffee jar wrapped in a copy of the Daily Mirror dating from October 1947." The alien (or rather, model of an alien) resembles the aliens depicted in the alien autopsy movies and appears to be sculpted out of clay. It has a serial number on its foot. Speculation has commenced about what this alien baby might be. Was it something created by the US airforce back in 1947? Broom does live close to some US bases, so maybe a US servicemen renting the cottage left the model up in the attic by accident. Or is it a film prop from the 1960s? Or is it a recently created hoax?

Whatever it turns out to be, the case bears a striking similarity to the discovery of a pickled dragon in an Oxfordshire garage that occurred back in early 2004. The dragon turned out to be of recent manufacture, and its discovery was a stunt to help promote an author's book. Given that we're once again dealing with a writer discovering a mysterious pickled creature, the question to ask is, Does Barney Broom have a book coming out soon, and does it have anything to do with extraterrestrials?

Update: The BBC also has an article about the alien baby, with more pictures of it, including a close-up of the serial number on its foot. They note that the Pentagon is dismissing the model as a hoax. I also find it interesting that the first thing Barney Broom did with the model was take it to the Sci-Fi Channel. In my mind, this increases the likelihood that it's a hoax.

Update 2: image Captain DaFt has sent in a picture of his alien lamp, which, I suppose, bears a vague resemblance to the alien in the attic, in the sense that it's also a small alien preserved in liquid. He writes: "Here's the picture of my alien lamp I promised in response to the "Alien found in attic" story. Unfortunately; Spencer's doesn't seem to sell them anymore. (Nor the dinosaur fetus lamps either.)"
Personally, I would definitely pay good money to own a dinosaur fetus lamp.
Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2006.   Comments (19)


Ice Giant Found in Siberia —
Status: Hoax (part of a viral marketing campaign)
image Russian geologist Arkady Simkin claims to have participated in an oil-surveying expedition to Northern Siberia that found an enormous, skyscraper-size creature buried in the ice. He gives the following description of the creature (which he refers to as Taurus Major) on his website: The animal appears to be a huge quadruped with horns much like a bull. In fact it looks to be a hybrid of a bull, woolly mammoth and a rhino – if such a thing existed. But its size is truly colossal. The horns are immense in dimension and protrude from the head with incredible length. The body is covered with a combination of coarse fur and what can best be described as ‘body armor’ (like an American armadillo) – protects its enormous joints and head.

What makes Simkin's site interesting (and I'm referring to Simkin as a real person, though I doubt he is) is the movie and radio interview that he's posted on the site. The movie is pretty impressive and indicates that someone spent some money to produce it. The radio interview, by contrast, is fun to listen to, but is obviously scripted.

I'm taking it as a given that the ice giant is a hoax, but I have no idea who's behind it. Maybe it's a publicity stunt for a book, movie, or video game. I'm sure that we'll find out soon enough. The name Arkady may be an allusion to Arkham from the work of H.P. Lovecraft. The Taurus Major creature itself also seems very Lovecraftian. (Thanks to Darrell for the link)

Update: It's part of a viral marketing campaign for a new Playstation game called Shadow of the Colossus, which involves hunting and killing giant creatures. The website giantology.typepad.com, supposedly about "the mythology and culture of giants throughout the ages of humanity," is also part of this same marketing campaign. The giantology site has been hosting footage showing the skeleton of a giant uncovered on a beach in India by the tsunami. Quite a few people have linked to this footage, but it's all part of the same marketing effort.
Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2005.   Comments (40)

Florida UFO — Here's another Google satellite map oddity. It's a photo of West Palm Beach, Florida. But look closely. The satellite appears to have captured a UFO flying overhead:

image
(via Outhouse Rag)
Posted: Sun May 15, 2005.   Comments (30)

Cochran’s Tombstone — This photo of Johnnie Cochran's tombstone has been making the rounds:
image
One big clue that it's fake is that it misspells Cochran's first name. Another clue that it's fake is that it's obviously a joke. But here's a photo taken by the Mars Spirit lander that I swear is absolutely real. No joke:
image
Posted: Tue May 03, 2005.   Comments (8)

Earth Dog Tags — image This is a cute idea: earth dog tags. "In case of alien abduction these dog tags may save your life. The crucial data an alien will need to get you back to Earth is die stamped into these dog tags." Plus, they come with a money back guarantee: "should you ever be abducted by aliens while wearing Location Earth Dog Tags and not returned safely to Earth you will be entitled to a full refund of the purchase price." But I think they should also sell non-Earth dog tags. You could give them to friends as a prank. Imagine the look on their faces when they get returned to Mars or Jupiter! (thanks to Stewart for the link)

Posted: Fri Mar 25, 2005.   Comments (31)

Authentic Alien Mummy Corpse — image A guy on eBay is selling what he speculates to be an authentic alien mummy corpse. He claims that he found it lying on the ground near his home in Tampa a few days after hearing loud booms (which he assumed to be a UFO crashing). He writes: "I hestitated about taking it home with me ...could it be radio active? could it have deadly alien pathogens?  After putting on rubber gloves I felt safer, so I took it home with me. There seems to be no animal or insect damage."

The thing that potential buyers on eBay seem more worried about is not if it contains deadly alien pathogens, but whether it's a human corpse. I don't think so. It looks like a feejee mermaid to me, and these are usually made out of monkey corpses. For instance, it seems quite similar to this handsome fellow whose picture was doing the rounds a while ago. There's no way he found this just lying on the ground somewhere. (thanks to Beasjt for the link)
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2005.   Comments (35)

Doll Mistaken For Alien — More news from Ananova, though there's nothing inherently unbelievable in this story:

A burnt rubber doll was mistaken for a badly injured alien and taken to a hospital in Brazil. It happened after people in Aracruz found a burnt 'body' on the ground after seeing a fireball fall from the sky.
A police spokesman told Terra Noticias Populares: "Many people were terrified thinking that an alien invasion was taking place. "They thought the doll was a burnt ET and more than 50 people called the station."
The 'alien' was taken to the local hospital where doctors soon confirmed it was a burnt rubber doll. A hospital spokesman said: "It was obviously a practical joke but we wonder who would do that in such a small and quiet town."


This reminds me of the story of the Great Monkey Hoax.
Posted: Wed Mar 23, 2005.   Comments (6)

Talk To Aliens — TalkToAliens.com is a company that will beam any message you want into outer space, so that you can 'talk to the aliens.' The way it works is that you call their 1-900 number (it'll cost you $3.99 a minute). The phone line is hooked up directly to a parabolic antenna that beams your voice into space, live, as you talk. This sounds similar to Endless Echoes which also beams recorded messages into space (they advertise it as a way to contact the dearly departed). What I find interesting is TalkToAliens' response to the question: What proof do we have that you are indeed transmitting?

We are working to provide live "proof" -- such as a live Web cam with views of our transmitter and our parabolic dish antenna. But we've just launched the service, which is financed with our own private funds. Now that the transmitter is up and running, our attention will focus on some of the more interactive opportunities, like the Web cam.

Why would a webcam image of an antenna prove anything? In fact, I can't think of any good way they could prove that they're really doing what they claim to be doing. But then again, does it really matter. It's just a gimmick anyway. New Scientist has more info about the company. (via Home Town Tales)
Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2005.   Comments (21)

Why We Must Ban Fake UFOs — The UFO community in Hong Kong is up in arms about a newspaper flyer that featured a picture of a UFO. The flyer looked like some kind of news feature about a new UFO sighting, but it was actually an advertising insert for a cable TV company. What the UFO community is upset about is that people might have seen the flyer, thought it was a real news story, and then would have been disappointed to learn it was just a fake picture for an ad. A UFO researcher warns that the indiscriminate use of UFO imagery in this way might have dire consequences for public belief in UFOs: "What if there's something real happening in the future? People would still think it was fake... People won't believe in the existence of UFOs any more even if there were a real case in the future." I love that line of reasoning.
Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2005.   Comments (9)

The Great Internet UFO Hoax — Ssshhh! What I am about to tell you is a secret. Do not tell anyone. On Saturday, March 19, many people on the internet will hoax the world with the biggest mass UFO sighting in years. The craft will zoom around the United States and the world. What will they see? A craft with 4 lights, 2 of which blinked several colors. They will then report their sighting as happening at APPROXIMATELY (not exactly) the appropriate time, and that's it.... Report the sighting to the National UFO Reporting center by calling 206-722-3000. Do not post this information online. Only share it with 'real life' friends.
Posted: Thu Mar 03, 2005.   Comments (101)

No Life on Mars? — This is the exciting news about life on Mars that the media reported on Feb. 16:

A pair of NASA scientists told a group of space officials at a private meeting here that they have found strong evidence that life may exist today on Mars, hidden away in caves and sustained by pockets of water. The scientists, Carol Stoker and Larry Lemke of NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, told the group that they have submitted their findings to the journal Nature for publication in May, and their paper currently is being peer reviewed.

This is how NASA responsed to the news two days later:

NASA Statement on False Claim of Evidence of Life on Mars
News reports on February 16, 2005, that NASA scientists from Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., have found strong evidence that life may exist on Mars are incorrect. NASA does not have any observational data from any current Mars missions that supports this claim. The work by the scientists mentioned in the reports cannot be used to directly infer anything about life on Mars, but may help formulate the strategy for how to search for martian life. Their research concerns extreme environments on Earth as analogs of possible environments on Mars. No research paper has been submitted by them to any scientific journal asserting martian life.


Pity. Though, of course, it's probably all just a cover-up. 😉
Posted: Sun Feb 20, 2005.   Comments (21)

UFO Detectors — image Check out these ghost and UFO detectors available from Abate Electronics. They appear not to be a joke. In other words, Abate really will sell you these things. The best part is the warranty: ALL DETECTORS ARE  WARRANTED TO OPERATE AS  DEFINED FOR A PERIOD OF ONE YEAR FROM THE DATE OF PURCHASE. ANY DEVICE WHICH FAILS TO OPERATE FOR THIS PERIOD OF TIME WILL BE REPLACED FREE OF CHARGE, INCLUDING SHIPPING. Okay, so what if your detector fails to detect a UFO as you see one flying overhead? Will they take your word for it that the device malfunctioned? Or are they going to demand proof that you really did see a UFO? (via Milk and Cookies)
Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2005.   Comments (8)

UFO Coin — image A mysterious coin, dating from 1680, has experts puzzled. The coin in question appears to show a UFO. Or, if not a UFO, then a 'symbolic representation of the Biblical Ezekiel's wheel". One or the other "but little else" (according to Kenneth Bressett, former president of the American Numismatic Association). It really does look an awful lot like a modern representation of a UFO, but of course it's just present-day bias to think that because it looks like a UFO to us, that's what the coin maker intended it to be. However, I'm sure that many are going to seize on this as evidence of the existence of seventeenth century UFOs.
Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2005.   Comments (25)

Alien Bacteria on eBay — Here's the latest eBay oddity. It's 'Magic Air' that grows alien bacteria and makes your feet swell up:
This glass was left outside by one of my kids during a solar eclipse. When I retrieved it I noticed that it weighed over 10 pounds. I didn't notice any contents but tried pouring it out and spilled some of the "Magic Air" on my left foot. My shoe grew from a size 11 to a 17 DDD in less than 15 seconds. I ceased pouring any more of the Magic Air out and placed the Haunted Purple Glass in my cupboard.
It's already sold, but it sounds like he has a limitless supply of this 'Magic Air' for future auctions.
Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2004.   Comments (22)

Tunguska UFO Hoax? — image What caused the Tunguska Event, that massive, nuclear-bomb-strength blast that occurred in Siberia in 1908? A meteorite, is the standard answer. But a few days ago Russian researcher Yuri Lavbin claimed to have discovered "blocks of an extraterrestrial technical device" in the Tunguska area. Lavbin's theory is that a meteorite was headed for the earth, but it was blasted apart by an alien spaceship, thus causing the massive explosion. Why aliens blasting something out of the sky caused an alien technical device to fall to the ground isn't clear to me.

Lavbin announced this discovery in Pravda (which is kind of like announcing a major scientific discovery in the National Enquirer). He's transported a piece of this alien device to the city of Krasnoyarsk, though, of course, he hasn't yet allowed the general scientific community to view the thing.

So did he really find a piece of an alien ship? Or has he mistaken a piece of Cold-War-era space debris for an alien ship, as some are speculating? Or has he engineered a massive hoax? As is usually the case, time and scientific access to this 'extraterrestrial technical device' should provide the answer. In the meantime, here's a poll so that you can vote on what you think he's found:

Posted: Fri Aug 13, 2004.   Comments (7)

UFO Attracting Device — image This isn't, strictly speaking, a hoax, because I'm quite sure that its creators are serious about it. It's a UFO Attracting Device "equipped with colored strobe lights, low-powered lasers, a radio transmitter and a series of gauges said to track atmospheric changes common to extraterrestrial encounters." It was originally built by Myron 'Mike' Muckerheide, but was then purchased by Julie 'Jitterbug' Pearce. I would definitely buy this thing, if given a chance. But instead of using it to attract UFOs, I'd use it to drive my neighbors crazy. Whenever they play their music too loud, I'd crank up my UFO Attractor and drown them out. If a UFO happened to land in their backyard as a consequence, all the better. (via The Anomalist)
Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2004.   Comments (0)

Xenomorphological Research Institute — image The Nova Corp Xenomorphological Research Institute is "the world's leading centre for the study of extra-terrestrial life." As their website explains: "the NCXRI always attempts to study a species in its native habitat. However, when this is not possible specimens can be brought back to our high-tech research laboratory for further analysis. From simple metal cages to plasma-field containers and full sized aquariums, the NCXRI is fully equipped to house virtually any species." (via Liquito)
Posted: Tue Aug 10, 2004.   Comments (9)

Page 2 of 4 pages  < 1 2 3 4 >