Hoax Museum Blog: Websites

Mint Rubbing — Check out the wonders of the Romanian Mint Rubbing Association. (Thanks to t.m.Enzo for the link).

Skyhigh Airlines — Here's a new hoax website that's making the rounds: Skyhigh Airlines. It's motto is 'Flying More. Caring Less.' I love their Challenge Seating Innovation. You fight with other passengers for the seat you want. Also check out the list of cities they fly out of. Where else can you get a roundtrip ticket from Araz Stage Stop, CA to Smeltertown, TX? The site appears to have been created by Alaska Airlines, as part of a new humor-themed advertising campaign. There are accompanying TV and radio ads for Skyhigh Airlines (that reveal themselves to be ads for Alaska Airlines before they're over).

Primate Programming — From the company's website: "Primate Programming Inc. is dedicated to the advancement and gainful employment of non-human great apes within the United States information technology sector."

Edible Outdoor Gear — Here's a strange hoax website (sent in by Stuart Jacobson). It's Eastern Active Technologies (EAT), retailers of edible outdoor gear and equipment. Now when you set off on a weekend hiking trip, laden down with tent, sleeping bag, and backpack, you can return completely empty handed... and well fed.

Laze’s Diet System — Laze's Diet System: Here's a diet system that promises fast results. It seems to involve sucking your stomach in.

Black People Love Us — Black People Love Us: Sally and Johnny (a white couple) just want everyone to know that the black community loves them.

Rent-a-Negro — Rent a Negro: Are you embarrassed by the lack of racial diversity at your social events? Then this website has the answer. Just 'rent a negro' and you too can appear multicultural in the eyes of your friends, all without ever having to challenge your own white privilege.

Think of the Children — Think of the Children: Here's a British group advocating the use of mob violence and vigilante justice against anyone even suspected of committing a crime against a child. Punish first, deliberate about possible guilt or innocence later, seems to be their philosophy.

Mankato, Minnesota — Mankato: Welcome to Mankato, Minnesota, where you can enjoy whale watching on the Minnesota River.

Burmese Mountain Dogs — Burmese Mountain Dog: A page (also from the creators of the Mankato, Minnesota page) with some info about a rare breed of dog known as the Burmese Mountain Dog. You can examine this a long time and potentially not realize the joke, which is that the actual breed is the Bernese Mountain Dog (it comes from Berne, Switzerland). I guess a lot of people say Burmese instead of Bernese.

Reemco — Reemco: Providers of high-quality products such as the 'CDC Ebola Virus Outbreak Action Playset.'

Two Towers Protest — Two Towers Protest: This group is protesting the fact that the second installment of The Lord of the Rings trilogy is named The Two Towers (despite the fact that Tolkein came up with this name some fifty years ago). They feel this might cause emotional discomfort to people following the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. I'm almost positive this was meant to be satirical. But its companion in spirit, The Return of the King Protest site, was definitely a satire. This second group argued that the name of the third installment of the trilogy would cause discomfort to fans of Elvis. The Return of the King Protest site no longer exists, but it can still be partially viewed via the Wayback Machine.

New Rotterdam — A trilogy of sites devoted to exploring the community of New Rotterdam (or New-Rot, for short). First we have the Official Site of the Town of New Rotterdam. Next there's the New Rotterdam Vocational Union High School. And last is the St. Giles School for Male Youth.

Jesus Freakin — Here's a curious website just sent in by a visitor: JesusFreakin.com. It's the homepage for a new role-playing game in which you get to play Jesus Christ, who's just returned after 2000 years and is ready for revenge. The game has tag lines such as 'The time has come to thin the flock,' and 'After 2000 years, he's ready to cast the first stone.' In my opinion, it's definitely a hoax. First of all, the site and graphics are pretty amateurish, given that it's supposedly produced by a video game company (Last Stone Studios). Second, there's no evidence that this company exists. It lists a business address on a press release it issued, but this address is just a p.o. box at a Mail Boxes etc. Finally, just reading through the site, it seems pretty obvious that it's satire. But the website does link to a CafePress page where you can buy Jesus Freakin merchandise. My guess is that whoever created the site is trying to be controversial as a ploy to sell a few t-shirts.

Diploma Mill — General Delivery University: America's only genuine diploma mill

Afterlife Telegrams — Afterlife Telegrams: Terminally ill volunteers will memorize your messages and, upon death, deliver them to your friends and family on the other side

Moscow Subway Metrocam — The Moscow Subway Metrocam: It's all in Russian, but the picture you see is from a webcam located inside an underground tunnel on the Moscow subway. Sometimes, if you're lucky, you'll see the light of an approaching train. And yes, it is a hoax. Its creator told me so.

First Genetics — First Genetics: The website of the first laboratory to have successfully genetically engineered an ape to be able to communicate with humans via typing on a keyboard

Yoga Kitty — Yoga Kitty: Instructional yoga videos for you and your cat

Black-Market Babies — Black Market Babies: Do you want a kid but don't want to deal with the stress of using an adoption agency? Let Black Market Babies steal a baby for you.