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7 most successful hoaxes in history
For several thousand years, humanity learns to recognize crooks. And exactly the same with enviable regularity comes on the same rake.
As practice shows, to cheat, even the most intelligent and suspicious, do not necessarily possess any superpowers. You can do without powers. One impudence enough. Judge for yourself:
1. Hitler Diaries
In 1983, the West German magazine Stern published a sensational news in the editorial office was the collection of 62 diaries of Adolf Hitler. Notebooks in leather bindings, full of the most intimate secrets of the dictator, cover the entire period of his reign and terminated two weeks before the suicide!
Once the leaders Stern heard about this, they immediately laid out four million dollars, without bothering to verify the authenticity of the documents, or at least bargain. Then they literally showered with offers from world media, which could not wait to get right to the publication. To fight for these rights even joined Rupert Murdoch.
All For hysteria no reason not to pay attention to some oddities. For example, the initials on the cover. It was «FH», rather than «AH», how it would be logical to expect. Author fraud was not very good at calligraphy.
And only a month after the first publication until someone finally realized that it would be good to give blogs for examination. And then it turned out that the notebooks were not just fake - fake and worthy of a very mediocre student elementary school. Paper, ink, leather binding - everything was the post-war production.
A fraudster used the one and only trick - dipped in tea record that they have passed for a rarity.
The author proved fake artist and a famous hoaxer named Conrad Kuyau. For this, the most successful of his hoaxes Kuyau received four years in prison.
But after serving due time, he was surprised to find himself in the height of his fame, and his forgeries at this price that a personal stamp hoaxer sell them it is much more profitable. I take a moment Kuyau opened in Stuttgart studio to create fake masterpieces of art and historical documents. On each of his craft, this resourceful gentleman proudly put personal brand. Some time passed and other crooks began to forge fake Kiyau.
2. Wonderful Machine John Kiely
In 1872, inventor John Keely, of Philadelphia announced that built a machine capable of extracting an incredible amount of energy from a tiny amount of water. Keely boasted that its future engine enough to one gallon of water (about 4, 5 liters; approx. Mixednews.ru), to make their way on the boat from New York to Liverpool. And he threatened in the near future to establish mass production of these miraculous mechanisms. With appropriate investment, of course. Needless to say, that of wishing to invest in such a business perspective there was no release.
After that, for 24 years Keely are pleased to invite all interested investors to his laboratory and proudly showed the mechanism that, from a small portion of water was really starting to puff, rotate and bend metal objects like some Superman.
His demonstration was accompanied by Keeley notes to bird language, where most were understandable phrase such as "sympathetic balance", "splitting esters" and "harmonics". All these '24 flow of investment not dry up. As you can easily guess, before production is not reached. Keely died never brought to its logical end of his life's work.
Naturally, after the death of the inventor, scientists of all stripes rushed to study the miracle machine, hoping to figure out how it actually worked. We understand. The mechanism drives a generator that Keely was hiding in his basement. The generator was connected to the device through a system of belts and blocks, which, in turn, hiding behind a false wall.
3. Magic Wands Army
From 2001 to 2010, the year the British company ATSC sold to foreign governments equipment to detect "explosives, gunpowder, gun metal, drugs, ivory and notes" tens of millions of dollars. It was only after a number of publications, proves absolutely useless instrument of ADE 651, the activities of companies interested in the police.
Despite the fact that information on non-performing devices was confirmed, no arrests, no charges of fraud brought was not, and the executive director of the company and the developer of useless detectors Jim McCormick remained at his post. Moreover - despite an official ban on the export of the company's products, production ADE 651 for the gullible and wealthy governments are not stopped.
Of course, buyers accuse quite difficult. When on duty has to provide the army with something high-tech, we have to believe the manufacturer's word. At this time, the main manufacturers of silent: ADE 651 - the natural magic wand. That is a piece of metal, which can locate the respective substance solely by the power of magic.
Before you gloat over the slips military officials, read here this excerpt from the description of the operating principle of the device: "The principle of remote detection is based on the activation of a substance that is supposed to detect using electromagnetic fields, travel a considerable distance, which is not affected by electromagnetic noise environment, a transmitter radio and other electronic equipment that uses electricity or electromagnetic waves ».
Apparently, officers from the armies of foreign countries this explanation was sufficient. At least, none of the buyer is not considered necessary to check the device before you take it on board. Otherwise, they would have immediately realized that this device is only one functioning part - a special label that stores mold on products to protect against thieves store.
Externally, the device looks like a metal stick on the hinge, and most closely resembles the device to search for water using vine twigs.
When the producers of "magic wands" still charged with fraud, McCormick made the following statement: "The problem is that our devices look too primitive. We are working on a new model, with a flashing warning light ».
4. False Kubrick
Start of 90-ies of the last century dawned for travel agents and small swindler Alan Conway extremely successful. For several years he was able to live a life in London legendary director Stanley Kubrick. All this time he fooled celebrities and ordinary people, signing autographs, ate food and Freestuff went to all sorts of social events. And all just because the right and left handed role in the next film kubrikovskih.
Victims of fraud dozens of people - among them prominent politicians, journalists and artists who were just happy to be worthy of attention the great maestro. Incredible as this bullshit has got such a lot of people, given that ...
... Conway was absolutely not like Stanley Kubrick.
But let's say it is still possible to somehow understand, especially since all Conway said shaved off his beard, and who, in fact, may know that there, Kubrick, under the beard?
But what is really incomprehensible - at Conway was a distinct British accent. But Kubrick - from Brooklyn. Conway, of course, tried to speak as an American, but he came out it really does not matter. But even this can be explained ... eccentric, for example. Who disassemble them, these filmmakers? But there was another problem - our hero is absolutely nothing about the films of Stanley Kubrick.
Even if that looked - nothing at all understood. Then it began already absolute sur - people who have met before with this Kubrick, also did not notice the change. The journalist was a New York Times by Frank Rich, for example, it is arranged with a version of "shave their beards" and not at all embarrassed that Kubrick changed the focus and at the same time not very well versed in his work.
In the end, tired of Conway Kubrick fans and fizzled. By the way, he died of a heart attack a few months before Kubrick passed away from the same.
5. Robert Fortune "Chinese" tea thief
Until the mid-1800s, most of the tea imported into Britain from China. And this despite the fact that it is much easier and cheaper it would be to make this culture in British India. The problem was as the - Chinese tea was much better - thanks to the technology of cultivation and processing, which was held by the West in the strictest confidence.
In 1848 it was decided to equip in China spy to find out, finally the mystery treasured tea. The choice fell on the botanist Robert Fortune. The main difficulty was two. The first - at the time foreigners were forbidden to appear in certain areas of China. And therefore, Fortune blood from his nose had to pretend to be local. And then there is a second difficulty:
Man is more like a European than Robert Fortune is difficult to even imagine. And something had to be done with a Scottish accent. In general, Fortune wriggle, explaining the origin of all the inconsistencies "sooooo distant province».
Miraculously, the plan worked. Fortune not only wormed secrets of Chinese tea - he found that the cunning Chinese sought a special saturated color of your tea using toxic dyes. As a result, Chinese manufacturers have lost market, and the British began to treat Asians with greater suspicion.
6. General Electric back taxes
In April 2011, General Electric was at the center of a scandal. This happened after the press leaked the information that GE has received a tax refund in the amount of 3, 2 billion dollars.
It was not long, and the band released the company's press release, which caused a storm. The document contained a statement that the company returns all of the above amount the Treasury of the United States in order to "strengthen its position as the leader of the corporate social responsibility».
Several news agencies, the most notable of which was the Associated Press, the story was picked up and smashed it across the country, bringing GE's stock price fell to 0, 6 percent. What is a company with capital of more than 42 billion loss meant the size of $ 250 million.
Stunning press release was the work of an organization called US Uncut. Activists of the movement fought the corporations to evade taxes, and staged protests against the unfounded and unjust cuts in social spending.
This time share company had an unexpected success. Nobody thought that the text of the false press release can be taken seriously. Judge for yourself: how can we take the statements "the executive director» GE, that "Seven of our tax havens absolutely legal" or "As long as we have a responsibility to our shareholders, we have to use any gaps in legislation, to maximize profits. But we also feel indebted to the American people. We do not write the laws that allow us to legally evade taxes. This makes the Congress. We will only benefit from the imperfection of our laws ».
In the end, the leadership of Associated Press was forced to publish a retraction and publicly confess that they "changed their own rules to verify the authenticity of the published information».
7. Cottingley Fairies
It was in 1917. Two little girls from Cottingley (England), cousins Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths took parental camera, went to a nearby creek and had a whole photo shoot where captured each other's company very real fairies.
Although the girls' parents were people quite reasonable, photos quickly found themselves in the hands of people who really truly believed in fairies, gnomes and other characters of famous fairy tales. There in those days was enough.
The story became really loud when the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Conan Doyle announced publicly original photos. Doyle was an avid spiritualist, and his opinion on the issue proved decisive. If after that and remained skeptical, they could not even imagine how the children managed to falsify the picture - in the days of Photoshop does not have any, and numerous examination revealed no traces of forgery.
Take a look at one of these pictures. I wonder how much time you need to guess how it was done:
Correctly. Girls just navyrezali fairies of the popular children's books and put them on pins to a tree branch. Of course, people costs nothing to convince themselves what they really want to believe. This is partly why the girl kept her secret for many, many years. It was only in 1983, when he was already elderly women, admitted that all this was just a joke.
Source: mixednews.ru
As practice shows, to cheat, even the most intelligent and suspicious, do not necessarily possess any superpowers. You can do without powers. One impudence enough. Judge for yourself:
1. Hitler Diaries
In 1983, the West German magazine Stern published a sensational news in the editorial office was the collection of 62 diaries of Adolf Hitler. Notebooks in leather bindings, full of the most intimate secrets of the dictator, cover the entire period of his reign and terminated two weeks before the suicide!
Once the leaders Stern heard about this, they immediately laid out four million dollars, without bothering to verify the authenticity of the documents, or at least bargain. Then they literally showered with offers from world media, which could not wait to get right to the publication. To fight for these rights even joined Rupert Murdoch.
All For hysteria no reason not to pay attention to some oddities. For example, the initials on the cover. It was «FH», rather than «AH», how it would be logical to expect. Author fraud was not very good at calligraphy.
And only a month after the first publication until someone finally realized that it would be good to give blogs for examination. And then it turned out that the notebooks were not just fake - fake and worthy of a very mediocre student elementary school. Paper, ink, leather binding - everything was the post-war production.
A fraudster used the one and only trick - dipped in tea record that they have passed for a rarity.
The author proved fake artist and a famous hoaxer named Conrad Kuyau. For this, the most successful of his hoaxes Kuyau received four years in prison.
But after serving due time, he was surprised to find himself in the height of his fame, and his forgeries at this price that a personal stamp hoaxer sell them it is much more profitable. I take a moment Kuyau opened in Stuttgart studio to create fake masterpieces of art and historical documents. On each of his craft, this resourceful gentleman proudly put personal brand. Some time passed and other crooks began to forge fake Kiyau.
2. Wonderful Machine John Kiely
In 1872, inventor John Keely, of Philadelphia announced that built a machine capable of extracting an incredible amount of energy from a tiny amount of water. Keely boasted that its future engine enough to one gallon of water (about 4, 5 liters; approx. Mixednews.ru), to make their way on the boat from New York to Liverpool. And he threatened in the near future to establish mass production of these miraculous mechanisms. With appropriate investment, of course. Needless to say, that of wishing to invest in such a business perspective there was no release.
After that, for 24 years Keely are pleased to invite all interested investors to his laboratory and proudly showed the mechanism that, from a small portion of water was really starting to puff, rotate and bend metal objects like some Superman.
His demonstration was accompanied by Keeley notes to bird language, where most were understandable phrase such as "sympathetic balance", "splitting esters" and "harmonics". All these '24 flow of investment not dry up. As you can easily guess, before production is not reached. Keely died never brought to its logical end of his life's work.
Naturally, after the death of the inventor, scientists of all stripes rushed to study the miracle machine, hoping to figure out how it actually worked. We understand. The mechanism drives a generator that Keely was hiding in his basement. The generator was connected to the device through a system of belts and blocks, which, in turn, hiding behind a false wall.
3. Magic Wands Army
From 2001 to 2010, the year the British company ATSC sold to foreign governments equipment to detect "explosives, gunpowder, gun metal, drugs, ivory and notes" tens of millions of dollars. It was only after a number of publications, proves absolutely useless instrument of ADE 651, the activities of companies interested in the police.
Despite the fact that information on non-performing devices was confirmed, no arrests, no charges of fraud brought was not, and the executive director of the company and the developer of useless detectors Jim McCormick remained at his post. Moreover - despite an official ban on the export of the company's products, production ADE 651 for the gullible and wealthy governments are not stopped.
Of course, buyers accuse quite difficult. When on duty has to provide the army with something high-tech, we have to believe the manufacturer's word. At this time, the main manufacturers of silent: ADE 651 - the natural magic wand. That is a piece of metal, which can locate the respective substance solely by the power of magic.
Before you gloat over the slips military officials, read here this excerpt from the description of the operating principle of the device: "The principle of remote detection is based on the activation of a substance that is supposed to detect using electromagnetic fields, travel a considerable distance, which is not affected by electromagnetic noise environment, a transmitter radio and other electronic equipment that uses electricity or electromagnetic waves ».
Apparently, officers from the armies of foreign countries this explanation was sufficient. At least, none of the buyer is not considered necessary to check the device before you take it on board. Otherwise, they would have immediately realized that this device is only one functioning part - a special label that stores mold on products to protect against thieves store.
Externally, the device looks like a metal stick on the hinge, and most closely resembles the device to search for water using vine twigs.
When the producers of "magic wands" still charged with fraud, McCormick made the following statement: "The problem is that our devices look too primitive. We are working on a new model, with a flashing warning light ».
4. False Kubrick
Start of 90-ies of the last century dawned for travel agents and small swindler Alan Conway extremely successful. For several years he was able to live a life in London legendary director Stanley Kubrick. All this time he fooled celebrities and ordinary people, signing autographs, ate food and Freestuff went to all sorts of social events. And all just because the right and left handed role in the next film kubrikovskih.
Victims of fraud dozens of people - among them prominent politicians, journalists and artists who were just happy to be worthy of attention the great maestro. Incredible as this bullshit has got such a lot of people, given that ...
... Conway was absolutely not like Stanley Kubrick.
But let's say it is still possible to somehow understand, especially since all Conway said shaved off his beard, and who, in fact, may know that there, Kubrick, under the beard?
But what is really incomprehensible - at Conway was a distinct British accent. But Kubrick - from Brooklyn. Conway, of course, tried to speak as an American, but he came out it really does not matter. But even this can be explained ... eccentric, for example. Who disassemble them, these filmmakers? But there was another problem - our hero is absolutely nothing about the films of Stanley Kubrick.
Even if that looked - nothing at all understood. Then it began already absolute sur - people who have met before with this Kubrick, also did not notice the change. The journalist was a New York Times by Frank Rich, for example, it is arranged with a version of "shave their beards" and not at all embarrassed that Kubrick changed the focus and at the same time not very well versed in his work.
In the end, tired of Conway Kubrick fans and fizzled. By the way, he died of a heart attack a few months before Kubrick passed away from the same.
5. Robert Fortune "Chinese" tea thief
Until the mid-1800s, most of the tea imported into Britain from China. And this despite the fact that it is much easier and cheaper it would be to make this culture in British India. The problem was as the - Chinese tea was much better - thanks to the technology of cultivation and processing, which was held by the West in the strictest confidence.
In 1848 it was decided to equip in China spy to find out, finally the mystery treasured tea. The choice fell on the botanist Robert Fortune. The main difficulty was two. The first - at the time foreigners were forbidden to appear in certain areas of China. And therefore, Fortune blood from his nose had to pretend to be local. And then there is a second difficulty:
Man is more like a European than Robert Fortune is difficult to even imagine. And something had to be done with a Scottish accent. In general, Fortune wriggle, explaining the origin of all the inconsistencies "sooooo distant province».
Miraculously, the plan worked. Fortune not only wormed secrets of Chinese tea - he found that the cunning Chinese sought a special saturated color of your tea using toxic dyes. As a result, Chinese manufacturers have lost market, and the British began to treat Asians with greater suspicion.
6. General Electric back taxes
In April 2011, General Electric was at the center of a scandal. This happened after the press leaked the information that GE has received a tax refund in the amount of 3, 2 billion dollars.
It was not long, and the band released the company's press release, which caused a storm. The document contained a statement that the company returns all of the above amount the Treasury of the United States in order to "strengthen its position as the leader of the corporate social responsibility».
Several news agencies, the most notable of which was the Associated Press, the story was picked up and smashed it across the country, bringing GE's stock price fell to 0, 6 percent. What is a company with capital of more than 42 billion loss meant the size of $ 250 million.
Stunning press release was the work of an organization called US Uncut. Activists of the movement fought the corporations to evade taxes, and staged protests against the unfounded and unjust cuts in social spending.
This time share company had an unexpected success. Nobody thought that the text of the false press release can be taken seriously. Judge for yourself: how can we take the statements "the executive director» GE, that "Seven of our tax havens absolutely legal" or "As long as we have a responsibility to our shareholders, we have to use any gaps in legislation, to maximize profits. But we also feel indebted to the American people. We do not write the laws that allow us to legally evade taxes. This makes the Congress. We will only benefit from the imperfection of our laws ».
In the end, the leadership of Associated Press was forced to publish a retraction and publicly confess that they "changed their own rules to verify the authenticity of the published information».
7. Cottingley Fairies
It was in 1917. Two little girls from Cottingley (England), cousins Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths took parental camera, went to a nearby creek and had a whole photo shoot where captured each other's company very real fairies.
Although the girls' parents were people quite reasonable, photos quickly found themselves in the hands of people who really truly believed in fairies, gnomes and other characters of famous fairy tales. There in those days was enough.
The story became really loud when the creator of Sherlock Holmes, Sir Conan Doyle announced publicly original photos. Doyle was an avid spiritualist, and his opinion on the issue proved decisive. If after that and remained skeptical, they could not even imagine how the children managed to falsify the picture - in the days of Photoshop does not have any, and numerous examination revealed no traces of forgery.
Take a look at one of these pictures. I wonder how much time you need to guess how it was done:
Correctly. Girls just navyrezali fairies of the popular children's books and put them on pins to a tree branch. Of course, people costs nothing to convince themselves what they really want to believe. This is partly why the girl kept her secret for many, many years. It was only in 1983, when he was already elderly women, admitted that all this was just a joke.
Source: mixednews.ru
