Hoax and Hindsight Hoaxes, trials, and prophecies — retried on the evidence. https://hoaxandhindsight.com/ 2026-11-06T00:00:00Z Albert Robida’s Novel vs. 1956: Strict 3/9, Lenient 6/9https://hoaxandhindsight.com/past-futures/albert-robida/2026-11-06T00:00:00ZAlbert Robida’s La Vie électrique, set in December 1955, split into 27 items and scored: 3 of 9 came true, 6 of 9 with partial hits; 18 are not scorable.Hoax and Hindsight Anna Anderson and the Tichborne Claimant: A Jury, Then DNAhttps://hoaxandhindsight.com/proven-fakes/anna-anderson-tichborne-claimant/2026-11-06T00:00:00ZA London jury convicted the Tichborne Claimant of perjury in 1874; DNA tests published in 1995 exposed Anna Anderson, per a 2009 study. Two proofs compared.Hoax and Hindsight Cottingley Fairies: Kodak Would Not Vouch, Doyle’s Book Sayshttps://hoaxandhindsight.com/proven-fakes/cottingley-fairies/2026-11-06T00:00:00ZArthur Conan Doyle’s 1922 book records that Kodak’s experts found no trick in the Cottingley fairy negatives in 1920, yet would not certify them as genuine.Hoax and Hindsight “Everything That Can Be Invented”: Not in Duell’s Reporthttps://hoaxandhindsight.com/past-futures/everything-that-can-be-invented/2026-11-06T00:00:00ZCharles Duell’s Patent Office report for 1899 asks Congress to help inventors. The line is not in its pp. iii–xii; the earliest printing found is a Punch joke.Hoax and Hindsight Galileo Trial: No ‘Eppur Si Muove’ in the 1633 Recordhttps://hoaxandhindsight.com/trials/galileo-trial/2026-11-06T00:00:00ZGalileo’s 1633 sentence found him vehemently suspected of heresy. Eppur si muove is not in it; the earliest printing found, per Mario Livio, is from 1757.Hoax and Hindsight Giles Corey: ‘More Weight’ Is Absent From Sewall and Calefhttps://hoaxandhindsight.com/trials/giles-corey/2026-11-06T00:00:00ZGiles Corey’s “More weight!” is not in Sewall’s or Calef’s account; the earliest printings found are verse of 1866 and 1867. How peine forte et dure worked.Hoax and Hindsight Halley’s Comet: The 1758 Return Halley Foretold, Never Sawhttps://hoaxandhindsight.com/past-futures/halleys-comet/2026-11-06T00:00:00ZHalley’s Comet: in 1705 Halley wrote it would return in 1758. It was seen on Christmas night 1758, after his death. His forecast, split into 5 claims, scored.Hoax and Hindsight Han van Meegeren: A Forgery Trial, Not Treason, per Godleyhttps://hoaxandhindsight.com/proven-fakes/han-van-meegeren/2026-11-06T00:00:00ZHan van Meegeren was arrested in 1945 as a suspected collaborator. By Godley’s 1951 account, he was tried in 1947 for forging signatures and got one year.Hoax and Hindsight Kensington Runestone: Its 1910 Panel’s Own Expert Said Nohttps://hoaxandhindsight.com/archaeology-retested/kensington-runestone/2026-11-06T00:00:00ZIn 1910 a Minnesota panel backed the Kensington Runestone on one condition; its specialist rejected it. By current evidence it is not accepted as medieval.Hoax and Hindsight Ladies’ Home Journal 1900 Predictions: 68 Items, 48 Scoredhttps://hoaxandhindsight.com/past-futures/ladies-home-journal-predictions/2026-11-06T00:00:00ZLadies’ Home Journal 1900 predictions for 2000, split into 68 items and scored: 11 of 48 came true, 27 of 48 counting partial hits; 20 items not scorable.Hoax and Hindsight Mechanical Turk: Its Hidden Player Was Suspected in 1784https://hoaxandhindsight.com/proven-fakes/mechanical-turk/2026-11-06T00:00:00ZThe Mechanical Turk chess automaton hid a human player. Who said so by 1784, what Willis argued in 1821, and why Napoleon’s game rests on later accounts.Hoax and Hindsight Proctor’s Ledge: Perley Put Salem’s Hangings There in 1921https://hoaxandhindsight.com/archaeology-retested/proctors-ledge/2026-11-06T00:00:00ZSalem's 1692 hangings most likely took place at Proctor's Ledge, below Gallows Hill's summit, as Perley argued in 1921. No archaeological dig has been reported.Hoax and Hindsight Salem Witch Trials: 3 of 52 Convicted in 1693, Phips Wrotehttps://hoaxandhindsight.com/trials/salem-witch-trials/2026-11-06T00:00:00ZSalem witch trials: 19 hanged in 1692; in 1693, by the governor's count, all but 3 of 52 tried were cleared. What spectral evidence was and what changed.Hoax and Hindsight Scopes Monkey Trial: The Defense Asked for a Guilty Verdicthttps://hoaxandhindsight.com/trials/scopes-trial/2026-11-06T00:00:00ZThe Scopes monkey trial ended in a guilty verdict on July 21, 1925, after the defense asked for it to reach a higher court; the judge set the $100 fine.Hoax and Hindsight Stratigraphy: The Deepest Layer in a Dig Isn’t Always Oldesthttps://hoaxandhindsight.com/archaeology-retested/stratigraphy/2026-11-06T00:00:00ZStratigraphy reads the order of layers: lower is earlier, unless a later pit, burrow or collapse cuts through. It gives a sequence, not a calendar date.Hoax and Hindsight Terminus Post Quem: Newest Original Part Sets a Date Floorhttps://hoaxandhindsight.com/archaeology-retested/terminus-post-quem/2026-11-06T00:00:00ZA terminus post quem is the earliest date a layer or object can have, set by its newest dated part. It gives a floor, not a date; the ante quem sets a ceiling.Hoax and Hindsight Trial by Ordeal: Most Várad Cases With a Result Were Clearedhttps://hoaxandhindsight.com/trials/trial-by-ordeal/2026-11-06T00:00:00ZIn the Várad register, dated 1208–1235 by its 1903 editors, 131 of 209 hot-iron cases with a written result end with everyone cleared, by this site’s count.Hoax and Hindsight Vinland Map: Yale Found a Pigment First Sold in the 1920shttps://hoaxandhindsight.com/proven-fakes/vinland-map/2026-11-06T00:00:00ZThe Vinland Map is a forgery, Yale said in 2021: a titanium pigment that went on sale in the 1920s runs through its lines. Key tests from 1965 to 2021.Hoax and Hindsight