Submitted by Rose Fox:
From Coilhouse magazine — I think I might be straight: A pamphlet on how to come to terms with your heterosexuality.
You May Be the Last To Know
Basketball Prank
Submitted by Rose Fox:
An anonymous message tricks basketball player into thinking he’s going to be traded from a great team to a terrible one.
Trade hoax no joking matter for Barbosa
by Jerry Brown
East Valley Tribune
January 19, 2008
By the end of the day, Leandro Barbosa was laughing about a practical joke that had him scurrying around the team”s Beverly Hills hotel Thursday. But for a while, a phone hoax that had Barbosa believing he was traded to the New York Knicks was no laughing matter.
Barbosa, who made the mistake of registering under his own name, was in his room when he received an anonymous phone call “informing him” of a trade, and telling him he needed to meet Suns general manager Steve Kerr in the hotel lobby.
“My heart was hurting,” Barbosa said. “Every time I hear the word “˜trade,” “¦ it”s just not a comfortable word for me at all. This is my team. I went a little crazy.”
Frantic and near tears, Barbosa rushed to the lobby in search of coaches or team personnel for answers before he was finally assured it was all a hoax.
“I said, “˜L.B., use your head. Don”t you think I would have told you if something like that was even possible?” ” said Suns assistant and Barbosa confidant Dan D”Antoni, who was able to put his fears to rest. “I told him, “˜You”ve got to use someone else”s name when you check into a hotel. If someone told me to come down to the front desk and pick up a million dollars, do you think I”d start running for the elevator?” ”
Even hours later, it was no joking matter for Barbosa. “That was a terrible thing,” he said.
Another article (from the receiving end):
The Lies of War
[Editor’s note: Controversies have always surrounded incitements to war. The sinking of the U.S.S. Maine in 1898, which precipitated the Spanish American War could have been an act of sabotage meant to start the war, or an accidental explosion. The true cause is still unknown. This week’s interaction between Iranian speedboats and the U.S. Navy, with both sides producing different video documentation, may also be a prelude to the beginnings of a bigger conflict. We may never know the truth about either, however, sometimes all that’s needed is the declassification of existing but secret documents…]
Submitted by Rose Fox:
Report reveals Vietnam War hoaxes, faked attacks
Yahoo News
January 8, 2008
Washington (AFP) – North Vietnamese made hoax calls to get the US military to bomb its own units during the Vietnam War, according to declassified information that also confirmed US officials faked an incident to escalate the war.
The report was released by the National Security Agency, responsible for much of the United States’ codebreaking and eavesdropping work, in response to a “mandatory declassification” request, the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) said Monday.
From the first intercepted cable — a 1945 message from Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh to his Russian counterpart Joseph Stalin — to the final evacuation of US spies from Saigon, the 500-page report retold Vietnam War history from the perspective of “signals intelligence,” the group said in a statement. Continue reading “The Lies of War”
A Predictable Prank
From Rose Fox:
A UK celebrity deliberately publishes his bank account information to prove that it’s safe, and then is surprised when someone uses it to donate £500 to charity.
Clarkson stung after bank prank
bbc.co.uk
January 7, 2008
TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson has lost money after publishing his bank details in his newspaper column.
The Top Gear host revealed his account numbers after rubbishing the furore over the loss of 25 million people’s personal details on two computer discs.
He wanted to prove the story was a fuss about nothing.
But Clarkson admitted he was “wrong” after he discovered a reader had used the details to create a £500 direct debit to the charity Diabetes UK. Continue reading “A Predictable Prank”
Skyscraper bench: art or prank?
Submitted by Rose Fox
From Gothamist, December 17, 2007:
Mystery Bench Baffles City Officials
A Gothamist tipster emailed us this photo of a prohibitively tall bench on the median of East Houston Street near Suffolk. Is this guerrilla art or city-sanctioned furniture? The new cool “Bench Club” for East Village scenesters? A lawsuit in-waiting from the city”s more vertically challenged residents? A prototype anti-homeless bench? A photoshop hoax? Continue reading “Skyscraper bench: art or prank?”