1Cardiff Giant: Hoaxing Ancient Giants
In 1869, a supposed ancient giant was discovered in Cardiff, New York, attracting crowds willing to pay to see it. The owner, William Newell, sold a majority stake for $30,000 to businessmen who took the Cardiff Giant on tour. Experts soon declared it a statue, leading to suspicions that George Hull, Newell's cousin, had orchestrated the hoax to disprove religious beliefs about giants mentioned in the Bible.
2. In 1835, the New York Sun published The Great Moon Hoax, presenting a fictional science series as real accounts from astronomer Sir John Herschel's expedition to South Africa. The story exaggerated telescope capabilities, describing fantastical discoveries like half-bat humans and one-horned goats. Despite being fiction, the public, influenced by a mix of fact and hyperbole, initially believed the hoax, prompting widespread confusion until the author, Dr. Andrew Grant, revealed the story's fictitious nature.
3. The eighth-century forgery known as Emperor Constantine's donation of Rome to Pope Sylvester I greatly impacted medieval politics, asserting papal authority over key cities. According to the legend, Constantine became a Christian after Sylvester healed him of leprosy, giving him control over several churches. In 1440, Catholic priest Lorenzo Valla exposed the forgery by noting discrepancies in the Latin used, leading the Catholic Church to disown the document from its official canon.
4. In the drug experimentation era of the 1960s, a rumor spread that bananas could be turned into a hallucinogenic substance similar to LSD. The claim gained traction with the release of Donovan's song "Mellow Yellow," coincidentally featuring lyrics about an "electrical banana." Although bananas did contain some LSD-related ingredients, the amounts were too small for any effect. Originating in a counterculture magazine, the hoax persisted for years, even appearing in mainstream publications, ultimately benefiting banana growers without any substance behind the claim.
5. In 1983, British author Doris Lessing conducted an experiment under the pseudonym "Jane Somers" to highlight the challenges faced by new writers and defy critics who accused her of being one-dimensional. Despite American publishers being aware of the experiment, their British counterparts rejected her two novels, "The Diary of a Good Neighbour" and "If the Old Could", and the books received little attention, selling fewer than 5,000 copies. Lessing eventually revealed herself as the true author a year later, embarrassing the literary world as only a few astute critics had recognized her writing style.
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6Plainfield Teachers College Football Hoax
In 1941, Morris Newburger and friends tested newspaper credibility by inventing a football team, Plainfield Teachers College. They submitted fake scores, and the results were printed in multiple New York papers. Expanding the hoax, they created a fictional player, Johnny Chung, complete with press releases, a song, and even a dedicated phone line. The prank gained widespread attention until Time magazine exposed it. In the end, Newburger sent a final press release announcing the team's cancellation due to midterm exam failures, but it went unnoticed.
7. The Mechanical Turk, presented as an 18th-century chess-playing marvel, was a deception by Hungarian inventor Baron Wolfgang von Kempelen. Unveiled in 1770, it claimed to defeat strong chess players, including encounters with Napoleon and Benjamin Franklin. In reality, it housed a concealed human chess player within a secret compartment, creating the illusion of an automated machine. The Turk won games mainly because opponents were unnerved and unaware of the hidden player. The hoax persisted for almost 100 years before its eventual destruction in a fire.
8. In the mid-1950s, late-night DJ and writer of "A Christmas Story," Jean Shepherd, orchestrated a memorable prank after a bookstore clerk denied the existence of a book because it wasn't on the best sellers list. Outraged by this criterion, Shepherd fabricated a scandalous novel titled "I, Libertine" and encouraged listeners to request it at bookstores, confounding clerks and publishers. The prank gained notoriety and profit, prompting Shepherd to allow a real novelist to write the book, turning the hoax into a tangible and profitable reality.
9. Rupert Hughes, a lexicographer, included an unusual entry, ZZXJOANW, in the Music-Lovers Encyclopedia, claiming it was a Maori word pronounced 'Shaw,' meaning 'Drum' or 'Fife.' Despite staying in the encyclopedia for 70 years, it was later realized that Maori lacks Z and X, and words end with a vowel. The entry, now acknowledged as a hoax, has sparked theories about the possibility that Hughes encoded a message, such as sending kisses to someone named Joan Shaw.
10. In 1995, Ray Santilli claimed to possess footage of an "alien autopsy" after the 1947 Roswell UFO incident. Initially presented as authentic, he later revealed on April 4, 2006, that only a few frames were real, and the rest was a reconstruction using dummy alien bodies and a constructed set in London. The announcement stirred controversy, with some questioning the film's authenticity.
11Dreadnought Abyssinian Delegation: Cole's Prank
In 1910, Irish poet Horace de Vere Cole orchestrated a prank by convincing friends, including Virginia Woolf and Duncan Grant, to pose as an Abyssinian delegation visiting the flagship HMS Dreadnought. Faking an official telegram, Cole fooled the navy into an elaborate reception, complete with a tour and fake Swahili remarks. The media exposed the hoax on February 12, prompting the Royal Navy to send the Dreadnought to sea to escape the publicity, and the Bloomsbury Group was not formally charged to put the incident behind them.
12. In 1702, con artist George Psalmanazar fabricated a fantastical tale about the fictional land of Formosa (now Taiwan), claiming to be a native. With a Scottish priest, he traveled to London, shocking the English with tales of polygamy, cannibalism, and underground living for the upper class. His 1704 book became a bestseller. However, Psalmanazar was later discredited, yet he faced no punishment and went on to become a respected theologian.
13. David Rosenhan and seven of his colleagues conducted an experiment in 1973 to see if psychiatric professionals could correctly diagnose patients by simulating auditory hallucinations. Admitted to psychiatric facilities across five US states, the "pseudopatients" behaved normally but were often misinterpreted as mentally ill. After personnel failed to identify the fake patients in a subsequent phase, Rosenhan concluded that distinguishing between the sane and insane was challenging for professionals in psychiatric settings.
14. The Tasaday tribe in the Philippines, who were once labeled as a lost Stone Age society, were revealed to be a hoax. Despite claims of noble savagery, they were manipulated by Manuel Elizalde Jr., facilitating visits for anthropologists and celebrities. The ruse was exposed when Oswald Iten found them in modern clothing, using tools, during an unexpected visit. They later admitted to playing a role for financial gain. While some deemed it a publicity scam linked to the regime of Ferdinand Marcos, Filipino President Corazon Aquino declared them real in 1988, sparking ongoing scholarly debates about their authenticity.
15. On April 1, 2007, Londoner Dan Baines staged an April Fools' prank by posting a fabricated fairy corpse on an online auction site. Claiming authenticity with elaborate details, including hollow bird-like bones and wings, Baines attracted 20,000 viewers in a day. After initial assertions, he later confessed to the hoax and added a disclaimer. Despite the admission, some believers maintain the fairy's authenticity, accusing Baines of concealment.
16Clever Hans: The Math Horse
In the early 1900s, Wilhelm von Olsten showcased Clever Hans, a horse claimed to possess extraordinary math skills. Osten, a mathematics teacher, traveled for free exhibitions, where the horse would answer questions by tapping his foot. Doubters prompted independent studies, revealing Hans couldn't answer unknown questions. His true ability was tapping until people signaled the correct answer, fooling audiences and earning applause.
17. In 1967, Leonard Lewin published the controversial "Report From Iron Mountain On The Possibility And Desirability Of Peace," allegedly from a secret 15-man panel advocating perpetual war for economic stability. It recommended the government establish a perpetual war to maintain the economy and global status quo. It sparked widespread debate, with some labeling it a hoax and others seeing it as confirmation of a conspiracy to prolong the Vietnam War. Five years later, Lewin admitted fabricating the report to satirize think tanks and promote contemplation on transitioning to a peacetime economy, but conspiracy theorists persist in believing its authenticity.
18. In 1725, Dr. Johann Berringer, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Würzburg, was pranked by colleagues who planted over 2000 fake "lapides figurati" (stones with recognizable images). Despite obvious signs, such as stones forming insects and a Hebrew text spelling "Jehovah," Berringer published a book about his finds. His colleagues, regretting the prank, unsuccessfully tried to dissuade him. The scandal unfolded when Berringer realized the deception, leading to legal action and ruined careers for all involved.
19. On April Fools' Day in 1957, the BBC aired a deceptive episode of Panorama, a documentary show, claiming a Swiss family harvested spaghetti from trees. The mockumentary featuring renowned broadcaster Richard Dimbleby captivated UK viewers who were unfamiliar with spaghetti. Many sought advice on growing their spaghetti trees, prompting the BBC to humorously suggest placing spaghetti in tomato sauce and hoping for the best.
20. In 1998, acclaimed British novelist William Boyd orchestrated an elaborate literary hoax with the publication of Nat Tate: An American Artist 1928-1960. The biography detailed the life of Nat Tate, an abstract expressionist who supposedly destroyed 99 percent of his work and took his life, but it was entirely a figment of Boyd's imagination. Presented as real and reviewed extensively, the hoax involved collaboration with Tate Britain, the National Gallery, and even a public reading by David Bowie on April Fools' Day. The elaborate ruse aimed to expose the pretentiousness of the art world, as revealed when a reader exposed the hoax in The Independent.
21Mary Toft's Rabbit Birth Hoax
In 1726, a woman named Mary Toft claimed to give birth to rabbits, gaining public attention. Surgeon John Howard, after inspecting the remains, endorsed the story, and Mary allegedly delivered more rabbits. The bizarre tale even led to a royal investigation. However, Mary's hoax was exposed when evidence of purchased rabbits emerged. She confessed, and her five-month jail term followed.
22. Joseph B. Swan, a Colorado farmer with a penchant for practical jokes, pulled off a simple yet effective hoax by claiming to grow 26,000 pounds of potatoes in a year on one acre of land with his special "Maggie Murphy" variety. Using a carved piece of wood, he posed in a photograph with a giant 86-pound potato, which became widely circulated. Despite the skepticism of experts who exposed the fake, Swan received numerous requests for his special potato seed until he eventually revealed the hoax, claiming the magnificent potato had been stolen and he was quitting the spud business.
23. In 2009, Richard and Mayumi Heene claimed their son Falcon had floated away in a helium balloon shaped like a flying saucer. The media covered the incident extensively, dubbing Falcon "Balloon Boy." However, it was later revealed as a hoax when Falcon was found hiding in the attic. Richard Heene received a 90-day jail sentence and a restitution order, while Mayumi served 20 days of community service. They were also prohibited from financially benefiting from the incident.
24. In 1983, the West German magazine Stern published what they believed to be Adolf Hitler's unseen diaries, purchased for $4 million. Handwriting experts confirmed their authenticity, but skepticism led to further tests, revealing modern stationery and forgery. Editors, including those from Stern, The Sunday Times, and Newsweek, resigned. The diaries were later exposed as a hoax, forged by Konrad Kujau, a small-time crook.
25. In the 1820s, Gregor MacGregor went beyond typical cons, inventing an imaginary Central American country called Poyais, complete with a flag, banknotes, and a nobility system. Capitalizing on Britain's economic boom, he raised almost $6 billion by offering bonds for the fictional land's development. He also convinced Scottish settlers to seek fortunes in Poyais. However, the reality was devastating, with starvation, disease, and suicides claiming two-thirds of the settlers. MacGregor's scheme failed, and he fled to Paris, attempting a similar trick before eventually escaping to Venezuela and avoiding returning to Europe.
