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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 Hoax Photo Database, the Hoax Forum, and the Hoaxipedia.
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.
RUDE ROVERThe Christmas dog with no class! He sings and toots Jingle Bells.
INFLATABLE TREEWho needs the hassle of a real Christmas tree?
FARTING SANTAGo ahead and pull his finger!
Tribal Laptop
Status: Undetermined
I saw this image posted on Gizmodo (who got it from pixdaus). They claim to know nothing about it, except that it shows the Dani people of Papua, New Guinea. 
Is it real, or has the Sony Vaio been photoshopped in? My hunch is that it's real. I'd guess that the laptop belongs to a photographer or researcher who handed the laptop to the guy with the big headdress in order to show him a picture. But that's just a guess.
I debated whether the image could be considered "not safe for work." But then I figured, No, it's too "National Geographic" to be considered sexual. (Though if this were the exact same scene with Caucasian women, I'm sure it would be considered NSFW... strange how that works.)
Only one question: What's with the disembodied hand reaching out from behind the headdress?
Posted By: Alex | Date: Wed Jun 25, 2008 | Permalink |
Total Comments: 35
Category: Photos/Videos, Technology
Category: Photos/Videos, Technology
Listed in chronological order. Newest comments at the end.
Page 1 of 2 pages 1 2 >
The Dani are nowadays no longer an isolated people, as they were when they were contacted in the late '50-ies. Wamena, in the middle of the Baliem valley, has an airport which serves many tourists nowadays.
My guess is that it is simply a posed picture for the ad campaign. The composition of the picture is too neat for it to be a spontaneous shot picture.
Oh: the dismebodied arm belongs to a child hidden behind the man in the center.
Posted by LaMa in Europe on Wed Jun 25, 2008 at 10:28 PMMy guess is that it is simply a posed picture for the ad campaign. The composition of the picture is too neat for it to be a spontaneous shot picture.
Oh: the dismebodied arm belongs to a child hidden behind the man in the center.
"My guess is that it is simply a posed picture for the ad campaign"---> for Sony....
Posted by LaMa in Europe on Wed Jun 25, 2008 at 10:34 PMIt looks Photoshopped to me, there is no shadow under the laptop,above it seems to look a little blurred and something about the laptop itself doesn't look right (too sharp perhaps).
Posted by Trotsky in Australia on Thu Jun 26, 2008 at 12:15 AMThe fact that the laptop is seen straight-on with absolutely no perspective distortion is suspicious to me.
Posted by PlantPerson on Thu Jun 26, 2008 at 02:54 AMI thought it was photoshopped too, but if you look at the bigger version of the photo on Gizmondo, it's easier to see... looks real to me. And it's not like this is such a strange idea - there's all sorts of photos out there of people living in tribal villages posing with modern technology.
Posted by AqueousBoy on Thu Jun 26, 2008 at 05:34 AMIt looks like a pretty horrible photoshop to me. Even the large version looks odd, it just isn't sitting in his hands right.
I'm sure traveling journalists loan their gadgets to the people they encounter all the time, but this photoshop ain't an example of it.
Posted by xzzy on Thu Jun 26, 2008 at 06:52 AMI'm sure traveling journalists loan their gadgets to the people they encounter all the time, but this photoshop ain't an example of it.
The lighting on the laptop doesn't look the same as the lighting in the rest of the scene.
Otherwise, I'd say it's real. People pretty far back in the jungle now have laptops and cell phones (even if they still don't have plumbing or electric lights).
About a year ago, I talked to a man who had spent some years as a Peace Corps volunteer working with Dayaks (tribal people not too different from the New Guineans shown here) in a remote part of Borneo. He said that, although there is still no road going to that village, he frequently receives e-mail from the headman of the village, who has a laptop and wireless modem in his log-and-thatch longhouse.
Posted by Big Gary in Indianola, Texas on Thu Jun 26, 2008 at 02:29 PMOtherwise, I'd say it's real. People pretty far back in the jungle now have laptops and cell phones (even if they still don't have plumbing or electric lights).
About a year ago, I talked to a man who had spent some years as a Peace Corps volunteer working with Dayaks (tribal people not too different from the New Guineans shown here) in a remote part of Borneo. He said that, although there is still no road going to that village, he frequently receives e-mail from the headman of the village, who has a laptop and wireless modem in his log-and-thatch longhouse.
if you zoom in , there seems to be smudging" and the laptop looks to "crisp" wit the rest of the picture.
Do yo mean "disembodied arm"?, because the hand(s) on the sitter's left shoulder are cupped on the boy's chin.
In stating National Geographic, I recall from my youth of looking at issue after issue, images of some "tribesman" peering through the photographer's camera lense . and elsewhere other pictures showing "the natural ""savage"" utilizing "modern gizmos/disposable goods,ect." for different purposes (vanity mostly).
Does it widen the rest of the "world's eyes" or make them go, "Aww, silly savages.haha"?
then again, it could be real.
what difference does it make?
Posted by Diogenes in somewhere on earth on Thu Jun 26, 2008 at 05:18 PMDo yo mean "disembodied arm"?, because the hand(s) on the sitter's left shoulder are cupped on the boy's chin.
In stating National Geographic, I recall from my youth of looking at issue after issue, images of some "tribesman" peering through the photographer's camera lense . and elsewhere other pictures showing "the natural ""savage"" utilizing "modern gizmos/disposable goods,ect." for different purposes (vanity mostly).
Does it widen the rest of the "world's eyes" or make them go, "Aww, silly savages.haha"?
then again, it could be real.
what difference does it make?
LaMa: "posed picture for ad campaign"
That's interesting
oh, I meant to say "smudging around the laptoptop, and the computer, itself, is too clear with the rest"
so, Alim Boeanna may have taken the pic and somebody else added the laptop. Speak indonesian? ask him on his friendster page..and what was there to begin with?
Posted by Diogenes in amerika on Thu Jun 26, 2008 at 05:36 PMThat's interesting
oh, I meant to say "smudging around the laptoptop, and the computer, itself, is too clear with the rest"
so, Alim Boeanna may have taken the pic and somebody else added the laptop. Speak indonesian? ask him on his friendster page..and what was there to begin with?
The arm isn't disembodied, and the big guy isn't wearing a head dress. The "head dress" is really just the harriest kid in the village. You can clearly see he shaves his arm. He probably does not want bear arms. It's too contreversial.
Posted by Maegan in Tampa, FL - USA on Fri Jun 27, 2008 at 08:56 AMLooks like an Obama family portrait...
Posted by Christopher John Bath in Warm, sunny Florida... on Fri Jun 27, 2008 at 05:33 PMThe "photoshopped vs real" issue is interesting when the image, if real, is remarkable or unique. If the image could easily be real, who cares if it's photoshopped or not? It's not memorable either way.
Posted by Canadarm in Toronto on Sat Jun 28, 2008 at 08:00 AMCJB, here's a bandaid for your skinned knuckles... didn't Mom tell you not to drag them on the ground? When you take a family portrait, do you pull aside the face cover, or do you just leave the pointy white hoods the way they are? Bigot
Posted by Hairy Houdini on Sat Jun 28, 2008 at 10:37 AMHey Hairy! Sorry for not being politically correct. If I offended, it hit home, but was meant as nothing more than a cheap dig... Believe me, I've been on this site since Alex started it (I believe my first comments were under the username huckabuck), and seen a lot worse commentary than some inane comment I posted... At least I use my real name on this site, as I have nothing to hide, as NO OFFENSE is EVER INTENDED!!! That's more than I can say for the idiots who make their comments, and hide behind some stupid username cause they don't wanna have anybody know who's posting their idiotic drivel. Every LIBERAL out there makes their uninformed comments about Bush or Mc Cain, and because THEY don't like the individual, they think it's OK... Well, I just joined the "party", but in a different light than what you stand under (obviously)... Lighten up!!! Get a life!!!
Posted by Christopher in Warm, sunny Florida... on Sat Jun 28, 2008 at 03:55 PMsorry, pal... Any life that includes bigotry is a life in the dark... Get a light
Posted by Hairy Houdini on Sat Jun 28, 2008 at 04:26 PMYou holier than thou LIBERALS got a lot to learn about the definition of some of these words you throw around. You OBVIOUSLY have no idea what a bigot is!!! Just because you decided to redefine the word doesn't mean it's right... Like I said before (in a lighter tone), you LIBERALS throw your hateful opinions toward everybody else that doesn't fit your way of thinking, and then when somebody else makes a statement that doesn't agree with the way you'd say it, you want to execute 'em in the townsquare... No apology here, I already told you it was a lighthearted comment and nothing else... FYI, the black folks make WORSE comments about each other in EVERY form of their "entertainment", and you LIBERALS call it "breaking down the barriers" when another race listens to it, just so long as us white folks don't REPEAT anything we've heard them say, or we're a bigot and a racist. Well, you can kiss my lily white butt...
Posted by Christopher in Warm, sunny Florida... on Sat Jun 28, 2008 at 05:27 PMI don't like Christopher. Hope I speak for most people on this site.
Posted by Eric in Leeds, UK on Sat Jun 28, 2008 at 06:20 PMChris, if I was truly "liberal", I'd have a greater tolerance for your bias and generalizations... but I'm conservatively protecting the country I live in by speaking out against mindsets that divide us and keep us from realizing our true potential... I know you have some point here, Chris, but keep that hood on and nobody will notice
Posted by Hairy Houdini on Sat Jun 28, 2008 at 08:25 PMYa know something Hairy? The more you persist this argument with YOUR inane drivel, the more you show your true colors. Anybody that reads your comment will notice that you take no shortage to making stupid commentary from everything to religion to politics... You ain't the TRUE LIBERAL you want us to believe you are by sticking up for a cause behind an assumed name, that you most likely don't even believe in... Give it a rest, and go back to slamming religion like you are so well known for...
Posted by Christopher in Warm, sunny Florida... on Sun Jun 29, 2008 at 07:56 AMChris, have a nice Sunday, and be sure to remember to wet down the lawn before you burn your cross this afternoon... hate to see your "lily white ass" or your white robe singed
Posted by Hairy Houdini on Sun Jun 29, 2008 at 09:06 AMPage 1 of 2 pages 1 2 >