The Calaveras Skull: The Practical Joke That Almost Changed Human Evolution
When a group of miners uncovered a skull deep in a mine shaft on the western slopes of Bald Mountain in Calaveras County, California, it was believed, at least initially, to be a history-changing disc...
28 Marras 202322min
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the Truth Behind the 'Cottingley Fairies'
In the summer of 1917, Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths convinced a whole lot of people, including the famous Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, they'd seen fairies neat their home -- and they had photographic...
21 Marras 202328min
Fake! The Story of Clifford Irving and the Howard Hughes Literary Hoax
In the early 1970s, McGraw-Hill Book Company landed what could have been the literary scoop of the 20th century: A writer named Clifford Irving pitched them that he'd obtained the permission of the re...
14 Marras 202332min
The Tiara of Saitaphernes: How Much Art in Museums Is Not What It Seems?
In April of 1896, the Louvre announced it had purchased a tiara they believed must have been from the treasure house of a great Scythian king -- and that it had the exciting potential to rewrite ancie...
7 Marras 202323min
False Impressions: Frederic Spitzer and His Master Forgers
A 19th-century German goldsmith famous for his forgeries of Renaissance objects, including jewelry and vessels. His fakery was discovered after his death, during a major archive by the Victoria and Al...
31 Loka 202325min
To Be or Not to Be Shakespeare: The Forgeries of William-Henry Ireland
"Done to death by slanderous tongues," wrote William Shakespeare in his play, 'Much Ado About Nothing'. Shakespeare may be a renowned English playwright, poet, and actor, but, he has a bit of a credib...
24 Loka 202326min
Eugène Boban and the Real Story of the Crystal Skulls
The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. has a fake crystal skull. And so does the British Museum in London, as does Paris's Quai Branly Museum. As of 2019, it was estimated there are more than...
17 Loka 202330min
Alceo Dossena: The Forger Who Sued the Men Who Sold His Forgeries
Sculptor Alceo Dossena was an impactful figure in the art world of the early 20th century because he created forged masterpieces capable of fooling even the most expert of experts. Critics attributed ...
10 Loka 202324min
