Museum of Hoaxes Pranks and Scams

Museum of Hoaxes is an interesting Web site where you can learn all about hoaxes, pranks and scams. Some of the main categories include: "Encyclopedia of Hoaxes," "Top 100 April Fools Day Hoaxes," "College Pranks," "Famous Hoaxes Throughout History," "Hoax Websites," "Hoax Photos," "Hoax Photo Tests," "Gullibility Tests" and "Tall-Tell Creatures." Museum of Hoaxes has information on hoaxes, scams and pranks from 1700 all the way to the present time.

The Encyclopedia of Hoaxes or hoaxipedia is a large database that you can search for hoaxes with keywords. This section has a wealth of information on various hoaxes, scams and pranks. For instance, did you know that the phrase "selling the Brooklyn Bridge" is based on truth? The Brooklyn Bridge has actually been sold hundreds of times by people who do not own it.

Top 100 April Fools Day Hoaxes is a section that lists some of the best pranks and scams for April Fools Day. On April Fools Day in 1996 Taco Bell placed an ad in the New York Times stating they have purchased the Liberty Bell from the United States and are renaming it the Taco Liberty Bell. Here is there ad, "Taco Bell buys the Liberty Bell. In an effort to help the national debt, Taco Bell is pleased to announce that we have agreed to purchase the Liberty Bell, one of our country's most historic treasures. It will now be called the Taco Liberty Bell and will still be accessible to the American public for viewing. While some may find this controversial, we hope our move will prompt other corporations to take similar action to do there part to reduce the country's debt." I think that was pretty funny of Taco Bell to think of such a prank.

Museum of Hoaxes has the College Pranks section where they list the top 10 college pranks ever. They are all really funny but one of my favorites is an Ohio State prank where they created a charity called Arm the Homeless. They said they believe all the homeless need weapons to protect themselves. When interviewed by the Associated Press they said, "Who more needs to exercise their constitutional right to have a weapon for protection?" After causing a media outrage, the students finally admitted it was a prank.

Another fun area of the Museum of Hoaxes is the website hoax section. They have some funny prank websites listed here. There is absolution online where you can go to confess your sins. They have a virtual confessional and rosary so that you never have to leave your computer. There is also After Life Telegrams which contracts with terminally ill patients to deliver your message to people who have already passed away. They also list a hoax, prank or scam website where you can purchase dehydrated water. Museum of Hoaxes hasn't updated the website hoax section since 2003, so some of the links no longer work. Although they have many funny prank websites listed.

Another section I like on Museum of Hoaxes is the gullibility tests. You can take this test to see exactly how gullible you are. After reading over the website it made me realize how susceptible we all are to various hoaxes, scams and pranks. The next time you read something that seems totally outlandish, it may just be a hoax.