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Unknown Lands
The fertile minds of editors and producers are always
fascinated by the ideas of new lands with no names or unusual names or
the stories of lost lands with hidden treasures or occupied by people
with extraordinary qualities. The mythological lands and men have also
found their places in the imagination of men and women since centuries.
Read some funny hoaxes that really trapped the people in the wonderlands
that never really existed and the fantasy people that real people
supported and advocated, without even knowing them.
- In 1973, the documentary feature produced by Westward Television,
a British TV studio talked about the rebellion of the residents of a
village called Spiggot, who thought that the new decimal currency
adopted recently by the British government was an attack on their
traditional denominations. The rebellion received a large response
in its favor. However, neither the village of Spiggot nor the people
leading anti-decimal crusade existed.
- In 1977, the printer-publisher of the British newspaper 'The
Guardian' conceived of an idyllic holiday spot in the Indian Ocean
and dedicated a special seven-page supplement in the honor of the
tenth anniversary of its small republic. Know as San Seriffe, it had
several semi-colon-shaped islands, with its two main islands being
known as Upper Caisse and Lower Caisse. Printer's terminology
continued to be used as the name of its capital, which was named
Bodoni and General Pica, the name of its leader. The popularity of
this April Fool hoax is said to be trendsetter for the British
tabloids in the following decades.
- In 1992, Moskovskaya Pravda played a satire on increasing
capitalism in Russia by announcing that the plans had been finalized
to build a new Moscow subway system, not because there was a problem
with Moscow's current subway but to promote 'the interests of
competition.'
- In 1993, London's Independent lured the fans of cartoon hero
Asterix by announcing the archeological discovery of his
3000-year-old village at Le Yaudet, near Lannion, France, the place
where the Rene Goscinny, the creator of the cartoon character,
conceived it. Professor Barry Cunliffe of Oxford University and Dr.
Patrick Galliou of the University of Brest were credited with its
finding. The details included that the Celtic coins found there had
the image of a wild boar (the favorite food of Asterix's friend
Obelix) and a large collection of rare Iron Age standing stones,
just as Obelix, who worked as deliveryman, preferred them. They also
claimed that historians believe that Romans had never occupied the
village as in the comic.
- The above idea was re-used in 1995 by the Greek Ministry of
Culture, which announced that tomb of Socrates has been found during
excavation for the Athens metro system near the base of the
Acropolis. It also said that a vase containing traces of hemlock and
a piece of leather dating back to 400 and 390 BC were also found
there. The news agency Agence France-Presse immediately issued a
release about the story believing it to be true and had to retract a
few hours later.
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