| 词条 | Maggie Murphy hoax |
| 释义 |
The Maggie Murphy hoax was a hoax perpetrated in 1895 by W. L. Thorndyke. He created an image that depicted farmer Joseph B. Swan holding what appeared to be a giant potato. The photo rapidly spread around the United States, and appeared in a panel of Ripley's Believe It or Not!. BackgroundThe hoax began in Loveland, Colorado. W. L. Thorndyke, editor-in-chief for a local newspaper, had wanted to promote an upcoming street fair. Thorndyke turned to farmer Joseph B. Swan, and wanted to help bring customers to him.[1] Swan had been known for growing more than 70 different types of potatoes and had previously been featured in several news reports for his success with his crop.[2] With the help of local photographer Adam Talbot, they produced a photograph which appeared in an 1895 issue of the Loveland Reporter.[1] It was implied the potato weighed 86 pounds 10 ounces, and measured 2 feet 5 inches.[3] Swan swore that he grew it himself.[4] The image quickly spread around the United States. Over one thousand citizens sent letters to Thorndyke, requesting pieces of Maggie Murphy so they could grow their own oversized potato.[2] Requests for seeds were also common.[1] Thorndyke, realizing that the photograph was beginning to get out of control, admitted that it was a hoax. He wrote that he had asked Swan to carve a fake potato out of wood.[4] Cultural impactThe photograph appeared in numerous publications, including Scientific American and Ripley's Believe It or Not!.[2] It has been reprinted in the book The World of Ripley's Believe It Or Not!, however, no mention is made of the photograph being a hoax.[3] When Ripley's Believe It or Not! was adapted into a television series, the photograph was used in the opening segment.[2] In 2012, Colorado playwright Rick Padden adapted the tale of the hoax into a two-act play, entitled The Great Loveland Potato Hoax.[1] References1. ^1 2 3 {{cite news|last=Jessen|first=Kenneth|title=Loveland playwright Rick Padden explores a potato hoax|url=http://www.reporterherald.com/ci_20062982|accessdate=October 25, 2013|newspaper=Reporter-Herald}} 2. ^1 2 3 {{cite news|last=Hall|first=Lois|title=Now That Was a Big Potato|url=http://www.theseniorvoice.net/archive/SVtab3-11web.pdf|newspaper=The Senior Voice|date=March 2011|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029192912/http://www.theseniorvoice.net/archive/SVtab3-11web.pdf|archivedate=2013-10-29|df=}} 3. ^1 {{cite book|last=Mooney|first=Julie|title=The World of Ripley's Believe It Or Not|year=1999|publisher=Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, Incorporated|isbn=1579120881|page=86|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qVCaPQAACAAJ}} 4. ^1 {{cite book|author1=Laurel Benson|author2=Debra Benson Faulkner|title=Loveland|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TicoYmOUmnIC&pg=PA31|year=2012|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=978-0-7385-9507-8|page=31}} 6 : Loveland, Colorado|Colorado culture|1895 in the United States|19th-century hoaxes|Potatoes|1895 in Colorado |
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