Museum of Hoaxes
December 2001 Newsletter


CHRISTMAS HOAXES
The holiday season seems to inspire the best in people. Here's a small collection of heartwarming tales of christmas pranks and hoaxes. Included is the story of Birdie Jo Hoaks who found an ingenious way to sucker charity from kindly strangers. There's also the case of Thad, the boy whose only wish was that Santa take him to 'Heven' because his parents were too poor to buy him presents.

HOAXES IN THE NEWS: NOVEMBER 2001
Viking runestones found in Minnesota. Gunther, the world's richest dog, buys a truffle. And Touristguy (the man supposedly photographed on the observation deck of the World Trade Center seconds before the crash) may have been found in Hungary.

READER'S MAIL
Readers write in with stories about the Great Southampton Soccer Hoax, in which a man with absolutely no ability at soccer conned his way into playing for a professional British soccer team. And the staff at the Museum of Hoaxes responds to various questions, including whether archaeologists really puzzled over a mysterious inscription for almost 100 years before realizing it was written in English.

JANUARY HOAXES
Hoaxes from past Januarys are remembered, including: Alan Abel's obituary in the New York Times, Sir John Herschel's discovery of life on the moon, the BBC's report that a violent mob was destroying the Houses of Parliament, and the Jersey Devil's rampage across New Jersey.

HOAX WEBSITES: NEW ADDITIONS
Check out a series of fake homepages created by an advertising agency to sell Lee jeans. There's also the website of the evil corporation DATADYNE, the Ova Prima foundation (which has solved the question of which came first, the chicken or the egg), and Christian Women's Wrestling.


Other Newsletters: Jan 2002


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