Histories Hoaxes: an April Fools Special

Welcome to our special April Fool’s episode of Time Tellers, where we brush the dust off history’s greatest hoaxes and lay bare their surprising truths. Join Renee and Dan as they shed light on tales that once ensnared the world, beginning with the captivating yet wholly fabricated tale of a thriving civilization on the moon, which had readers of The Sun newspaper gazing skyward in 1835. Move forward to witness the intrigue of the Mechanical Turk, an ingenious 18th-century chess-playing automaton that challenged the brightest minds of its time, unveiling a web of hidden masters that makes us question the artistry behind the trick. Continue your journey as we demystify the infamous 1938 'War of the Worlds' broadcast that ignited a media frenzy. Orson Welles’ broadcast became an unintentional spectacle, illustrating how the growing media of the time tangled information with panic. Finally, explore Gregor McGregor’s audacious fabrication of the fictional country of Poyas, a paradise that existed only in imagination, illustrating both the allure and the lethal consequences of dreamers misled. Delve into these extraordinary stories that underscore the thin line between fact and fiction, reminding us all why sometimes the past is far stranger—and more entertaining—than anything dreamt up in fiction.