Amazon.com Widgets
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), the Hoax Forum, and the Top 100 April Fools' Day Hoaxes.

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.


Web Hoax Museum

Prankplace.com
THE TOILET MONSTER
Your wife will never yell at you about leaving the seat up again! The Toilet Monster attaches to the inside of the toilet bowl by suction cups. As the unsuspecting person goes to use the bathroom, they'll scream as they lift the lid and are greeted by the Toilet Monster! Not recommended for the elderly or those with a weak heart.

COVERT CLICKER
Secretly control the TV, anywhere, any time! This device is so small it is easily concealed in your pocket. It can control volume, change the channel or turn the TV on & off. It works on 90% of all TV's.


Name Change for I-69
Is Indiana Congressman John Hostettler really introducing legislation to change the name of Interstate 69 to Interstate 63, because religious groups feel that I-69 is too risque whereas I-63 is more 'moral sounding'? Of course not. But the story has spread pretty far by now. When I first saw the headline linked to on Blogdex, I assumed it was real after glancing at it quickly. I should have known better. After all, the story comes from the Hoosier Gazette, which is becoming well known as a source of news hoaxes. Check out this article at Indystar.com about Josh Whicker, the creator of the Hoosier Gazette. He's already scored three successful hoaxes before this one. There was the one claiming that a five-year study at Indiana University had discovered that new parents often experience a sudden loss in IQ (that fooled MSNBC). There was the one claiming that Purdue University had given a basketball scholarship to the wrong Jason Smith (to a 5'6" Jason Smith computer geek, not 6'6" Jason Smith point guard). And then there was one about a guy who won the lottery two days after his divorce was final. As for the I-69 name change thing, it's already been picked up as real news by the Sierra Times, and reportedly, according to the Courier Press (requires registration), Hostettler's congressional office has been fielding outraged calls about the issue all day from people who don't realize the story was a joke.
Posted By: Alex | Date: Tue Nov 16, 2004 | Permalink | Total Comments: 13
Category: Journalism, Sex/Romance
Comments
Listed in chronological order. Newest comments at the end.
Page 1 of 1 pages
The exit I take off I-75 north of Detroit when I'm going home from work is Exit 69. Interestingly, the street name of Exit 69 is Big Beaver Road. To my knowledge, no-one has ever suggested changing it.
Posted by Jon  in  Detroit, MI  on  Tue Nov 16, 2004  at  02:06 PM
Change the name? Why mess with perfection?
I just want one of the signs for Exit 69 to Big Beaver Road!
Posted by Big Gary C  in  Dallas, Texas  on  Tue Nov 16, 2004  at  04:15 PM
You need not register to enter the Courier Press site. There's this great site called bugmenot.com that stores usernames and passwords for thousands of sites. Here's a working username and password for courier press:

evansville
Posted by PlantPerson  on  Tue Nov 16, 2004  at  05:59 PM
There use to be a Rt #69 in Nrw Jersey. Several years ago it was changed to Rt #31. The reason being people were always stealing the road signs.
Posted by Bill Fielding  in  New Jersey  on  Tue Nov 16, 2004  at  10:27 PM
I'm not aware of anyone stealing the Exit 69 Big Beaver Rd signs. It's an urban area, and the signs are overhead and hard to reach. There's a little town off I-94 in western Michigan called Climax that I believe has had this problem. Those signs are accessible from ground level.
Posted by Jon  in  Detroit, MI  on  Wed Nov 17, 2004  at  11:42 AM
In Florida, private roads have orange signs...there was a road called Harley Davidson Rd on an orange sign, & after 6 replacements, the guy finally named the road after his wife...Marge Owens Rd.
Posted by Maegan  in  Tampa, FL - USA  on  Wed Nov 17, 2004  at  12:50 PM
I know where there is sign that says "Filmore ##" and underneth "Beaver ##". I wonder if anyone has every read the disclaimer at the bottom of the Hooiser?
Posted by Wes Rains  on  Wed Nov 17, 2004  at  01:29 PM
I think there ought to be a strip club on Big Beaver Road at exit 69.
Posted by D-Menace  in  Orlando, FL  on  Fri Nov 19, 2004  at  10:32 PM
The Hoosier Gazette has collected some of the better response to them...good for a chuckle...
http://www.hoosiergazette.com/News/Nov2004/news004.htm

(Looks like you scooped Snopes, Alex- their information just went up)
Posted by Karen  in  Pawtucket RI  on  Mon Nov 22, 2004  at  05:04 AM
Huh,

Didn't see this when it first posted... will have to admit though I'm guilty of the whole sign stealing thing. (In my youth of course) Of course, the sign still hangs in the garage. smile
Posted by Mark-N-Isa  in  Midwest USA  on  Sat Apr 09, 2005  at  11:01 PM
How to reach Climax in Canada...

Climax

To locate Climax, look in the lower left corner...

It appears as though I'm only aboot two hours from Climax at any given time. Of course, if Climax is always two hours away, I'd wear a lot of women out. grin
Posted by Rod  in  the land of smarties.  on  Sat Apr 09, 2005  at  11:29 PM
I work on Big Beaver right off of Exit 69 Big Beaver Rd... The whole reason I found this conversation is because a friend in Texas wants a picture of the road sign. I was hoping that some other fool has stopped and took one as opposed to me having to do it!
Posted by ???  on  Thu Mar 23, 2006  at  07:17 AM
There isn't a strip club off exit 69 on big beaver road but there is a Hooters.
Posted by cody hecht  in  michigan  on  Sat Jan 05, 2008  at  11:09 AM
Page 1 of 1 pages

Name:

Email (if you want to be notified of responses):

Location:

URL:

Note: To prove that you're a human being, not an automated spam bot, you've got to type in the word you see below. If you register as a member of the site you won't have to do this. Once registered, you'll then also need to login. If you're seeing this notice, and you've already registered, that means you haven't logged in. As a member you also won't have to enter your personal info every time you leave a comment.

Submit the word you see below:


Smileys

Remember my personal information

Notify me of follow-up comments?