Hoax Museum Blog: Urban Legends

UFO Sightings — UFO sightings expected to increase in the next few weeks. But that bright object in the night sky won't be a UFO. It'll be the International Space Station.

What separates skeptics from believers — Fascinating article in New Scientist reports on research that posits that what really separates skeptics from believers (when it comes to matters such as paranormal activity) is brain chemistry. Those with high levels of dopamine in their brains seem to be more prone to see patterns and meaning in random pieces of information. When the drug L-dopa was given to skeptics, they likewise became more prone to see patterns in randomness as well. Of course, the researchers seem to be assuming that the patterns weren't really there. But maybe they actually really WERE there, but the researchers themselves weren't able to see them because their own levels of dopamine weren't high enough. I wonder if the researchers noted their own dopamine levels as part of the study.

Naperville Crop Circle — Large crop circle found in a field of soybeans outside of Naperville, Illinois. Is it real, or a publicity stunt in anticipation of the release of the movie 'Signs' on August 2?

Web Site of Supernatural Activity — "Stickboy" sent me an e-mail letting me know about his "official web site of supernatural activity." Check it out.

Wacky Postcards — Nice collection of 'Wacky Postcards' (also referred to as tall tale postcards, or freak postcards) at the UCM Museum's site. UCM stands for Unusual Collections and Miniature Town. The Museum is located in Louisiana. I've never been to Louisiana, but I'd love to get there someday.

Remembering Naked Came the Stranger — Robert Wiemer, one of the 25 authors of the 'Naked Came the Stranger' literary hoax from 1969, died yesterday. He was better known as an editorial writer for Newsday.

Naked Came the Stranger was a novel that was designed to test just how low the standards of taste of the American public had sunk. 25 Newsday staff members each wrote a chapter of this novel. Their only requirements were that their chapters could contain no plot or character development, no social insight, and no verbal skill. Only one thing was required: a minimum of two sex scenes per chapter.

The resulting novel was attributed to a fictitious author (Penelope Ashe), who was played by the attractive sister-in-law of Mike McGrady, the columnist who conceived the idea for the hoax. McGrady's sister-in-law played her role to the fullest, appearing in interviews wearing low-cut dresses and bubbling about the joys of sexual liberation. The American public predictably ate it up and sales of the book soared. The Newsday writers eventually began to feel guilty about all the money they were receiving from the farce, and confessed. But the resulting publicity only made the book sell even better.

Fake Romanian Soccer Team — A rogue soccer team pretends to be Romania's Olympic team.

Fake 9/11 Heroics — Lake Tahoe Man invents Sept. 11 heroics, including the claim that he was buried under rubble for over 79 hours.

Online Liars — Using technology to get around the problem of people lying online. From the NY Times (reg. req.). Researchers estimate that 42% of online responses are currently false.

Should it be called palmistry or buttistry? — I've heard about psychics reading palms. Now here's one that reads buttocks.

Ghostwriting — Great article in the National Post about the role of ghostwriters in the writing of "autobiographies." Often ghostwriters will invent the lives of their subjects out of whole cloth... And many celebrities never read the autobiographies which they've supposedly written. As the article says, "If the nominal author of a memoir says, 'I want to thank the devoted and talented Ms. Holly Ryle for her expert editorial assistance,' that probably means she wrote every word."

Return of the Monkey Man — The Monkey Man has returned in India, after an absence of about a year. Reports are that a "monkey-like machine" is attacking people as they sleep on rooftops and in open places.

Mortimer Menpes — An exhibition of the art of Mortimer Menpes is being displayed at the National Library of Australia. Menpes was known for making fakes of the works of the great masters. This was in the early 20th century.

Bogus Yellow Pages — A bogus yellow pages scam.

Cheney Cracks Down — Cheney promises crackdown on corporate fraud. I don't know. Somehow it seems a little fishy.

Fake Lettuce — Baywatch star Traci Bingham has been getting a huge amount of publicity for parading around European cities in her bikini made out of lettuce. Her point was to promote vegetarianism. But purists will note that the bikini was made out of fake lettuce.

Loopholes in 2nd Law of Thermodynamics — Scientists find loopholes in the second law of thermodynamics. True believers in the possibility of a perpetual motion machine will love this.

Starbucks Coupons — Bogus coupons circulating through e-mail are causing a headache for Starbucks.

Your Digital Buddy Pirate — On the subject of Digital Buddies (see below) here's a website where your online digital buddy can be a member of an LA street gang. His name is Pirate. Ask him whatever you want. You even get to see him type his reply.

Digital Buddies — Digital Buddies are fake friends who will sell you products online. They chat and make jokes, but they're just computer programs. From the LA Times (requires reg.).