Page 36 - 200901 - The 'X' Chronicles Newspaper - January 2009

36 Greatest email hoaxes debunked 36 Greatest email hoaxes debunked THE GREATEST British Artist Dan Baines.A former resident of Marblehead ghost Marblehead ghost THE GREATEST EMAIL HOAXES Derbyshire, Mr Baines designs illusions for hunter denied Ft. hunter denied Ft. EMAIL HOAXES magicians. DEBUNKED Sewall request Sewall request DEBUNKED MARBLEHEAD - Nicholas Smith, a The pictures attached in the forwarded summer resident of Marblehead and the head of email show the corpse of a white alien creature Crypto Paranormal Investigations, told with a fish's tale. selectmen Wednesday evening that he disproves According to the accompanying text, the presence of paranormal phenomena 96 this 'mermaid' was found by fishermen on the percent of the time. Malaysian island of Teluk Bahang. Due to the But that one chance in 25 scared sensitivity of the issue, newspapers and the selectmen out of approving his request to spend media are not allowed to publish the pictures, a night in the closed portion of Ft. Sewall to but information had been leaked onto the According to a BBC report, the artist's hoax was follow up on some unusual things he observed Internet. so successful he was spending 4 hours a day there last year. In another forwarded message, pictures answering emails from fairy believers. Following a written request from Town in the attachment show what seems to be the The artist also told the BBC that people Historian Bette Hunt, Selectman Judy Jacobi mummified remains of a fairy found in continued to believe that the fairy's remains said she was concerned about publicity turning Derbyshire, England. The strange discovery were real even after he admitted to the hoax. Ft. Sewall into a Halloween destination, or as seemed to have caught the attention of the One person even told him to return the remains Selectman William Woodfin put it, "paranormal English police, for the corpse appears in a latex- to the grave site or "face the consequences" he central." Jacobi also declined to have Smith talk gloved hand hovering above a police evidence told the BBC. to Hunt, fearing that she would feel pressured. bag in one photograph. Smith, a student at Vermont's Green Are these real pictures of strange Mountain College, showed the board photos of Giant Skeleton of the creatures from fables and legends of old? Closet Giant Skeleton of the an anomaly he photographed at Ft. Sewall and cryptozoologists out there will have to be played a recording of a voice saying "Help me." People of Aad disappointed - these emails, better known as the People of Aad He said he has consulted with the New Malaysian Mermaid Hoax and the Derbyshire York Police Department and would not Fairy Hoax, are fakes. publicize Ft. Sewall if he observed anything on Here are three of the greatest email his overnight visit. Town Administrator Tony hoaxes debunked: Sasso even offered to negotiate a visit with Smith to keep the visit date secret. The Malaysian "I'd like to see this happen but I don't see The Malaysian how it can," acting Selectmen Chairman James Nye said. He moved to allow Smith to make his night-time visit. Woodfin, who pointed out that Smith can still visit the park and the areas normally open to the public whenever he wishes, seconded the motion. When Jacobi A long time ago, giants used to walk voted against it, however, Woodfin joined her. [] among us. Or at least that is what an email More Trivia From claims. More Trivia From The email, another popular online hoax, THE ‘X’ TRIVIA BOOK tells of a top-secret find by a team exploring for THE ‘X’ TRIVIA BOOK by Rob McConnell gas in the Saudi Arabian Empty Quarter desert. by Rob McConnell Mermaid Pictures attached to the email show Mermaid While Teluk Bahang, the place where diggers excavating what seems to be the - British government toilet paper used to read, skeletons of giants. The email claims that these the Malaysian Mermaid corpse was supposed to were the remains of the people of Aad, a race of "Govt. Property, Now Wash Your Hands." have been found, really exists, the name is that giant humans that were created by God in - Cab fare from New York City of Los Angeles of a town in the island of Penang, Malaysia. It is ancient times. (not including tip): $8,325. not the name of an island itself as the email This picture, like the others, was a fake. - Chances are that you will spend about $7,000 claims. It was an entry in an image manipulation contest buying things from vending machines during As for the alleged 'corpse', it is actually on the website Worth1000.com. your lifetime. a mixed media sculpture by artist Juan Cabana. Titled Archological Anomalies, the - Circus clowns have a "Face Registry" to The 'corpse' in the widely circulated email is contest required participants to submit a prevent other clowns from plagiarizing their actually a piece titled "O Cruel Sea". The piece "picture of an archaeological discovery that faces. was made in 2006. looks so real, people might have done a double - Every 2.7 seconds, a Tupperware party begins According to Cabana's official website, take". [] somewhere in the world. the sculpture was made by covering a real - Fake Christmas trees have outsold real ones human skeleton with fish skin. The fins and every year since 1991. teeth of the five-foot-long 'mermaid' were also - Forest fires move faster uphill than downhill. derived from fish. The artist's site also includes - Generally, men leave their hotel rooms cleaner scans of several Mexican newspaper reports than women do. alleging that the sculpture was found as a corpse - Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of off the coast of Mexico. where they grew up. - Hawaiians once used coconut husks for toilet The Derbyshire Fairy paper. The Derbyshire Fairy - Helen Keller could identify her friends by their odors. This supposedly mummified fairy corpse was - If aircraft carriers ran on gasoline, they'd get not found by a dog walker and brought to the about 6 inches to the gallon. [] local police station, it is an April Fool's prank by