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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 Hoax Photo Database, the Hoax Forum, and the Hoaxipedia.

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RUDE ROVER
The Christmas dog with no class! He sings and toots Jingle Bells.
INFLATABLE TREE
Who needs the hassle of a real Christmas tree?
FARTING SANTA
Go ahead and pull his finger!

Why is it that if you can use a cel phone or a bluetooth to send signal our mind can't do the same. - Eva

I can use a flamethrower to hurl fire 50 feet away from me, but as yet I've never been able to perform the same trick with certain body parts.

It would be so cool, too.

Now the indignant-o kiddies are using "love" as an argument.

Can anyone here tell us the frewquency of love? how it functions and the mathematics that describe it? Can anyone show us the measurement of love and the levels that people feel?

Once again, the moral is; If you cannot mneasure itor determine it's effects it is only real to the person who "says" they see it. Just like the six foot tall white rabbit named Harvey.

You are getting it totally wrong, indigos don't have super powers we are humans and vulnerable like everybody else.
Indigos are mortal.
You are getting it totally wrong.

Either you have paranormal powers or you don't, Eva. You can't have it both ways. Paranormal powers would make you different from normal humans, if it were true.

Eva, what I'm getting from you is that you think you are an "Indigo" because you think you feel things more intensely than other people do.

The first thing that comes to mind is "How do you know how intensely other people feel emotions?"

Emotions are subjective. There is no real way to compare Person A's depth of feeling with Person B's. Even ignoring comparisons, nothing about feeling is supernatural. We ALL have emotions.

If you're claiming that you can read minds, THAT can be tested objectively. If you can pass a test of that ability, you will win a million dollars. You will also have advanced mankind's knowledge immeasurably. I know you have said you don't want to be a lab rat, but wouldn't THAT be worth a few hours (at most) of your time?

Cranky media gey~
just so you know, auras HAVE been photographed. A lot of people wont accept that as proof, but i think it would be obviouse to anyone that isn't already convinced its impossible, that auras exist. Its kindof like the people who say ESP doesn't exist, despite the fact that repeated and controlled tests show that some people repeatedly score far above what could possibly be expected from mere probobility. Its lacking common sense and an open mind.
I personally think its stupid that so many people find it impossible to fathom an energy field radiating around people. It maked perfect sense, honestly. Do you really think your energy stays confined to the boundry of your skin?
So maybe Cranky media gey should do some resurch to find out who first photographed an aura and give him his million dollars, but if that's not proof enough for you, you can just join the long list of people that the future will consider idiots. You know, there was a time when people refused to believe the earth wasn't the center of the universe, or round for that matter. The first man to suggest the idea of creatures so small we couldn't see them that were the cause of much disease, which he called bacteria, was laughed at.
And, many people can see auras. Just because you can't perceive something doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Did you know that Albert Einstein's life work was to try and find a common energy that underlies all matter in the universe? I'd tend to think he's alot more intelligent than most if not all of the skeptics who say auras are impossible.

Raven said:

"Cranky media gey~
just so you know, auras HAVE been photographed. A lot of people wont accept that as proof, but i think it would be obviouse to anyone that isn't already convinced its impossible, that auras exist."

Are you talking about so-called Kirlian photography? Sorry to burst your bubble, but we know how they work and it ISN'T due to "auras."

"Its kindof like the people who say ESP doesn't exist, despite the fact that repeated and controlled tests show that some people repeatedly score far above what could possibly be expected from mere probobility. Its lacking common sense and an open mind."

Please tell me which "repeated and controlled tests" you refer to. Are you SURE they were properly scientifically controlled? I've read about "tests" which alleged to "prove" the existance of ESP, but they were very badly conducted and certainly NOT proper scientific tests.

"I personally think its stupid that so many people find it impossible to fathom an energy field radiating around people. It maked perfect sense, honestly. Do you really think your energy stays confined to the boundry of your skin?"

What kind of energy are you referring to? It isn't an inability to "fathom" an energy field around the human body that's the problem. It's that the existance of such a thing has NEVER been scientifically established.

"So maybe Cranky media gey should do some resurch to find out who first photographed an aura and give him his million dollars, but if that's not proof enough for you, you can just join the long list of people that the future will consider idiots."

OK, just for starters, it isn't MY Million Dollar Challenge. It's offered by the James Randi Educational Foundation (randi.org).

Hey, here's a swell idea: why don't YOU find out who first "photographed an aura." It isn't MY job to chase unicorns. As I mentioned above, there's no doubt that "auras" can be photographed but we know what they are and it isn't anything supernatural. It's called "electrical corona discharge."

"You know, there was a time when people refused to believe the earth wasn't the center of the universe, or round for that matter. The first man to suggest the idea of creatures so small we couldn't see them that were the cause of much disease, which he called bacteria, was laughed at."

Here, you are using the same faulty "logic" many believers in silly things employ: Somewhere, once upon a time, someone proposed the existance of something which the scientists of his day denied. Since this person was subsequently proved to be correct, somehow this "proves" that the silly thing YOU are proposing must also be true.

"And, many people can see auras. Just because you can't perceive something doesn't mean it doesn't exist"

True, nor does it prove that it DOES exist. All of the things you mention above gained general acceptance via PROOF. If and when you have some of that, you, too, will be believed.

"Did you know that Albert Einstein's life work was to try and find a common energy that underlies all matter in the universe? I'd tend to think he's alot more intelligent than most if not all of the skeptics who say auras are impossible."

Um, what does Einstein's work have to do with the existance or non-existance of auras? You're making an illogical leap there. I know of nothing that Einstein worked on that had anything to do with auras.

Bottom line: You believe in auras. You WANT to believe in auras. You have NO evidence that they exist, but because you have such desire to believe in them, you get mad when anyone points out that there is NO proof of their existance. Sorry but your belief, no matter how sincere or passionate, does NOT constitute evidence of their existance.

Einstein's work in his final years (not his whole life's work - he did manage to squeeze general and special relativity in there somewhere) was Quantum Gravity.

First of all, energy and forces are different things. There are four basic forces in the universe, the weak nuclear force, the strong nuclear force, electromagnetism, and gravity. Electromagnetism is what creates Auras, and is a very well known phenomenon. Nothing special or supernatural about it.

The four forces had been discovered by earlier scientists, and none have been discovered since. The weak nuclear force and the electromagnetic force had already been shown to be two variations on the same fundamental force (the electroweak force).

It is widely accepted that the strong nuclear force will also combine under the Grand Unified Theory, but this has yet to be proven.

Einstein, and many, many, many people since, was trying to show that gravity would also combine under certain conditions, thus proving that all four forces are simply different manifestations of the same Prime Force. Unfortunately this has eluded everyone so far.

In other words, Einstein was trying to show the KNOWN forces could be considered the same force, not that there was some as yet unknown force.

However, your incorrect facts and assumptions don't invalidate your main assertion, that paranormal activity exists. You're just using pseudo-scientic language to help explain something that doesn't actually make any sense in the real word. It's a time honored tradition among paranormalists. They seem to think it makes up for their complete lack of any actual evidence.

(and yes David, I'm well aware that gravity can't actually be considered a force until a working quantum gravity theory is accepted)

Here, you are using the same faulty "logic" many believers in silly things employ: Somewhere, once upon a time, someone proposed the existance of something which the scientists of his day denied. Since this person was subsequently proved to be correct, somehow this "proves" that the silly thing YOU are proposing must also be true.

Echo, echo, echo...

I'm beginning to think we need a text file of commonly used retorts.

If Silly Argument A then Educational Explanation A else Witty Rejoinder

My thoughts:
1) The orange story is silly. The girl probably just knew her friend liked oranges.
2) People with indigo auras DO NOT have freaky special psychic powers. The just have deep intuition and a different way of thinking.
3) This doesn't have much to do with the article but... I'm age 13, and an indigo. Most people I know who have also said they are indigos are 20 and above, and seem like they're trying to prove how different they are. I think these people are most likely purple, a) because of their age, and b) the fact that they like attention. I just thought I'd put that in because purples often confuse themselves for indigos.

Natsumi said:

"I'm age 13, and an indigo."

No, you're not. The existance of a "human aura" has never been scientifically established. Yes, I'm sure you believe whole-heartedly that you are an "indigo" but you aren't. NO ONE is.

You're 13 so there's still time for you to adjust to reality. You should start that immediately, however, before you waste your life believing in nonsense.

Please DO NOT tell me that I can't prove that there is no such thing as a "human aura." It is not possible to prove a negative. The burden of proof is on YOU to demonstrate that the human aura exists, that auras can have different colors and that yours is indigo.

Good luck with that.

Silly, silly Cranky. Aren't you aware by now that by the very virtue of being an indigo, these children have nothing to prove? You're supposed to simply accept their claims without questioning the superior race.

I know, I know, Charybdis. I should just learn to accept our new Indigo overlords.

And they called the 80s the 'Me' Decade.

Therefore, I am interested in WHAT WORKS. I am not interested in mere theories. I have been told I am an indigo child by a psychic. I honestly don't have much experience with spiritual new age things. But the psychic knew pretty much everything about me. She was amazing. And I know you're probably going to say/think something like "those psychics say things that apply to everyone in a way that makes everyone say YEAH THAT'S ME" I am not one of those people. I can't say that I live my life in complete objectivity, but I try my best to be objective about things.

omg sorry. i totally posted on the wrong thing! ahh, how embarrassing.

HAHA etc. said:

"And I know you're probably going to say/think something like "those psychics say things that apply to everyone in a way that makes everyone say YEAH THAT'S ME"

Well, that's part of the scam, but not all of it. There are some other tricks to making it look as if you know all about a person you've never met. It's called "cold reading" and the techniques are well known to magicians and others who are interested in this sort of thing.

There are books available which will tell you all about it, if you want to learn. One is by an Englishman named Ian Rowland; it isn't cheap but it's very good about explaining all the tricks that "psychics" use.

Indigo chidren? That's another word for selfish little brats who they they are special but they are really frequently bullied into submission by others and therefore reduced to whiny emo kid who spends most of their free time writing unoriginal self-insertation fanfics that defy all logic. It's also a way for irresponsible parents to "feel better about themselves" so they don't have to miss their favorite soap opera program. A spoiled brat has nothing to do with "Indigo children". If that's true, then many people who have ever lived may have been identified as "Indigo" in their childhood.

Now if you really want special individuals, you have to look into the much more rational and calm youngsters that truly believe in change for the good and actually research into the subject at hand for a change of pace. And no, don't try that trick in which you look at random shapes and say "I know what's going to happen."

What's that? You "predict" disaster? You are far from the only one that claims to do that. Throughout history, people who claimed to "predict the end of the world" have been proven wrong over and over and over and over. And even if there is a event that slightly relates to your "predicted event", you claim that to be a "hit".

In conclusion, the "Indigo children" theory is nothing new, except in different names.

Nicely put, A person. I do have to ask a question, however. I know what "fanfic" is, but what does "self-insertation fanfics" mean?