Gentleman hasn't gotten out of his car in seven years (or has he?)
Fanda is a guy who lives in his car, but doesn't just live in it. He never gets out of it. Aside from the interesting pragmatic aspects, it's a remarkably moving film about how some people respond to deep loss. Spoiler alert: Read the rest
King Arthur's grave was a hoax invented by cash-strapped 12th C monks
Since the 12th century -- and up to this very day -- tourists venture to Somerset's Glastonbury Abbey to see the grave of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere, allegedly buried in the churchyard by 12th century monks who discovered their skeletons in an underground tree-trunk. Read the rest
That French kindergarten teacher stabbed by ISIS? Nope, didn't happen.
Police swarmed a Paris kindergarten today after a teacher claimed that a man wearing a balaclava stabbed him in the throat while yelling that the attack "was for Daesh." But the Paris prosecutor's office has just told CNN that the man "made up the attack." The teacher is in the hospital with non-critical wounds but it's not clear how they were actually caused.
Here's the original story: "French teacher stabbed by man claiming to be from Islamic State" (The Guardian) Read the rest
It's pretty darned easy to pull off a nutritional "science" hoax
John Bohannon teamed up with a German documentary crew to undertake a crappy junk-science study on the effects of bitter chocolate on weight loss, and managed to push their hoax to major media outlets all over the world -- here's how. Read the rest
This time it's real, says Bigfoot hoaxer
Rick Dyer claims to have killed a Bigfoot after luring it with some pork ribs he purchased at WalMart. "Every test that you can possibly imagine was performed on this body -- from DNA tests to 3D optical scans to body scans," Dyer says. "It is the real deal. It's Bigfoot and Bigfoot's here, and I shot it and now I'm proving it to the world." If Dyer's name sounds familiar, it's because of his impeccable reputation in the Bigfoot research community! He's one of the perps behind the 2008 Bigfoot hoax involving a rubber suit with freezer burn. Besides, everyone knows that Bigfoot is kosher. (KSAT) Read the rest
Shellfail hoaxers send hoax legal threat. I fall for it.
Update: [5 minutes later]
OK, wait a second. It's a hoax.
Wainwright and Shore, the "PR Agency" that sent out this email, has only had a domain for a month. They've got virtually no Google footprint (just an Eventbrite listing for the hoax Shell event). The people who answer the phones are super-evasive.
Derp. I've been had. Read the rest
Hoax campus advertisement offers students €100 to pretend to be pro-ACTA demonstrators
@jimmy_pirat (a Twitter account with only one post) snapped a blurrycam picture of a campus employment ad that sought students to pretend to be pro-ACTA and hold up photogenic signs, paying €100 for two hours' work. The recruitment agency named in the ad disavows any involvement with it, and has threatened to sue whomever posted it. I wonder who the hoaxter was?
Own a piece of the Balloon Boy saucer
Remember the balloon boy hoax of 2009? Richard and Mayumi Heene claimed their 6-year-old son had floated away in the saucer-shaped contraption only to later be revealed hoaxsters trying to land a reality TV show. Soon, you'll be able to own a piece of the prank. Michael Fruitman of Mike's Stadium Sportcscards in Denver, Colorado paid Heene's attorney $2500 for the saucer at auction. He's putting it on display for a bit before chopping it up for "souvenirs." "Balloon Boy Saucer To Go On Display In Colo. Store" Read the rest
