Historical Hoaxes Quiz

Test your knowledge of hoaxes. David Emery, About.com's Urban Legends and Folklore guide, has posted a pop quiz about Historical Hoaxes and Fallacies. I got 15 out of 15, a perfect score. Woo Hoo! (It would have been kind of embarrassing if I had gotten any wrong, though there was one question about what Neil Armstrong said when he first stepped onto the surface of the moon that I had to think about for a while.)

Miscellaneous

Posted on Thu Jun 14, 2007


Comments

I got 14 right
many I wasn't sure about but made eddykatid guesses
I got the one about the brewery wrong.
Posted by Sharruma  on  Thu Jun 14, 2007  at  12:53 PM
I got 14 right...
Missed the one about the autobiography.

The rest were aided by hanging out here so much - Thanks Alex.
Posted by oppiejoe  on  Thu Jun 14, 2007  at  01:30 PM
15/15.
Thank goodness! My honour is intact.
😉
Posted by Boo  on  Thu Jun 14, 2007  at  01:42 PM
15/15. The one about what was NOT spotted on the moon was a guess though.
Posted by Zoom  on  Thu Jun 14, 2007  at  05:42 PM
I guessed the moon thing wrong and also choose none of the above for the Orson Wells question because I thought it was a trick question. I didn't realize the aliens were from Mars...
Posted by Slender Loris  on  Thu Jun 14, 2007  at  06:12 PM
9 out of 15, I hang my head in shame.
Posted by Bill  on  Thu Jun 14, 2007  at  06:15 PM
I got 15/15 but I did have to look up in The Museum of Hoaxes book to find out what wasn't spotted on the moon. I had a hunch of the correct answer but I really couldn't be sure.
Posted by Nettie  on  Thu Jun 14, 2007  at  06:37 PM
15 out of 15, too, but on the Moon one I only recognised one of the things that he'd seen and so had to guess from among the other answers. And I knew that the autobiography was between one answer or the other, so again I guessed.
Posted by Accipiter  on  Thu Jun 14, 2007  at  11:31 PM
I got 13 out of 15. I got the Piltdown man skull wrong. I thought the year it was discovered fake was different.

And I got the Cardiff Giant one wrong. I can't believe I got that one wrong. :(
Posted by Tah  on  Fri Jun 15, 2007  at  12:01 AM
I got 12 out of 15 correct which I consider to be fairly good for me! I got the author wrong for the fairies question which is fairly frustrating and a couple of other silly ones. Got the sentient tomatoes right though, purely because I doubt he could have determined sentience through his telescope!
Posted by Gareth  on  Fri Jun 15, 2007  at  06:08 AM
15!

But... hadn't heard of the brewery one, so had to guess at that; what wasn't on the moon was deduction (how could you recognize that tomatoes were sentient through a telescope?) rather than informed.

Knew all the others, though. Thanks, of course, to hanging out here... with maybe a little debt to snopes.
Posted by outeast  on  Fri Jun 15, 2007  at  07:17 AM
15

Spent too much time at this site....I have no life!
Posted by Craig  on  Fri Jun 15, 2007  at  09:36 AM
I just check three sources (including SNOPES) and the question about the Boston Molasses flood is wrong(false). The flood occured on January 15, 1919.
Posted by Channing Mould  on  Fri Jun 15, 2007  at  12:51 PM
14/15

For the moon...

I put "This is a realistic movie set!"

hahah
Posted by Vincent  on  Fri Jun 15, 2007  at  02:38 PM
I got 14 out of 15 - I guessed wrong on the autobiography one.
Posted by Madmouse  on  Fri Jun 15, 2007  at  04:22 PM
Y'now, I didn't even take the test... I was thrown off kilter by Alex's use of the term: "Woo Hoo"... I'm not sure what it is about that expression of excitement that gives me The Heebie Jeebies, but it just seems unnatural. Gives me The Willies. Brrr
Posted by Hairy Houdini  on  Sat Jun 16, 2007  at  09:50 PM
okay, now I've received several e-mails expressing dismay at my use of the term: "Heebie Jeebies"... I assure you that it is in no way a perjorative, but I do confess that "The Willies" is a purgative, and "Brrr" somewhat punitive. I apologize if I've offended anyone, I meant no harm. Well, maybe a little
Posted by Hairy Houdini  on  Sat Jun 16, 2007  at  09:55 PM
oh man, I googled the etymology of the term: "Woo Hoo", and it said: "First words said by Neil Armstrong on The Moon"... I sense some kind of skullduggery afoot. I've been had, took, bamboozled. I'm such a rube
Posted by Hairy Houdini  on  Sat Jun 16, 2007  at  10:01 PM
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