Not all hoaxes generated in the era of smartphones and the internet.
When your parents forward you the photoshopped pictures of deities, fairies, you just can’t help but bang your head and curse the internet. But do you know, even before the golden age of smartphones and the internet, there were many hoaxes that people believed to be true? Here area few of them; read and enjoy!
Town of eternal life?
A small Ecuadorian town of Vilcabamba was bombarded by health freaks, hippies and scientists in the 70s. Why? Because the resident of this town claimed they lived till 110 to 120 years of age. There were books written about it, and everybody wanted eternal life and maybe have a taste of the “fountain of youth”. But later scientists discovered that there was a tradition in the town that people just add five or sometimes ten years to their age, starting at the age of 70. Moreover, people were often named after their dead old relatives that created confusion in their age. But still, to this date, many people still travel there in search of a long life.
Attack of the Aliens.
Little did Orson Welles knew that his narration of “The war of the world “, science fiction by H.G. Wells in the year 1938, would cause nationwide panic and hysteria. It was not intended, but many of the radio listeners missed the disclaimer at the start of the program. So, to dramatize the premise, Orson started his narration with weather forecast and concert live when suddenly, he narrated a news alert that meteor crashing on the farm and aliens with heat rays and tentacles have arrived. This created hysteria among the millions of listeners, and they started fleeing and calling police to shut the electricity to avoid the aliens. After getting calls, the radio finally got the air of it, and Wells went on air to assure people that it was fictional.
Microsoft bought a Catholic Church?
In the year 1994, a press release stated that Microsoft had bought a Catholic Church in exchange for shares in Microsoft stock. That news created quite an uproar in the people, and later, Microsoft had to debunk the claims and referred to the news as a hoax.
There are many more on the list, like Flat Earth, Pope is dead, the world is coming to an end (the year varies in this one). Do you know any other hoax that you believed to be true?
