A new book about hoaxes has just come out. A Treasury of Deception: Liars, Misleaders, Hoodwinkers, and the Extraordinary True Stories of History's Greatest Hoaxes, Fakes, and Frauds by Michael Farquhar. The publisher (Penguin) sent me a free copy to help promote the book--which means that we get to have another book give-away contest! The winner gets the book. However, I can't think of a good contest to have (my brain is just too tired right now). I'm inclined to do another urban-legend/hoax haiku contest, since that was pretty fun last time. However, I thought I'd take suggestions first. If anyone can think of a fun contest, leave your suggestion in the comments. Otherwise, in about a week, I'll do another hoax haiku thing.
Comments
The submissions would be fun to read, just for starters. You'd decide the winner but keep it to yourself until you thought there had been enough entries. Then you'd announce the winner, setting off a firestorm of debate on the message board. It's a win-win!
I think all entries should concern hoaxes created by the submitter, otherwise you'd get a ton of entries about hoaxes we all already know.
Of course, it means I won't be in the running, but it's still a good idea.
It would provide some humour, anyway.
Besides...you would have a lot of great additions for this site, as well.
Each person that participates would have to post their ebay user name and email here on hoax...along with the link.
Perhaps a less agressive contest would be to simply find the most outrageous item for sale on ebay.
The later would be funnier, as would a photoshop-type contest of "things that don't exist - or do they?" contest where you create a picture of a hoax, but how many would participate?
joemono
Anyway, sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel belittled or anything, I just thought you were making a different suggestion and/or point.
If it makes you feel better, I liked the idea of a general hoax better than photoshopping only.
😊
We have a contest where each participant has to tell the true story of how they started a well-known urban legend. This is a double-recursive hoax contest--not only will it be about urban legends, but it will give each contestant a chance to create his own bullcrap tall-tale origin story for how the legend got started! The story that Alex likes best wins.
"I remember back in the seventies, my uncle Roger died. He had lost his hand in the war, and for some reason he left his prosthetic hook to me. I sat their at the funeral, looking at the hook in the box at my feet, wondering what the hell I could do with it. That night, I went out to the local Lover's Lane...."
(I'm weird, which results in creativity.)
So I guess I win... nothing.
However, what if it had a twist?
People submit an image to Alex, either a photoshopped fake picture, or real picture, of an improbable person, place, object or situation. They also tell Alex if it is real or fake (with proof if possible). Alex then posts only the images (no names) on a page allowing people to vote whether they thing the image is real or fake. Whoever fools the most people wins, hoax master.
A contest worthy of this site. IMHO.
It could also work with the story contest, but that is harder to prove either way. I once got arrested for paying for a taco with a $2 bill...
As for an eBay auction contest, you have to remember that there's a fine line between a clever auction and breaking the law. An item listed on eBay has to be exactly as advertised or the seller could be in trouble with the law. I'm not saying an eBay auction contest is a horrible idea, just that you truly do have to be careful with what you claim to be selling. As they tell you, an eBay auction is a binding contract.
If you advertise "air from a UFO crater" just as an example, if you couldn't prove that it truly WAS air from a UFO crater, you'd be guilty of false advertising and the buyer could sue. That was just an example, so please don't pick it apart, OK? You get my point, right?
How about the contest be trying to post up a hoax that has occured, but =that has never been posted on MOH before, in blog or forum=. Of course people would have to post a reference or references on where they found it. Alex could then pick the most obscure or funniest one.
So: To Photoshop != To Edit With Adobe Photoshop
Most systems have some basic graphic editing programs, and if you want a good one free you can get GIMP, or a few others.
I have no such skills, but do have Photoshop 3.0 (Piltdownman age & was ~$10 on e-bay), but can barely remove red-eyes.
The photoshop thing would be difficult for everyone to participate in.
If you liked the haiku thing, how about doing an anagram poem. Everyone must write a poem with the first letter of each line spells out the title of the book: Deception.
(for those of you confused. If you were to write a poem about a fish it might look like this:
Fin covered, human faced, swimming
In the coi ponds of asia
Should we consider government
Heredity experimentation?
(ok, so there was absolutely no rhyming in this. I didn;t work on it...I just typed it out. So... extra points for rhyming!)
How about "Deep Colon Polyp"?
No, wait, I've got it! Deep Pretzel.
A contest for the best miraculous (or not) apparition of somebody on an item of food. You'd have to use real food, but otherwise technique would be up to the contestant. Entrants could chose between sending the actual food item to Alex (no fair mailing something runny or smelly, though) or submitting a photograph of it. Who manifests him/her/it self on food and how would be up to each contestant.
The problem I see with a best "hoax site" or a photoshop contest is that these require skills that not everyone has. Just my humble opinion.