Hoax Museum Blog: Urban Legends

Johann Dieter Wassmann — I've already linked to the website of the art of Johann Dieter Wassmann, but The Age has a full article about this fictitious artist.

Russian Roulette TV — Man plays Russian roulette on British TV as three million viewers watch. Of course, it was just an illusion, vetted in advance by the police. But the stunt causes controversy anyway.

Male Lactation — Here's an odd website, forwarded to me by Mara. It's titled Milkmen:// Fathers Who Breastfeed. Now, when I first saw this I figured it had to be a joke. It surely can't be possible for men to lactate and produce enough milk to feed an infant. But after reading through the site, and exploring some of the links it provides, I'm beginning to suspect it might not be a joke. One of their links goes to this article about a man from Sri Lanka who breastfed his child after his wife died. I guess men do have all the physical equipment necessary to produce milk. It's just a question of triggering the right hormones so that the equipment starts working.

Hell on Earth’s Suicide Stunt — Hell on Earth promises that its concert in St. Petersburg this weekend will include an onstage suicide. A terminally ill patient will be the one departing this world. I guess if you wanted to go, doing it at a rock concert wouldn't be a bad way to do it, but in my opinion this is a pure publicity stunt hoax. In the same vein as Hunting for Bambi, Or Freck's New Feet (in which Freck claimed he was going to cut off his legs for a live audience... that never happened, of course). What will happen in this case is that the police will show up, and the concert will never take place. But Hell on Earth will have achieved lots of publicity. I'd never heard of them before, after all, but now I have. They can also claim to have legitimately raised awareness about the subject of euthanasia. The beauty of this stunt is that it definitely could happen. But I would wager money that it won't. These stunts never deliver on their promises. They're all about the publicity.

No Marriage — A visitor (Carly) has asked me whether I think nomarriage.com is a hoax site. After checking it out, I don't think it is. The guy may be slightly tongue-in-cheek, and he's definitely designed his site to generate maximum controversy, but I'm sure that if you pay him $9.95 (via paypal) you really will get his NoMarriage book, and it'll basically be a misogynistic rant against American women. I could see people thinking it would be an amusing gag gift for someone about to get married, but personally I wouldn't want to give any money to the guy.

Fake Car Crashes — One car crashes. Nineteen people claim they were passengers in it. Police suspect something is up. What happens when people fake their own car crash. And in other auto-fraud news, 47 people arrested in an auto-insurance scam.

Batmobile — Holy Fake Batmobile! Would-be Batman demands refund.

Polite Practical Jokers — A columnist for the Cleveland Plain Dealer complains that modern practical jokes just aren't funny any more because they're too well-mannered and polite. In particular he's talking about flash mobs... the new fad (which is already old) in which crowds suddenly appear somewhere, having arranged to meet via text-messaging or email, do something nonsensical, and then disappear. I agree about the lameness of flash mobs. He also gives David Blaine's newest stunt a thumbs down. I'd have to agree again.

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).

Stu Magazine — Bob Pagani (aka the cranky media guy) gave me a heads up about a recent Canadian media hoax. It was the launch of Stu, a new 'lad' magazine in the style of Maxim. Stu was the magazine 'for the adequate man.' Articles included advice on how to score with hot-girl's less-than-hot friends, as well as how to find great free merchandise by dumpster diving. The new magazine managed to get quite a bit of press coverage, even though, as it turned out, there was no Stu magazine. Only a press kit.

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."

Across Loch Ness — Lloyd Scott plans to walk across Loch Ness... beneath the water. Everyone is hoping he'll bump into Nessie.

Single Black Female Looking for Love — An email has been making the rounds that appears to be a personal ad from a 'single black female' who's looking for love. Daisy, as the mystery female calls herself, promises that she loves to play and, if she finds the right man, will be willing to wait at home for him 'wearing only what nature gave me.' Thousands of men have called up the number listed in the email, only to find themselves connected to the Atlanta Humane Society. Daisy is, of course, a black Labrador. Here's the text of the email:
SINGLE BLACK FEMALE seeks male companionship, ethnicity unimportant. I'm a very good-looking girl who LOVES to play. I love long walks in the woods, riding in your pickup truck, hunting, camping and fishing trips, cozy winter nights lying by the fire. Candlelight dinners will have me eating out of your hand. Rub me the right way and watch me respond. I'll be at the front door when you get home from work, wearing only what nature gave me. Kiss me and I'm yours. Call [phone number] and ask for Daisy.

George Plimpton (1927-2003) — George Plimpton, creator of Sidd Finch (which came in at number 3 on my list of the greatest April Fool's day hoaxes of all time), has died. He was 76 years old.

Mickey Mouse Goes to University — A British reporter filled out a university application with info for Mickey Mouse, and Mickey was accepted. But to be fair to the university, instead of using the name 'Mickey Mouse,' which would have been a giveaway, he wrote Michael Mouse. That sounds like it really could be someone's name.

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.

The Collect-Trash-for-Charity Hoax — Schoolchildren in Gloucester, England were fooled by a hoax, versions of which have been around for decades. They received an email message telling them that if they collected 3 kilograms of empty Walker chips packages, then Walker Chips would pay for the treatment of a child born without an arm. The kids collected all the packages of chips, only to learn that Walker Chips had never made such an offer. Like I said, versions of this hoax have happened many times before. They often involve the collection of bottle caps, empty boxes of matches, or other junk, all, so it is said, to support some good cause. Curtis MacDougall, in his classic study of hoaxes, records an example of this cruel practical joke occurring in the 1930s. I'm surprised that the school administrators in Gloucester weren't clued into this scam.

The Truth About the Abominable Snowman — The Abominable Snowman, or Yeti, is really just a legend derived from stories about the Himalayan Brown Bear, says this Japanese researcher. He found that 'meti' means brown bear in the language of the indigenous people around the Himalayas. But in one region they say 'yeti' instead of 'meti.' Thus the tales about the Yeti.

The Nature of Reality — Interesting discussion of the nature of reality. Posits three positions: 1) Reality is hidden and unknowable; 2) Reality is attainable; 3) We can't agree about reality. (via RealityCarnival).

Beta-7 and Sega ESPN NFL Football — I don't have much time to examine this fully, but a visitor (Rocketboy_X) just alerted me to a possible hoax involving a guy named 'Beta-7' who claims to have been a beta tester for one of Sega's new video games, ESPN NFL Football, until he began to experience blackouts during which he would engage in unpredictable behavior (such as randomly tackling people). On his website (or rather, a website devoted to publicizing his claims), Beta-7 claims that the game (which was just released a few weeks ago) causes this reaction in a small percentage of people, and that Sega knows about this and is trying to cover it up. Of course, this all smells like it's a controversy engineered by Sega itself for publicity. Here's another website that explores the entire controversy and the various theories people have about it.