Hoax Museum Blog: Urban Legends

Crop Circle — Very cool new crop circle found near Stonehenge.

Time Travel Mutual Fund — I once read a science fiction story that theorized that we never die. We just grow more improbable. Whenever we face a life/death moment, there is always a probability, however remote, that we could survive. In one universe we might die, but in an alternative universe somewhere that branches off from our reality the remote probability that we survive is followed. It was a neat theory for a science fiction story. This site has found a way to make money from a very similar idea. Just before you die, they promise, you will be sucked into the future by time travellers. You guarantee this by putting $10 now into their time travel mutual fund. Over 500 years that $10 will turn into millions of dollars, thanks to the miracle of compound interest. This will pay for the expense of sucking you into that future world. Somehow I doubt that they intend to keep any money given to them in a mutual fund for 500 years. But at least they give you a certificate in exchange for your cash.

Barry Minkow — Fascinating update and background from the Guardian on Barry Minkow, famous in the '80s for his ZZZZ Best carpet-cleaning scam which he perpetrated when he was only 20. Served 7 and 1/2 years. I wonder if anyone from Enron will serve even a fraction of that time?

Thin line between fact and fiction — Truth and paranoid fiction becoming blurred in the modern world (Editorial from the Daily Pennsylvanian).

Stephen Glass — They're making a movie about the fraudulent career of Stephen Glass of the New Republic. It'll star Darth Vader as Stephen Glass.

Imperial Misunderstanding — Be careful when you address the Imperial Highness in Japan. Amusing reference to possible verbal misunderstanding, from Japan Today.

Brian MacKinnon — Update about Brian MacKinnon, the 32 year old man who posed as a 17-year-old in order to get into medical school. Now it's seven years later and he's living in his car.

Piltdown Man Redux — Ancient skull found in Africa. Let's hope that it doesn't turn out to be another Piltdown Man. This time they should check the jawbone (if there is one) really carefully.

Presidential Candidates — Some alternative presidential candidates from the past: fig bar man, pogo, and nobody.

Fake Euros fool shoppers — "A publicity stunt by a German firm which sent out fake 300 and 1,000-euro notes adorned with naked women has backfired after people began using them as legal tender. The firm Planet-Present said it had permission from the Bundesbank and European Central Bank. Only close scrutiny shows the notes are fakes. Michael Leidig, Vienna." Found on the Daily Telegraph site.
Here's a picture of Planet-Present's fake euro (page is in German).

P.T. Barnum — Here's an interesting site about P.T. Barnum, including a list of his most famous humbugs: ptbarnum.org