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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

"I want to know where to get the tapeworm. you may think I'm crazy, but I really want to try it. if any one knows please let me know.
Posted by melissa on Sun Nov 13, 2005 at 05:05 PM"

why would you be interested where to get it. its disgusting. a tapeworm.. inside your intestines. if you need to diet and you think thats the way to do it, stop being lazy and get off your ass and excersise.. don't put a worm inside yourself.

krysta---
for your information I am very active it is just that I have shin splints so bad that I have multiple hairline fractures, which i have been going to physical therapy for 4 years to help fix it. it makes it very painful to many high impact exercises so i'm stuck with swimming( which i hate) and rollerblading when there isn't snow on the ground( 8 months of the year where i'm from). so if you do know where to get a tape worm then i would be delighted to know where because i still want to get one.

i've got tapeworm and i am not thin, i do not have a flat stomach or skinny anything else, i am not kidding so don't bother getting a tapeworm it's not nice, believe me.

I'm an Arizonan, and I wanted to point out that the article you've referenced is a hilarious column written by a man who would really love this site... The content comes from readers who write in with off-the-wall questions about topics ranging from the weather to, apparently, tapeworms... Mr. Thompson then does "research" either on the Interwebs or by calling a friend in the field and publishes the question and answer in his column. I read the column faithfully, sometimes even before I get to the comics...

Cant you get a tapeworm from eating raw meat?

I really want to find these tapeworm pills. I have been dieting and exercising for a year now and can't lose the weight. If anyone knows how and where to purchase these pills, please let me know. I'm tired of being overweight, and I'm tired of trying every diet out there with no results.

please ! please ! help me ! I don't find tapeworm pills on the web !
where ?

If you morons really want to lose weight you should try contracting cancer. It's a wonder diet.

thanks ! but .....I want no cancer ....I want juste diet !

Hey Charybdis, If it's such a bad idea, then why are you on this page anyway? This is talk about tapeworm pills. What did you type in to get you here? You have cancer to know? If you don't like it, shut the hell up about it.

Willingly giving yourself a parasite in order to lose weight is a pretty stupid idea. How do you plan on getting rid of the tapeworm afterward? Are you aware of the complications, including death, that can result from a tapeworm? It's staggering how vanity can lead people to do such amazingly stupid things.

Additionally, for those of you incapable of figuring this out on your own, tapeworm pills are a hoax. That's the point of this site, after all.

Just let them Chary. Let them take a tapeworm and then let Natural Selection do its job by taking out the idiots from our gene pool...

if a parasite forms a cyst in certain parts of your body, for example your heart or your brain, it may not cause immediate problems. However, a few years in the future, when the worm begins to die, you will begin experiencing seizures, loss of speach, and other stroke like symptoms before you die painfully. Also, you must remember that one tape worm will quickly become many. this is the stupidest plan i've ever heard...

Hi all

I accidentaly found this site and just wanted to say that although people can live with certain types of tapeworm for many years without too big problems, they can eventually duplicate in large numbers and basically eat you alive. If you go to a party and accidentaly throw up at night there is a big chance the larvae might spread to organs such as brain, eyes and heart and it will give you various symptoms such as migraines, lethargy, depression, sight problems and even seizures. It's the most common reason for seizures actually. Also it carries lots of bad bacteria such as streptococks(spelling?) which acts like a virus in the body and can shut down the immunesystem completely by attacking the t-cells and is a large problem in most AIDS patients. Actually most AIDS patients have tapeworm infestations among with various other chemicals and infections, so it's pretty serious. Please don't buy that product.

When I lived in Loas many (upperclass) people ingested tapeworm eggs as a weight loss procedure. There is a specific lizard native to the country that is supposed to be fried and served with rice to "flush" the worm out.

It worked, but passing the worm was very disconcerting. It moves out in your sleep and lays between your legs. So not worth loosing 15 pounds.

Ok, the whole tape worm diet is not a "hoax", unfortunately it is real. BUT it is the dumbest thing a person could put into their body.
Now about that parasite you want to put into your body...dont do it. If your friend is in fact skinny from the tapeworm dont forget she has a completely different genetic makeup than you, it could have no effect on you or even kill you, is that a risk worth taking for vanity?
It's not like they just have a little mouth that eats the food, the entire surface area of their tegument absorbs your needed NUTRIENTS. They can self-fertilize so you no matter what pass your "diet" to intermediate hosts who really do not want it, then they pass it to other humans! Beef tapeworms can reach a length of 10 metres or more! Basically the worms are like a sidewalk with the blocks attatching to each other, they just continue to make new "blocks" (proglottids) daily, they even crawl out of the anus because so many are made...wouldn't that be nice, something crawling out of your ass while you are at work.
Pork tapeworms are very dangerous because the eggs migrate to any of several organs and form cysticerci which results in cysticercosis usually occuring in the brain or eyes and result in blindness, serious neurological symptoms or DEATH! A cross-section of the brain actually has holes in it, that is so good for losing a few pounds.
Fish tapeworms can be 20 m long and can cause anemia.
The dog tapeworm (which humans can also get) can grow in you for 20 years and cause a cyst the size of a basketball in an unrestricted site like the liver but in a restricted site like the heart or CNS which will kill you, the only way to get rid of these tapeworms is by surgery.

Hopefully now that you are more informed you will at least have second thoughts.
If you want to lose weight get off your rear and jog, you have shin splints...then go swimming. Eat healthy, don't follow the national food guide because it is based on days when everyone was farming and a lot more active. That is too much food. Just monitor your calorie intake, eat less, don't eat after 7PM (do the math for shift work what 7PM would be considered to be), and exercise damnit. It takes a long time to lose weight, don't be discouraged. Some people are genetically predisposed to be a bit thick and have to work a lot harder but stick with a routine. If you feel you NEED to diet I have studied them and I feel that "The Zone" is the best for your body. But you have to stick with that too, no cheating, no junk food. You still get to eat fats, carbs, and protein, just in the proper proportions.

If you are wondering why I am even on this site , one of my Prof's offered us bonus marks for finding a site that sells tapeworms. It honestly used to be sold as a diet pill, I have seen the ads. And as I have been by my Prof.it still is.

My great grandma ordered 'diet pills' back in the day when they didn't have restrictions on mail order. They were tapeworm eggs. She found this out herself. Exactly.. not pleasant. Why do people want to lose weight? Get a healthy body.. muscles weigh more than fat, and some muscle builders weight more than you can imagine, but they are happy and fit and healthy. Weight is not the issue, self-image is.
Also interesting note, she ordered something that was supposed to remove leg hair long time ago, and her hair never grew back. It terrifies me to think about what might have been in that concoction.

Its not just a self image thing. Don't get me wrong, I would love to look like the girls in all the magazines. I would love to walk down the street and have people not look at me, smerk, then walk away talking about how I look. But most importantly, I want to lose weight for health reasons. I have had a bad back and knee for years now. I can't walk up a flight of stairs with have to try to catch my breath. Forget about running, with my size and my "chest", it's painful. I get heartburn 3-4 times a week. I want to lose weight, so that in the years to come, I don't have high blood presure or something else. I have tried every diet pill and exercise, and nothing has been sucessful. I've gotten off the idea of "tapeworm pills", I was just willing to try anything. I am know looking into gastric bypass. The doctor says I'm a perfect canidate. I really hope my insurance will cover it.

Wow, if you people are that desperate to lose weight, you ought to try what I did a few years ago: break your jaw and eat only as many tiny, tasteless bits of food that you can stand before the pain hits. It's a wonderful way to lose weight and as a bonus you'll get medical leave from school/work (you know, in case the fake doctor notes don't come through).