Frauds, Cons and Scams
Sathya Sai Baba
"Sai Baba's materialisations of vibhuti (holy ash) and other small objects such as rings, necklaces, and watches, along with reports of miraculous healings, resurrections, clairvoyance, bilocation, and alleged omnipotence and omniscience, were a source of both fame and controversy."
Wikipedia page.
Posted By: Paul - Thu May 25, 2017 -
Comments (11)
Category: Cult Figures and Artifacts, Frauds, Cons and Scams, Religion, Superstition, India
Falsified Soviet Maps
Original article here.
Additional essay here.
More wide-ranging essay on Soviet maps here.
Posted By: Paul - Sat Dec 17, 2016 -
Comments (0)
Category: Confusion, Misunderstanding, and Incomprehension, Frauds, Cons and Scams, Imitations, Forgeries, Rip-offs and Faux, Military, 1980s, Russia
Illinois Canal Scrip
With USA paper money in the news, let's look at a wild and woolly era in the history of the USA when just about anyone could issue their own cash.
Explanation here.
And more info here.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Apr 22, 2016 -
Comments (4)
Category: Business, Crime, Frauds, Cons and Scams, Nineteenth Century
The Kabalarian Philosophy
Their page.
Their entry at THE SKEPTIC'S DICTIONARY lets us know: "Since the death of Mr. Parker in 1964, the Kabalarians, headquartered in Vancouver, B.C., have been led by Ivon Shearing who was sentenced to five years in prison in 1997 for sexually abusing several teenage girls over a twenty-five year period."
Posted By: Paul - Sun Mar 13, 2016 -
Comments (3)
Category: Frauds, Cons and Scams, Lies, Dishonesty and Cheating, Paranormal, Religion, Myths and Fairytales, 1930s
George Graham Rice
A new book about a legendary con man seems like an intriguing read for all WU-vies. Maybe one for your Xmas wish list.You can learn quickly about this rascal at the Scripophily page where you can buy an actual stock certificate signed by the scammer, as seen below.
George Graham Rice, a famous stock promoter, capitalized the stocks of Goldfield, Greenwater and Rawhide mines, listed them on the national exchanges, and reaped the profits until convicted of mail fraud in 1911. In 1907 when investors nation-wide were delirious over the stupendous rise in the market value of securities of Goldfield mining companies, the public clamored for opportunities to buy into Nevada mining stocks. With childlike faith they invested in Death Valley's Greenwater and also the Rawhide district, where several companies capitalized stocks, listed them on the national exchanges and had them underwritten by prominent brokerage houses. In Rice's own words: "I make a conservative statement when I say that the American public sank $30 million in Greenwater in less than four months . . . yet the suckers, . . were crying for more."
You can read his original 1913 memoir here.
Posted By: Paul - Thu Oct 15, 2015 -
Comments (4)
Category: Crime, Frauds, Cons and Scams, 1900s, 1910s
Octa-Gane Water Injection Carburetor
Even after reading this article, I'm still not sure about the physics of this device. But one thing is clear.
"Popular Science tested one of the J.C. Whitney Octa-Ganes in 1968 and reported a drop in fuel mileage and power when using it."
Original ad here. (Scroll down.)
Posted By: Paul - Wed Dec 31, 2014 -
Comments (23)
Category: Frauds, Cons and Scams, Inventions, 1950s, Cars
The Martian Writing of Hélène Smith
A self-styled medium, Ms Smith was not content to talk to distant or dead Earth people only, but also had a hotline to Mars. Here is her portrait of a typical Martian, and their language.
Wikipedia entry here.
Long article here.
Posted By: Paul - Tue Nov 18, 2014 -
Comments (9)
Category: Cult Figures and Artifacts, Delusions, Fantasies and Other Tricks of the Imagination, Frauds, Cons and Scams, Spaceflight, Astronautics, and Astronomy, Superstition, Nineteenth Century
Quacks and Nostrums
Posted By: Paul - Wed Oct 01, 2014 -
Comments (3)
Category: Frauds, Cons and Scams, Medicine, PSA’s, 1950s
Psychic Confusion
When the spirits of the dead communicate with psychics, why do they invariably choose to communicate with single letters instead of full words? For instance, instead of saying, "My name is Mary," they'll say "My name begins with an M or a J." Actually, forget it. I know the answer to that.
Posted By: Alex - Fri Jul 19, 2013 -
Comments (9)
Category: Frauds, Cons and Scams
Doc Owens, Con Man
As early as December 1900, the notorious Doc Owens was making headlines, having established his racket of fleecing sea-going sheep.
READ LEFT-HAND COLUMN, THEN RIGHT-HAND COLUMN, THEN SAME FOR THE TWO FOLLOWING.
Three years later, The New York Times did a special feature on Owens and his fellows (with his photo miscaptioned).
Click here for very readable PDF download.
But Owens was to meet poetic justice in 1912, as our final piece reveals.
Posted By: Paul - Fri Feb 15, 2013 -
Comments (2)
Category: Crime, Death, Disasters, Frauds, Cons and Scams, Oceans and Maritime Pursuits, 1900s, 1910s, Gambling, Casinos, Lotteries and Other Games of Chance
| Who We Are |
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |