A hoax is an attempt to trick an audience into believing that something false is real. There is often some material object involved which is actually a forgery; however, it is possible to perpetrate a hoax by making only true statements using unfamiliar wording or context (see DHMO). Unlike a fraud or con (which usually has an audience of one or a few), which are made for illicit financial or material gain, a hoax is often perpetrated as a practical joke, to cause embarrassment, or to provoke social change by making people aware of something. Many hoaxes are motivated by a desire to satirize or educate by exposing the credulity of the public and the media or the absurdity of the target. For instance, the hoaxes of James Randi poke fun at believers in the paranormal. The many hoaxes of Joey Skaggs satirize our willingness to believe the media. Political hoaxes are sometimes motivated by the desire to ridicule or besmirch opposing politicians or political institutions, often before elections.

Governments often perpetrate hoaxes to assist them with unpopular aims such as going to war (e.g., the Ems Telegram). In fact, there is often a mixture of outright hoax, and suppression and management of information to give the desired impression. In wartime, rumours abound; some may be deliberate hoaxes.

There is often considerable controversy about whether a given factoid is true or a hoax.

More on [ Hoax ]

BBC News | Science & Environment | World Edition

Climate change is shrinking sheep
Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:38:03 -0000
Climate change is causing a breed of wild sheep in Scotland to shrink, according to research in the journal Science.
New dinosaurs found in Australia
Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:48:58 -0000
Three new dinosaur species are found in Queensland, Australia, and named after the Outback song Waltzing Matilda.
Moon probe returns first images
Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:55:17 -0000
The US space agency's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft sends back its first images since reaching the Moon.

L.A. Times - Science

Roadside assistance for Mars rover
Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700
The Spirit rover is stuck in the Red Planet's fluffy soil, so engineers at JPL have re-created the scene in a sandbox to figure out how to get it free. Getting your car stuck is irritating enough, but what do you do when your vehicle is dug into the sand of another planet and the nearest auto club is 180 million miles away?
El Nino more like Los Ninos, weather study finds
Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:59:00 -0700
The Pacific Ocean warming can be broken down into two distinct patterns, Georgia Institute of Technology researchers say. The finding could help improve North Atlantic Hurricane predictions. El Nino, the seasonal Pacific Ocean warming that affects the world's weather, may not be just one little boy -- it seems to be two little boys.
Sheep getting smaller in Scotland due to climate change, study says
Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700
The average weight and size of sheep on a remote island have been falling in small but steady increments since 1985. Milder winters mean smaller animals but a larger herd. Along with polar icecaps and sandy beaches, sheep on a remote Scottish island are gradually shrinking as a result of global warming, according to a study published today in the journal Science. The finding offers unusual proof that large animals are already evolving to adapt to changes wrought by climate change, experts said.

Reuters: Science News

Australia discovers 3 new large dinosaurs
Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:45:59 -0400
SYDNEY (Reuters) - Fossils of three new species of dinosaurs have been discovered in Australia, including a meat-eater larger than Velociraptor from the Jurassic Park movies, suggesting Australia may have a more complex prehistoric past.
More than 800 wildlife species now extinct
Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:05:27 -0400
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 800 animal and plant species have gone extinct in the past five centuries with nearly 17,000 now threatened with extinction, the International Union for Conservation of Nature reported on Thursday.
Loss of world's seagrass beds seen accelerating
Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:24:01 -0400
MIAMI (Reuters) - The world's seagrass meadows, a critical habitat for marine life and profit-maker for the fishing industry, are in decline due to coastal development and the losses are accelerating, according to a new study.

AP Top Science News At 9:18 a.m. EDT

Australian dinosaur that lived 98M years ago found
By ROD McGUIRK Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:27:38 -0000
CANBERRA, Australia (AP) -- Scientists have confirmed for the first time that Australia was once home to a dinosaur that was big, fast and terrifying, and they've named it like something from an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie. Meet the Australovenator....
Plant disease hits eastern US veggies early, hard
By HOLLY RAMER Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:04:50 -0000
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) -- Tomato plants have been removed from stores in half a dozen states as a destructive and infectious plant disease makes its earliest and most widespread appearance ever in the eastern United States....
Baaad news? Global warming now shrinking sheep
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:14:04 -0000
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Like the wool sweater that emerges from the dryer a size too small, global warming seems to be shrinking sheep....

NOVA scienceNOW | PBS

NOVA scienceNOW: Phoenix Mars Lander
NOVA Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:00:00 -0500
NASA's latest robot has already found frozen water and is looking for more signs that the Red Planet could support life.
NOVA scienceNOW: Brain Trauma
NOVA Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:00:00 -0500
Even so-called "mild" head injuries turn out to be anything but.
NOVA scienceNOW: Mammoth Mystery
NOVA Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:00:00 -0500
A pair of mammoth skeletons is found locked together by their tusks. What happened?

Newsweek Technology Headlines


Innovation

Security analyst says he could hack into your iPhone – via SMS text
It was bad enough that your iPhone might suddenly catch a wicked sunburn. Now a prominent security analyst is raising concerns that the touch-screen phone could be hacked via text message. Speaking at the SyScan conference in Singapore today, Charlie Miller said a coding loophole made it possible for attackers to ...
What the future of the auto industry will look like
John Waters is leaning against a vehicle that looks like a delivery van as imagined by Pixar Animation. The IDEA – that’s its name – is blocky, yet curved, with wheel skirts and a little upswoop at the back that adds attitude. You can almost hear it speaking in a ...
A cellphone plan to bridge digital divide
A year ago, Christina Beck had no access to a telephone. The single mother of a 2-year-old son, she could no longer afford her monthly phone bills and was forced to use her roommate’s work cellphone to make doctor’s appointments or call her family. Then, sitting in front of the television ...

Science News - UPI.com

No DNA link between Etruscans, Tuscans
Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:07:38 -0400
FLORENCE, Italy, July 3 (UPI) -- Modern Tuscans show no genetic relationship to the Etruscans who occupied the area during the Bronze Age, Italian researchers have found.
New 'river blindness' drug shows promise
Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:03:17 -0400
GENEVA, Switzerland, July 3 (UPI) -- A new drug to be tested in three African countries could greatly reduce cases of onchocerciasis, commonly called "river blindness," health officials said.
Fewer California sea otters reported
Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:37:25 -0400
MONTEREY, Calif., July 3 (UPI) -- A decrease in California's endangered sea otter population likely means their water has grown more contaminated, scientists said.

 

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