I would like to humbly request that the Christopher Walken for President 2008 campaign hoax be added to this list. Created on my forum as an intentional hoax as highlighted in this summary: http://www.genmay.com/showthread.php?t=562197 I think it stands as a shining example of what acne riddled young men on ritalin can do if they apply themselves. The hoax even ended up being brought up on Jay Leno even though our forum was given no credit for it. I say use the "F' word so that forums are no longer the dirty little secret repository of knowledge and shens on the internet. May you all F more!
Melinda
· 4 months ago
I love this latest post. People are easily entertained and want to believe things that aren't real. I really enjoy your blog. Can I post a link to your site on the blog I recently started?
Rob Goldsmith
· 4 months ago
Thanks for the great post!
Like no. 15 - Drunk text messaging should be illegal. Its like seat belts - it would save a lot of us even though we would all be against it at first.
CountRob
· 4 months ago
Blair Witch should be #1. The most viral internet hoax in history.
Eric Miltsch
· 4 months ago
Drats - BirdingPeru beat me to it; Bonsai Kittens is among my all-time favs as well!
Awesome post.
julien aubert
· 4 months ago
As I look closely at all the ARG activity, I always wonder how far game-designers can legaly go in hoaxes or fake in general. Can media that realy the news sue them ?
John Hamilton Farr
· 4 months ago
Funny you use a crop circle image to lead off a "hoax" article... a bit more detachment and a lot less certainty might lead you to some interesting discoveries.
Miramon
· 4 months ago
Since the kremvax thing was a UUCP address, that technically wasn't an Internet hoax. They would have been dialing up to exchange email and news posts with UUCP.... Also I don't think that Internet was actually used as an official term in 1984: it would still have been the Arpanet, I believe. But yes, I vaguely recall the event, it was a fun little hoax.
dougal
· 4 months ago
The Tourist of Death doesn't make this list, and Bigfoot does? Really?
Get your facts right - Steorn - #14 is not an internet hoax. They really have discovered a way to create/extract energy from magnetic interactions.
Shane
· 4 months ago
mmm No they haven't - they've spouted rubbish for years and shown nothing, I know a guy working there and he has never seen anything!
Bunk Strutts
· 4 months ago
Regarding No. 3. You've obviously missed the dissection, parsing, brilliant commentary and the advanced tublication of one of the longest living threads on the hinternet: http://raincoaster.com/2007/04/01/mummified-fai...
Worth reading, even for a skeptic as yourself. Hope you have some time... comments recently passed 1,600. =)
Bunk Strutts
· 4 months ago
Regarding No. 3. You've obviously missed the dissection, parsing, brilliant commentary and the advanced tublication of one of the longest living threads on the hinternet: http://raincoaster.com/2007/04/01/mummified-fai...
Worth reading, even for a skeptic as yourself. Hope you have some time... comments recently passed 1,600. =)
Raz
· 4 months ago
No bonsai kitties? :(
Rodolfo Salazar
· 4 months ago
Nice list... how about the Genpets Hoax that even aired in TV in different countries of the world: http://www.genpets.com/index.php
Daniel Ruben Escobar
· 4 months ago
Orale! jaja tantas cosas ese de bill regala su fortuna me llego hace poco ja
Don't tell anybody, but I think I "fell" for more than a couple of these Spoofs!
anang20
· 4 months ago
but seriously, what idiot falls for these. even though some were kinda convincing, they were mostly dumb to believe.
jheylin
· 4 months ago
The Manatuk monster turned out to be a raccoon. Search Gawker for it and you'll see the explaination (there are even photos of evidence).
rus
· 4 months ago
I even fell for another biggie:
Opening a car with the remote control through cell phones.
Also I think worth noting:
Engadget's claim that Apple was delaying the iPhone which sent Apple's stock tumbling for an hour about 25% lower
Evan
· 4 months ago
No John Titor? Really?
edem150
· 4 months ago
the original War of the Worlds broadcast should definitely be included; people actually thought that we were being invaded when they read the book over the radio...
sssmack
· 4 months ago
the spider was made to seem larger because of the angle the photo was taken? if you got the real email, it said "these are 2 camel spiders fighting". lmao! count the legs man. laaaame
Alan
· 4 months ago
Congrats to John C. Dvorak. Contributing another nugget of awesome to tech history.
Steve
· 4 months ago
What about "fresh diamonds in the microwave?"
mel
· 4 months ago
check out dinnerinabottle.com ... its hilarious and i thought it was real the first time i saw it
"These claims were made more believable because the email included a photo of US servicemen holding a spider that appears to be about a foot in length. However, even though camel spiders are pretty big and quite fast, they’re nowhere near as large as the photo makes it seem nor as fast as the email claims. The photo itself was just taken from an angle that makes the spider seem bigger than it really is."
I don't understand what you mean by that. Are you suggesting some people thought that is a picture of a foot long camel spider? I don't believe it's possible for anyone to be that dumb, unless of course you have very poor eyesight, which is a different thing for being dumb, obviously.
Anyone can tell that it is a pic of two, quite small camel spiders and the angle isn't weird or misleading at all.
I refuse to believe that anybody failed to see this and if they did... That scares me. How can people be so stupid?
Craig
· 3 months ago
We'd have to say our top ten Internet hoaxes are - 10. The Bill Gates Scam (a.k.a. Bill Gates is Sharing his Fortune!) 9. Dihydogen Monoxide Petition 8. Mid Plane Collision Photos 7. Hotmail and/or Facebook is Overloaded!! 6. Good Times Virus Hoax 5. LonelyGirl15 4. Christopher Walken for President? 3. The $250 Cookie Recipe 2. Federal Bill 602P Hoax 1. Masal Bugduv Hoax
All Comments
http://www.filthyrichmond.com/2009/01/what-girl...
Like no. 15 - Drunk text messaging should be illegal. Its like seat belts - it would save a lot of us even though we would all be against it at first.
Awesome post.
http://www.touristofdeath.com/
Worth reading, even for a skeptic as yourself. Hope you have some time... comments recently passed 1,600. =)
Worth reading, even for a skeptic as yourself. Hope you have some time... comments recently passed 1,600. =)
jaja tantas cosas
ese de bill regala su fortuna me llego hace poco
ja
RT
www.online-privacy.tk
Opening a car with the remote control through cell phones.
Also I think worth noting:
Engadget's claim that Apple was delaying the iPhone which sent Apple's stock tumbling for an hour about 25% lower
Dude does it for real now and raises money for charity.
I don't understand what you mean by that. Are you suggesting some people thought that is a picture of a foot long camel spider? I don't believe it's possible for anyone to be that dumb, unless of course you have very poor eyesight, which is a different thing for being dumb, obviously.
Anyone can tell that it is a pic of two, quite small camel spiders and the angle isn't weird or misleading at all.
I refuse to believe that anybody failed to see this and if they did... That scares me. How can people be so stupid?
10. The Bill Gates Scam (a.k.a. Bill Gates is Sharing his Fortune!)
9. Dihydogen Monoxide Petition
8. Mid Plane Collision Photos
7. Hotmail and/or Facebook is Overloaded!!
6. Good Times Virus Hoax
5. LonelyGirl15
4. Christopher Walken for President?
3. The $250 Cookie Recipe
2. Federal Bill 602P Hoax
1. Masal Bugduv Hoax
See http://www.thatsnonsense.com/index.php?location... for full descriptions!