Beggars Belief

In this episode, we tackle three ridiculous tales.  The origin of the building later called the "World's Tiniest Skyscraper".  An investor who took Wall Street by storm using the powers of time travel.  And the American invention of the bathtub.

Of course, someone is lying in each of these tales.

This week we explore a prankster who made waves in the 1800s before fading into obscurity.  Mark Twain? Oh my god, they were roommates.  This story covers silver prospectors, rocks whose love language is touch, and the weirdness of the old west.

Ong's Hat is a real place.  But the stories about it aren't.  That didn't stop tales about a dimension hopping, scientific, transcendentalist, sadomasochistic cult from spreading across the early internet.  This is credited as the first ever ARG and boy, is it weird

In this week's episode we take a bizarre dive.  In the 60s, an underground magazine started a hoax that you could smoke bananas.  The rumor spread like wildfire, fueled by pop music and an accidental association with a vibrator.  Years later, the same hoax hit a new audience, creating a whole new world for banana lovers..

In this week's episode, we review some short but curious cases from around the world.

First up from England, two people convinced pub goers to give up their socks for charity.  The story is so ridiculous, it leaves Chris speechless.

Then we go to India, where a bunch of people faked an entire cricket league, and managed to profit.

Music by Roger A Martinez

Just before the fall of the Soviet Union, a musician and a journalist got together to pull an absurd and confusing prank--convincing people that Vladimir Lenin was a mushroom.  How did they get people to believe the former Bolshevik leader was actually fungus?  What role did world events play into this hoax being successful?  And most importantly, how many mushroom related puns can Chris fit into a half hour?

Join us this week as we explore this weird hoax.

Music by Roger Martinez.

We all have our dreams.  For John Spano, that dream was to own a national hockey team.  And he wasn't going to let little facts like not having money get in the way of those dreams.  We discuss how he scammed his way into owning the New York Islanders, who at the time had an unfortunate redesign on their logo.

Mellie and Chris aren't sports fans, but you don't have to be to be interested in this weird rabbit hole!

Today we turn our eyes to Disney, looking at how a Texan scammed investors by promising a brand new park, and how ghost videos played into viral marketing in the 2010s.  Meanwhile other stories, Chris's Goofy impersonation, and a review of Disneyland's opening day back in 1955.

Clifford Irving and Robert Suskind wanted to write an autobiography of notable reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes, based on one on one interviews and personal papers.  So they did.  Too bad they never actually met Hughes.

This story is a rollercoaster that somehow got further than anyone could have ever imagined, with fact and fiction becoming intertwined.

The Hoax https://amzn.to/4a4BsNj

The (fake) autobiography https://amzn.to/3ULqQ1k

The Hoax movie starring Richard Gere https://amzn.to/3UNVmIe

Music by Roger A. Martinez

On this week's episode, we delve into the history of the most fake publication to grace store shelves in the 90s, the Weekly World News, and the history of its unofficial mascot, BatBoy.  How did this tabloid get started, how did it stop publication, where did they get their ideas from.  Also, we discuss 80s snack foods and Chris exposes his love of Bigfoot.