Fooled the World: Famous Hoaxes Through History

The Piltdown Man was a 'missing link' fossil discovered in England in 1912 that convinced scientists for decades — until it was exposed as a fake. In what year was the fraud finally revealed?

The Cardiff Giant was a 10-foot stone 'petrified man' supposedly dug up on a New York farm in 1869 — actually carved from gypsum and planted there as a prank. Who masterminded this elaborate hoax?

In 1917, two young English cousins produced photographs they claimed showed real fairies dancing in their garden. Which famous author became one of the most vocal believers in the photographs' authenticity?

In 1983, Germany's famous Stern magazine paid millions of marks for what were claimed to be 62 volumes of Adolf Hitler's personal diaries — but they were quickly exposed as forgeries. Who had faked them?

In August 1835, millions of Americans thrilled to newspaper reports claiming a famous astronomer had spotted winged creatures, blue-tinted goats, and forests on the moon. Which newspaper ran this 'Great Moon Hoax'?

In 1991, two retired English friends confessed that since 1978 they had been secretly creating mysterious patterns in farmers' wheat fields, fooling the world into thinking UFOs or supernatural forces were responsible. What were their names?

P.T. Barnum's American Museum exhibited many oddities, but the notorious 'Fiji Mermaid' was actually made from what materials?

The most famous photograph of the Loch Ness Monster — known as the 'surgeon's photograph' — was taken in what year?

From 1770 onward, European royalty marveled at 'The Turk' — a mechanical figure that appeared to play chess brilliantly on its own, reportedly defeating Napoleon Bonaparte and Benjamin Franklin. Who built this ingenious fake automaton?

In 1726, Englishwoman Mary Toft managed to fool several royal physicians — including one sent by King George I — into believing she was actually giving birth to what unusual things?

In 1988, three separate scientific laboratories each tested samples from the Shroud of Turin using carbon-14 dating. What did all three laboratories conclude?

In 1968, British sailor Donald Crowhurst entered a famous solo around-the-world race, then secretly falsified his logbook positions when he realized he could not complete the voyage. What was the name of that race?

In 1971, word spread of a remarkable discovery: a small tribe called the Tasaday who had supposedly lived as Stone Age hunter-gatherers in complete isolation from the modern world. In which country were they supposedly found?

When scientists exposed the Piltdown Man as a forgery in 1953, they found it had been assembled from parts of two completely different creatures. What were those two creatures?

When Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths — the two girls who took the Cottingley Fairies photographs — finally admitted the truth in 1983, how did they explain creating the fairy images?