The Museum of Hoaxes

The Hoax Museum Blog

Trump Honors Serial Killers

Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2014. Comments (2)

The Cyranoid Illusion — The Cyranoid Illusion, named after the French play Cyrano de Bergerac, refers to a person who is not speaking their own thoughts, but rather the thoughts and words of another person fed to them via radio transmitter. A recent experiment has found that people can't tell when they're speaking to a Cyranoid, probably because our brains haven't evolved to detect when a person is speaking through the body of someone else. The problem is, the online world is full of Cyranoids. "From online games to online dating sites, people act through virtual versions of themselves (or assumed virtual identities) more and more." [wired.com]

Posted: Tue Sep 30, 2014. Comments (0)

The return of the Kingswinford Hoaxer?

Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2014. Comments (0)

Jasmine Tridevil Costume

Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2014. Comments (1)

Gestations - the Pregnant Women’s Bar

Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2014. Comments (0)

Past time for Kaufman to return

Posted: Mon Sep 29, 2014. Comments (0)

This Day in the History of Hoaxes: September 28

September 28, 1980: Jimmy's World
On this day in 1980, the Washington Post ran a story on its front page by reporter Janet Cooke about "Jimmy," an 8-year-old heroin addict. The story eventually won her a Pulitzer Prize. But as pressure on Cooke mounted to reveal where Jimmy lived, so that he could be helped, she finally admitted that she had never met Jimmy and that much of her story was fictitious. Cooke resigned, and the Post, humiliated by the incident, returned the Pulitzer Prize. More…

Posted: Sun Sep 28, 2014. Comments (0)

This Day in the History of Hoaxes: September 26

September 26, 1995: Transatlantic Paper Airplane
On this day in 1995, the Weekly World News reported that a paper airplane thrown by a school girl in North Carolina had been lifted up by "turbulent winds" and landed in Portugal. The article promptly made its way onto the Internet, where many people mistook it for real news, including the producers of The Family Channel TV special Unbelievable, who admitted that they made dozens of calls trying to track down the girl named in the story. [Weekly World News]

Posted: Fri Sep 26, 2014. Comments (1)

This Day in the History of Hoaxes: September 25

September 25, 1973: The Knocking Ghost of Boise
Police in Boise, Idaho were initially stumped by the case of an apparent ghost in the house of Peggy Zimmerman. The ghost made knocking sounds on the floor and could rap out correct answers to questions. The mystery was solved on this day in 1973 by a TV newsman who realized that the source of the rapping was Mrs. Zimmerman's young daughter, Shelley, who was always present when the ghost was rapping. Shelley had the ability to surreptitiously crack her ankle by flexing it, thereby making a loud knocking sound. More…

Posted: Thu Sep 25, 2014. Comments (0)

The Bogus Inheritance of Jean Naccarelli

Posted: Wed Sep 24, 2014. Comments (1)

Portsmouth UFO

Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2014. Comments (1)

The New 420 Mile Marker

Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2014. Comments (1)

This Day in the History of Hoaxes: September 23

September 23, 1936: Fake Lie Detector
The disclosure that a grammar school in Newark, New Jersey had been using a fake lie detector to make boys "confess their errors" caused a storm of controversy. The operator of the machine (usually the school principal) would activate a hidden switch whenever he thought a boy was lying, causing a red bulb to start flashing. In response to criticism that the fake lie detector created a "jail atmosphere," the principal ordered the machine burned in the furnace.

Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2014. Comments (0)

This Day in the History of Hoaxes: September 19

September 19, 1984: Houston Zoo's Fake Snake
On this day, the Houston Zoo admitted that the coral snake on display for the past two years was not actually alive. It was a rubber snake. Zoo curator John Donaho explained, "We have had live snakes in the exhibit, but they don't do well. They tend to die. Rather than kill snakes, we put out a rubber one for people to be able to see what they look like." The zoo's confession came after a concerned caller reported he hadn't seen the snake move in months. The zoo subsequently received a box from an East Coast zoo containing another rubber coral snake as well as "breeding loan" documentation.

Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2014. Comments (1)