Philosophy
People will believe just about anything when a scientist celebrity is involved...and no this has nothing to do with Moon rocks and the Apollo astronauts.
The Writer's Almanac...
On this date in 1835, the New York Sun ran the first of six articles claiming there was civilization on the Moon. Known as "The Great Moon Hoax," the articles were said to have been reprinted from the Edinburgh Journal of Science, and their author, Dr. Andrew Grant, claimed to be a colleague of Sir John Herschel, the most famous astronomer of the day. Grant reported that Herschel — who was setting up a powerful new telescope in Cape Town, South Africa — had witnessed fantastic creatures like unicorns, two-legged beavers, and bat-human hybrids; he also reported huge caves full of amethysts, jewel-encrusted temples, and lush jungle vegetation.
The articles were intended to be a satire of speculation on extraterrestrial life, but people believed they were true, and the increase in the "penny press" paper's circulation that resulted was a welcome side benefit. A team of Yale scientists even traveled to New York to track down the original Edinburgh Journal articles; unfortunately for them, the Journal had ceased publication several years earlier. When the New York Sun admitted that the articles had been a hoax, the public greeted the news with good humor, and sales of the paper remained vigorous.
Great Moon Hoax [Wikipedia]
- "armchair Science"...an Old British Popular Science Magazine
April 1929 Volume 1 Number 1 Wikipedia... "Armchair Science" was a British monthly journal of topical and popular science articles published from 1929 to 1940; it ceased publication because of wartime paper shortages. The first editor was A. Percy Bradley,...
- Greed...the New York Times
A small notice placed in the upper right hand section of the online paper...A Change to Free Monthly AccessBeginning in April, nonsubscribers will have access to 10 free articles per month on NYTimes.com instead of 20. ----------Why is The Times changing...
- John F.w. Herschel's Archived Papers Now Available
"18th-Century Astronomer Herschel's Papers Now Public"by Jennifer OuelletteMarch 7th, 2012DiscoveryNewsHistorical archives are an invaluable resource for those who study the past, or for those of us who are merely curious about those earlier eras....
- Internet Explorer Data Was A Hoax
Suckered again. Not sure who to believe anymore. "Disgruntled Canadian Developer Behind Internet Explorer IQ "Study" Hoax" by John Paul Titlow August 3rd, 2011 ReadWriteWeb After making the rounds on the Internet for a few days, a news story about research...
- Apollo 11 Star Chart Sells For $218k
"Apollo 11 chart fetches astronomical price" Star navigation aid for lunar surface sold at auction for $218,000 July 16th, 2009 The Associated Press NEW YORK - A navigational chart used by Apollo 11 astronauts has become the unexpected star of an auction...
Philosophy
The Great Moon Hoax of 1835
GREAT ASTRONOMICAL DISCOVERIES
LATELY MADE
BY SIR JOHN HERSCHEL, L.L.D. F.R.S. &c.
New York Sun headline
LATELY MADE
BY SIR JOHN HERSCHEL, L.L.D. F.R.S. &c.
New York Sun headline
New York Sun lithograph
People will believe just about anything when a scientist celebrity is involved...and no this has nothing to do with Moon rocks and the Apollo astronauts.
The Writer's Almanac...
On this date in 1835, the New York Sun ran the first of six articles claiming there was civilization on the Moon. Known as "The Great Moon Hoax," the articles were said to have been reprinted from the Edinburgh Journal of Science, and their author, Dr. Andrew Grant, claimed to be a colleague of Sir John Herschel, the most famous astronomer of the day. Grant reported that Herschel — who was setting up a powerful new telescope in Cape Town, South Africa — had witnessed fantastic creatures like unicorns, two-legged beavers, and bat-human hybrids; he also reported huge caves full of amethysts, jewel-encrusted temples, and lush jungle vegetation.
The articles were intended to be a satire of speculation on extraterrestrial life, but people believed they were true, and the increase in the "penny press" paper's circulation that resulted was a welcome side benefit. A team of Yale scientists even traveled to New York to track down the original Edinburgh Journal articles; unfortunately for them, the Journal had ceased publication several years earlier. When the New York Sun admitted that the articles had been a hoax, the public greeted the news with good humor, and sales of the paper remained vigorous.
Great Moon Hoax [Wikipedia]
- "armchair Science"...an Old British Popular Science Magazine
April 1929 Volume 1 Number 1 Wikipedia... "Armchair Science" was a British monthly journal of topical and popular science articles published from 1929 to 1940; it ceased publication because of wartime paper shortages. The first editor was A. Percy Bradley,...
- Greed...the New York Times
A small notice placed in the upper right hand section of the online paper...A Change to Free Monthly AccessBeginning in April, nonsubscribers will have access to 10 free articles per month on NYTimes.com instead of 20. ----------Why is The Times changing...
- John F.w. Herschel's Archived Papers Now Available
"18th-Century Astronomer Herschel's Papers Now Public"by Jennifer OuelletteMarch 7th, 2012DiscoveryNewsHistorical archives are an invaluable resource for those who study the past, or for those of us who are merely curious about those earlier eras....
- Internet Explorer Data Was A Hoax
Suckered again. Not sure who to believe anymore. "Disgruntled Canadian Developer Behind Internet Explorer IQ "Study" Hoax" by John Paul Titlow August 3rd, 2011 ReadWriteWeb After making the rounds on the Internet for a few days, a news story about research...
- Apollo 11 Star Chart Sells For $218k
"Apollo 11 chart fetches astronomical price" Star navigation aid for lunar surface sold at auction for $218,000 July 16th, 2009 The Associated Press NEW YORK - A navigational chart used by Apollo 11 astronauts has become the unexpected star of an auction...