The town of Ong's Hat in New Jersey may have been the site of a top secret experiment that brought scientists to a parallel world in another dimension. Or it's the subject of a big inside joke and perhaps the first alternate reality game on the Internet. This week’s episode comes from the Slate podcast Decoder Ring, where the host Willa Paskin explores questions that have haunted me for a long time. When a fantasy world and the real world blur together, does it matter if we don’t know the difference? What happens when we suspend our disbelief too much?

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Our ad partner is Multitude. If you’re interested in advertising on Imaginary Worlds, you can contact them here or email [email protected].

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices