11Ronald Reagan
In 1981, President Ronald Reagan accused Russia of using chemical weapons against rural farmers in Laos after yellow droplets fell from the sky and splattered the landscape, followed by dying plants, animals, stomach problems in humans. The USA started ramping up production of chemical weapons in retaliation. All this happened because of false lab results. The yellow droplets turned out to be naturally occurring bee excrement falling from the sky.
12Fake moon rock
The supposed moon rock from the Apollo mission that was given to the former prime minister of the Netherlands in 1969, it turned out to be just petrified wood.
13Alicia Esteve Head
A woman named Alicia Esteve Head fabricated a story about being on the 78th floor of the south World Trade Center when it was hit. She became the president of the WTC Survivors Network. She was actually in Spain during 9/11.
14Lindow woman
In 1983, a man from Cheshire, England confessed to his wife's murder when a body was discovered near his house. It turned out to be a preserved "bog body" from the Iron Age.
15Secret French commandos
In 2012, two Bulgarian alfalfa farmers captured 5 suspected thieves after an intense fight. These 5 thieves then turned out to be French commandos who were on a secret training mission.
16Jerry Lee Lewis
In 1958, news broke that Singer Jerry Lee Lewis had married a 15-year-old "woman". She later turned out to be only 13-year-old and later turned out to be his first cousin named Myra Gail Lewis.
17Twin couple restaurant
In the city of Yiwu in eastern China, people were confused about how a Chinese couple managed to run a busy restaurant 21 hours a day without getting tired. Locals named them “robot couple restaurant”. It turns out the restaurant is run by two couples, both the men and women are identical twins.
Latest FactRepublic Video:
15 Most Controversial & Costly Blunders in History
18Fiji water ad
In 2006, Fiji water ran an ad saying "The label says Fiji because it's not bottled in Cleveland." Cleveland took offense to that and ran some tests. It turns out Cleveland's tap water is better than Fiji's bottled water.
19Elmer McCurdy
In 1976, a film crew went to the haunted house in a Californian amusement park to shoot footage for a popular TV show. They discovered a hanging body that they thought was a mannequin. Turns out it was a real person (Elmer McCurdy), who had been dead and was circulated in various carnivals for over 60 years.
20Alzheimer risk
Eleven well reported medical studies showed cigarette smoking actually lowers Alzheimer's risk. However, 10 years later, it comes to light that every study was done by scientists with undeclared connections to the tobacco industry.