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Leonardo’s bicycle

Peter Köhler

The Most Famous Hoaxes from Ramses to Trump

Fake news wasn’t invented by the internet. The first historically recorded hoax is over 3000 years old: a carved in stone false report of Ramses’ victory over the Hittites in 1274 BC, which is a great example of royal propaganda. Even the term itself is not entirely new, since it was used occasionally in the 19th century to describe deliberate false reports in newspapers.

In the post-truth era, fake news may be booming, but this is just the latest chapter in a long history of frauds and shams. Peter Köhler has gathered a fascinating and entertaining collection of the most famous, most obscure, and most curious hoaxes from the past and present, including: Leonardo da Vinci’s bicycle sketch, the fake artifact known as the Jupiter of Nidderau, and the female Pope Joan; islands that wander, the dirty truth about diesel and vegan mussels; the forged Laichinger Hunger Chronicle, the infamous Indian rope trick, and a singing cat, who knows 36 songs by heart.

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Published by C.H.Beck , ISBN: 9783406728143

Main content page count: 256 Pages

ISBN: 9783406728143