20 Outrageous Rumors That Spread Like Wildfire

In 1842, a famous writer named Honore De Balzac tried to publicize his play by starting a rumor that opening night was sold out. The play opened to an empty house.

Snapple fell victim to a rumor that the small "K" on their label was either a representation of the Ku Klux Klan or of an imagined "Jewish Tax.” The "K" on the products actually meant that they were certified kosher.

When he was alive and kicking around, there was a rumor that Saddam Hussein bought over 4000 PS2's for production of weapons of mass destruction.

The glass harmonica became unpopular due to the rumor that playing the instrument drove the player mad.

Contrary to popular belief, composer Johannes Brahms never killed stray cats with a bow and arrow. In fact, the malicious rumor can be traced directly back to Richard Wagner, who resented Brahms for his opposition to Wagner's music and philosophical writings.

During an early congressional campaign, Lyndon B. Johnson supposedly tried to start a rumor that his opponent would have sex with pigs just to "make the sonofab****h deny it.”

During the Operation Pedro Pan, USA spread rumors that Castro was sending children off to Russia to train them. They did it so that Cuban parents would send their children to the US orphanages for educational purposes.

Because of her appearance, there were rumors that Confederate President Jefferson Davis' wife (Varina Davis) was mixed race.

During a nationwide search for Clément Barbot who had to lead a plot to overthrow Haitian president François Duvalier, rumors spread that Barbot had turned into a black dog. Duvalier ordered all black dogs to be put to death.

In 2009, a rumor about an all-lesbian "hidden city" located in northern Sweden spread through Chinese media.