Hoaxes and Imposters and Imitators
King Kong Climbs Empire State Building
On April 1, the drone company Studio Hock, which specializes in creating "world-class drone show experiences," posted a video clip on its Instagram account claiming that they had used their drones to simulate King Kong climbing the Empire State building.They concluded the post with the remark, "#aprilfools might just be my favorite holiday" — a giveaway that this hadn't happened. Nevertheless, the clip is fooling quite a few people (such as here and here). At least one news station (wsvn-tv in Miami) has reported it as an actual event (link to footage).
Update: I closed commenting for this post because the comments were causing all kinds of error codes to be generated. I'm pretty sure it had something to do with the embedded instagram post, but even when I removed the embed, comments were still causing errors. So I decided the easiest solution was to not deal with the comments.
Posted By: Alex - Wed Apr 23, 2025 -
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Category: Hoaxes and Imposters and Imitators, Technology, Pranks
I Spit on Your Graves
The novel J'irai cracher sur vos tombes ("I spit on your graves") was published in France in 1946. It was promoted as being a work so steamy and controversial that no American publisher dared to print it. It was said to be authored by one Vernon Sullivan, a black American writer. The plot involved a black man who was able to pass as white who went on a violent quest for revenge after his brother was lynched. The book quickly became a bestseller.In reality, the book was written by Boris Vian who was French, white, and had never set foot in the United States. In other words, the book was written in French, but passed off as a translation from English. Though soon the book was published in English.
The success of the book prompted Vian to quickly write three more "Vernon Sullivan" novels. But the book's popularity ended up being Vian's undoing. As reported by wikipedia:
The book was adapted into a film with the same title, directed by Michel Gast. Vian had already publicly denounced the adaptation while it was still in production, but he attended the premiere on 23 June, 1959. A few minutes into the screening, he stood up and began to shout out his dissatisfaction with the film, and while doing so he collapsed and died of a sudden cardiac arrest on the way to the hospital.
Posted By: Alex - Thu Feb 27, 2025 -
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Category: Hoaxes and Imposters and Imitators, Literature, Books, Racism, 1940s
Funny Money
Posted By: Paul - Tue Dec 31, 2024 -
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Category: Hoaxes and Imposters and Imitators, Money, Husbands, Wives, 1950s
Korla Pandit
His Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Sun Dec 29, 2024 -
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Category: Hoaxes and Imposters and Imitators, Music, Space-age Bachelor Pad & Exotic, Television, 1950s
Fresh Out of Borstal
Posted By: Paul - Thu Oct 10, 2024 -
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Category: Hoaxes and Imposters and Imitators, Music, Prisons, 1970s, United Kingdom
Letters From a Living Dead Man
Check out the result of Elsa Barker's "automatic writing" and learn all about the afterlife.Elsa Barker's Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Aug 08, 2024 -
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Category: Death, Hoaxes and Imposters and Imitators, Supernatural, Occult, Paranormal, 1910s
Thrillington
There have been numerous occasions of artists hiding their involvement with their own work. Not just using a pseudonym, but actively encouraging a hoax. Here's one such. From the album's Wikipedia page:Thrillington is an album produced by English musician Paul McCartney, under the pseudonym Percy "Thrills" Thrillington.... [In] late 1976, McCartney decided to release the long-in-storage project, and devised a plan to publicize the album while obscuring his own involvement with it. In preparation for the release of Thrillington, McCartney invented the fictitious socialite Percy Thrillington, and even took out ads in various UK music papers announcing Thrillington's so-called comings and goings to generate curiosity and interest.
Released in April 1977, McCartney's name was mentioned only in the main liner notes where he is described as a friend of Percy. Thrillington went mostly unnoticed upon its release although it was reviewed by Rolling Stone magazine and mentioned in the "Random Notes" section.[5] Variety also reviewed the album, noting that "Whether Percy Thrillington is Paul McCartney or not is really irrelevant. What matters is that he (they) is (are) having fun."[6]
Listen to the other tracks at the link.
Posted By: Paul - Wed Jun 05, 2024 -
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Category: Hoaxes and Imposters and Imitators, Music, 1970s, United Kingdom
April Fool’s Day Prank Millionaire
Posted By: Paul - Sun Mar 03, 2024 -
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Category: Hoaxes and Imposters and Imitators, Holidays, Money, Friends, Partners, Co-Workers and Other Associates, 1930s
Li’l Abner Lookalike Contest
Posted By: Paul - Wed May 10, 2023 -
Comments (1)
Category: Awards, Prizes, Competitions and Contests, Hillbillies, Country Bumpkins, Ruralism and Flyover Country, Hoaxes and Imposters and Imitators, Movies, Regionalism, 1950s
The Cures of Albert Abrams
As his Wikipedia page tells us:Albert Abrams (December 8, 1863 – January 13, 1924) was a controversial American physician, well known during his life for inventing machines, such as the "Oscilloclast" and the "Radioclast", which he falsely claimed could diagnose and cure almost any disease.[1] These claims were challenged from the outset. Towards the end of his life, and again shortly after his death, many of his machines and conclusions were demonstrated to be intentionally deceptive or false.[2]
He actually published a whole periodical devoted to his theories. Read an issue here.
Hugo Gernsback, the father of modern science fiction, was having none of this, running the expose below in a 1923 issue of his magazine SCIENCE AND INVENTION.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Oct 14, 2022 -
Comments (3)
Category: Frauds, Cons and Scams, Hoaxes and Imposters and Imitators, Medicine, Patent Medicines, Nostrums and Snake Oil, 1920s
| Who We Are |
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |