Even gritty New Yorkers are gullible. Take a trip through some of the silliest hoaxes ever perpetrated on a city (supposedly) full of skeptics.
THE GREAT MOON HOAX
Perpetrator: The New York Sun newspaper
Story: The paper printed its first issue in 1833, and by 1835, it was looking for a circulation boost. So to drum up interest, editors announced the upcoming publication of six articles covering renowned British astronomer Sir John Herschel’s fantastic new discoveries of life on the moon: forests and seas, cranes and pelicans, herds of bison and goats, flocks of blue unicorns, sapphire temples with 70-foot pillars—even a race of bat-like humanoid creatures. According to the Sun, the articles would be reprinted from the Edinburgh Journal of Science.
The day the first article appeared, Sun sales were 15,000; by the sixth day, they were over 19,000, the highest of any New York paper of the time. Other newspapers, racing to catch up, claimed to have acquired the “original” Edinburgh Journal articles, but they actually just reprinted the Sun’s stories.
Exposed! There were no original Edinburgh Journal articles…it was a hoax. In fact, that paper had gone out of business several years earlier. And Herschel, perhaps the most eminent astronomer of his time, was totally ignorant of the hoax (and amused by it until he got sick of answering questions about moon men). The articles were reportedly written by Sun reporter Richard Adams Locke. The Sun never formally admitted the deception, but it did publish a column speculating that a hoax was “possible.” Regardless, the paper got what it wanted: Circulation remained high.
THE 140-YEAR-OLD HOT DOG HOAX
Perpetrator: The Coney Island History Project
Story: In 2009 and 2010, the Astroland amusement park at Coney Island was being demolished to make room for new games and rides. On Wednesday, February 24, 2010, the old kitchen building of the block-long Feltman’s restaurant on Surf Avenue was scheduled to go. (Charles Feltman is credited with the 1874 invention of the hot dog, and also with hiring the young Nathan Handwerker, who eventually struck out on his own and opened the legendary Nathan’s Famous hot dog stand.)
On May 30, 1883, a rumor that the Brooklyn Bridge was collapsing spread through the crowds on it, causing a stampede that killed 12 people.
According to CNN (which got the story from a local TV station), in the middle of the demolition, an amateur archaeologist unearthed an ice-encrusted object that he claimed was an original Feltman’s hot dog…140 years old. Officials of the Coney Island History Project swore that the dog, the bun, and an original receipt from Feltman’s had been preserved by the ice, and they immediately put the thawing relic on display. CNN, Grub Street (a New York food blog), and thousands of Tweeters bought it.
Exposed! On February 26, a spokeswoman for the History Project admitted that it was all a publicity stunt in the “grand tradition of Coney Island ballyhoo.” The point? To get people out to Coney Island to see the Project’s exhibit about Feltman’s. It was a success—hundreds of people hurried out to Coney Island to see the show.
THE CENTRAL PARK INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT HOAX
Perpetrator: The Manhattan Airport Foundation (MAF)
Story: On July 21, 2009, a group calling itself the Manhattan Airport Foundation (MAF) ran an Internet posting with an unusual idea: to bulldoze Central Park and turn it into an airport. The MAF called for “the immediate development of a viable and centrally located international air transportation hub in New York City.” Where? Central Park. Strawberry Fields would be replanted inside the new terminal, Tavern on the Green restaurant could move to the Food Court, and the Central Park Zoo would be relocated. The Huffington Post ran the story on its front page.
Exposed! Who is the Manhattan Airport Foundation? No one knows. The group has a Web site and claimed to have offices on the 58th floor of the Woolworth Building (which has only 57 floors). According to MAF’s Web site, a petition to destroy the park in favor of the airport got 19,000 signatures.
For more hoaxes, turn to page 134.