Prehistoric Penguin Murals: In 1991, prehistoric murals were discovered on the walls of an underwater cave in eastern France. The murals revealed that penguins and man once lived side by side in that region.
Fact. The penguin murals were found in 1991 by deep-sea divers exploring a cave 7.5 miles southeast of Marseilles.
Crustless Bread: For those who just can’t stand the taste of crust and are too lazy to cut it off, Sara Lee introduced the ultimate convenience: crustless bread. Available in stores everywhere!
Fact. This actually was a new product by Sara Lee in 2002.
Carrots Reclassified as a Fruit: In 1979, officials in the European Union confirmed what many have long suspected: that carrots are not, in fact, a vegetable but are actually a fruit.
Fact. Bureaucrats in the European Union did classify carrots as a fruit in a 1979 directive.
A gentleman bought two puppies from a man who claimed they were good watchdogs. Upon seeing a wildlife exhibition two years later, the man discovered that his dogs were really endangered black bears.
Fact. The bears were taken to live safely in a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation center after the man contacted the authorities.
Karate Experts Collect Bus Fares: Faced with a growing number of unruly passengers, one town in Ukraine adopted a unique solution: Karate-trained fare collectors.
Fact. This strategy was implemented in 1993 by a city in western Ukraine, following a number of attacks on bus inspectors.
In Ireland, a cat made it into the local newspapers when she decided the best place to give birth to her four baby kittens would be in a nearby bird’s nest.
Fact. In Louth County, Ireland the cat and her kittens were found curled up in the nest by the owner of a local pet supply store.
A Whopper of a Whopper: Burger King published a full-page advertisement in USA Today announcing the introduction of a new item to their menu: a “Left-Handed Whopper” specially designed for the 32 million lefthanded Americans.
Foolery! This joke was perpetrated in 1998 by Jim Watkins, senior vice president for marketing at Burger King.
A man dressed as a tree decided to stand in the middle of a busy intersection in Portland, Maine, as an act of performance art. Local police responded to the scene and asked the man to leave the intersection, but he was eventually arrested.
Fact. CNN reported the man was arrested with a misdemeanor charge.
Vodka Bars: A Russian beverage company announced a new product designed to appeal more specifically to Russian tastes: chewy vodka bars. The vodka bars will be available in lemon, coconut, and salted cucumber flavors.
Foolery!
The Pepsi-Cola company sponsored teenagers to tattoo themselves with its logo. In return, the teenagers received a 10 percent lifetime discount on the company’s products. Teenagers were said to have enthusiastically responded.
Foolery! This hoax report was made by “All Things Considered” on National Public Radio in 1994.