Unbelievable Facts About The Most Infamous Hoaxes Of All Time
Truth is stranger than fiction, and throughout history, a legion of pranksters, hucksters, and frauds have exploited humanity’s innate hunger for the extraordinary. Whether motivated by money, fame, politics, or reasons even they couldn’t explain, hoaxers all have one thing in common: for a brief moment, at least, the made us fall for it. Here are 42 nearly believable facts about history’s most infamous hoaxes.
History's Most Infamous Hoaxes Facts
1. Monkey Business
Do you get modern art? Neither do we. And neither did Swedish journalist, Dacke Axelsson. In 1964, he took a jab at the art world when he displayed a series of works by an upcoming French painter named Pierre Brassau. The art community lavished praise on Brassau’s work until Axelsson revealed the humiliating truth. “Pierre Brassau” was actually a four-year-old chimp named Peter who lived in the Borås zoo.
2. Good Eye
Dacke and Peter didn’t fool everybody: one critic wrote “Only an ape could have done this.”
3. Mars Attacks!
In 1949, inspired by Orson Welles’ legendary radio broadcast of War of the Worlds, an Ecuadorean radio station aired a fake news report that aliens had landed. Listeners were alarmed at first, but when they discovered it was a hoax, they stormed the radio station. They had their revenge, but it came at a devastating cost. The ensuing riots led to the deaths of six people.
