18: Spaghetti trees & fake novels - history of hoaxes

The hoaxes that you are probably most familiar with today are tied to legends. They are a means to justify an end. Think of the famous grainy photo of the Loch Ness Monster which was falsified to prove the monster's existence. Similarly, think of the sketchy video of Big Foot which was also tampered with to prove that Sasquatch was real. But what of the hoaxes that stand alone? The hoaxes that confuse or mislead even the most intelligent minds. These are where the juicy stories can be found. Today, on Found Objects, I share a story or two (or several lol) about hoaxes that will make you stop in your tracks and consider the validity of even the most seemingly legitimate tales.

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Sources:

“6 Hoaxes People Actually Believed.” YouTube, Mental Floss, 2 Nov. 2022, www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3x-lsqynRI.

Dardenne, Robert. “Hoax.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., www.britannica.com/topic/hoax. Accessed 18 June 2024.

Irving, Rob, and Peter Brookesmith. “Crop Circles: The Art of the Hoax.” Smithsonian.Com, Smithsonian Institution, 15 Dec. 2009, www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/crop-circles-the-art-of-the-hoax-2524283/.

Kort, Alicia. “Did Mary Toft Give Birth to Rabbits?” Electric Literature, 26 Nov. 2019, electricliterature.com/did-mary-toft-give-birth-to-rabbits/#:~:text=Now%2C%20in%20Dexter%20Palmer’s%20historical,London’s%20top%20surgeons%20in%201726.

Lyons, Stephen. “The Beast of Loch Ness | Birth of a Legend.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, Nov. 2000, www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lochness/legend.html.

“Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus.” Save The Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus, zapatopi.net/treeoctopus/. Accessed 17 June 2024.

Pollock, Niki. “The Curious Case of Mary Toft.” University of Glasgow, Aug. 2009, www.gla.ac.uk/myglasgow/library/files/special/exhibns/month/aug2009.html.

“Save the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus.” The Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/lcwaN0010826. Accessed 17 June 2024.

Serena, Katie. “How a Bored Reporter Thought up One of the Greatest Literary Hoaxes of All Time.” All That’s Interesting, All That’s Interesting, 15 Dec. 2017, allthatsinteresting.com/naked-came-the-stranger.

“When Spaghetti Grew on Trees: The BBC’s Legendary April Fools’ Day Hoax.” Royal Examiner, 31 Mar. 2024, royalexaminer.com/when-spaghetti-grew-on-trees-the-bbcs-legendary-april-fools-day-hoax/.

“‘Legend of Bigfoot.’” Washington State Military Department, mil.wa.gov/the-legend-of-bigfoot. Accessed 17 June 2024. 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/in-excess/201705/the-psychology-hoaxing

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