There's a saying, "fake it 'til you make it," which basically means that if you can't do something or don't know how to do it, you can still succeed by at least convincingly lying about it. It's weirdly optimistic and pessimistic at the same time. And there are real examples of it working. But there are also cases where people have faked it and not done it at all because they've truly forgotten the "convincing" part. Let's look at some of the worst examples.
10. There was once an attempt in Haiti to pass off molasses as crude oil.
The world still runs on fossil fuels, despite how bad they are for the environment and their limited supply. More than 90 million barrels of crude oil are used every day around the world. Some forecasts suggest that we have enough crude oil to meet demand until 2050, and then things start to get worse. So it makes sense to use any new sources we can find, right?
Back in the 1960s, Egyptian-born businessman Mohamed Al-Fayed managed to convince some British business associates and those in Haiti that he was a sheikh from Kuwait. He was hired by Haitian President Papa Doc to help rebuild Port-au-Prince, and as part of that effort, he tried to convince the British that Haiti had oil reserves.
The British, before willingly investing in Haiti or its oil, needed to have it analyzed, so they asked Al Fayed for a sample. The oil they received was not usable crude, or even basin quality, because it was not crude at all. Low-grade molasses from French plantations was being passed off as crude. The only thing more remarkable than this feeble attempt at fraud is the fact that it happened in the 1960s, and Al Fayed went on to have a long and distinguished career. His current net worth is estimated at around $2 billion.
9. Zoos have a bad habit of doing poor imitations of animals.
Many zoos around the world operate on the premise that they can help educate the public about animals, as well as work to conserve and protect them. Many species would be far worse off without zoo-supported breeding programs. So there is something to be said for those who believe zoos are exploitative and that animals should be free in the wild. If it weren’t for zoos, many of these animals would no longer exist. But that doesn’t mean every zoo is always noble.
In 2013, a Chinese zoo made headlines when it was revealed that its lion had a serious problem. Namely, it wasn’t a lion at all, but a dog. The fake lion was a Tibetan mastiff with a shaggy mane-like haircut. Apparently, it was one of several dogs at the park that were being passed off as other animals. The zoo itself said that the real animals were being removed for breeding programs, and the replacements were just being kept temporarily, as some do.
This is far from the only case of animal exchange scams. An Italian circus that claimed to have pandas was caught with a pair of chow chows painted black and white.
Another zoo in Egypt has been caught trying to pass off a black-and-white donkey as a zebra. Despite photographs of the patches of color on the animal's face, the zoo's director has refused to admit it is a fake.
8. Chinese media tried to pass off Top Gun for real military personnel
The sad truth of the world is that every country needs a military to defend itself because war is a reality and has always been so. Many countries pride themselves on their military might, including innovation. New technologies and new weapons to ensure their dominance on the battlefield.
Often, militaries show off new technologies as part of propaganda programs designed either to boost morale at home or perhaps even to subtly intimidate potential enemies. But this only works if it is legal. Otherwise, it will backfire, as happened to China in 2011.
Chinese state media showed footage of what appeared to be the People's Liberation Army Air Force during aerial combat exercises. It was actually scenes from a Tom Cruise movie "Top Gun" (original 1986) To be fair, these scenes are still stunning decades later. But they're also not Chinese combat training. One source claimed that sometimes this happens if the editor is lazy or if the footage is too good to use, but the network has never made any claims that the footage was taken from a movie or not real.
7. Russia has repeatedly called video game footage real
You can decide for yourself whether this is better or worse than trying to use movie footage as combat footage. In 2018, Russia was called upon to report on the war in Syria using footage not from a real war or even a war movie, but from a virtual war. They included a scene from the first-person shooter Arma 3 in the story.
What’s even more embarrassing for Russia is that this isn’t the first time this has happened. In 2017, they released an image from AC-130 Gunship Simulator: Special Ops Squadron, claiming it was evidence that the US was aiding the Islamic State in Syria. In both cases, Russia claimed that including the footage was simply a mistake.
6. Woman Tries to Use $1 Million Bill to Make Purchases at Walmart
There probably aren't many people who couldn't put a million dollars to good use. Whether you use it to help others or to help yourself, there's always a way to make money for something good. As long as it's real money.
In 2004, a Georgia woman tried to go shopping at Walmart with a $1,000,000 bill. She was trying to buy just under $2,000 worth of items and fully expected to get $998,000 in change. She had two more bills when police took her away.
The woman said her estranged husband, who collects coins, gave her the bills and that you "can't keep up with the U.S. Treasury" as to why she might have thought they were real. She said she never tried to pass them off as real, despite the teller saying the woman asked for change. She was eventually charged with forgery.
5. A passerby in New Hampshire tried to pass off a cigarette box as a state inspection sticker.
In New Hampshire, your car must pass a state safety and emissions test to be allowed on the road. You get a sticker in the window stating that you’ve been inspected. However, some either forget to do this or simply fail the test. It’s unclear what happened to a driver who tried to pass off a scam as the real deal back in 2019.
Making a fake sticker might not be that hard if you put in some effort, but this driver didn't do that. Instead, he wrote a few numbers on a box of Camel cigarettes and stuck them on his car, perhaps hoping no one would notice the whole Camel background.
Regardless of their expectations, the police did notice and the driver was held accountable for it.
4. Potential marijuana dealers tried to pretend that vegetables were marijuana
Now that marijuana is legal in some places, you don't hear as much about crimes related to its sale and use, but they still happen. It's unlikely that many will see a repeat of the story from 2016, but you never know.
In this case, a pair of men selling weed were involved in an attack after their potential buyer realized he wasn't buying weed from them. They tried to pass off shredded vegetables as marijuana. When the cat, or maybe cabbage, wasn't in the bag, they hit the customer with a BB gun and stole his money.
3. Scammers Tried to Commit Insurance Fraud Using an iPad Made of Ice
Fraud is a risky game, and there are plenty of systems in place to detect it at almost every level. Committing postal fraud, for example, is no easy task. And if you did it, you'd have to do a lot better than the guy who tried to trick the UK Post Office in an iPad scam.
The plan was simple and not very good. The scammer would fill a box with ice that weighed as much as an iPad. They would take it to the post office and insure it as an iPad, with the weight of the package supporting the claim. Then the ice would melt, and when the empty package was received later, they could claim it was stolen in transit and claim the $4,000 the packages were insured for.
There were a few problems with this scam. First, the guy showed up wet from the now-melting ice. He said it was raining, but it wasn't. Then he claimed he couldn't remember his return address. An hour later, postal workers noticed water pooling around the package and investigated, finding it was just a box of ice.
The package was delivered knowing full well what was happening and once the insurance claim was filed the man and his accomplice were charged with fraud.
2. Chinese media published an article about aircraft carriers, which included images Battlestar Galactica
We've already seen Chinese state media play with footage Top Gun , claiming it was real, but it didn't end there. And give him credit for at least using footage from a highly acclaimed film that used real pilots and real planes to create convincing action sequences. There's less to the story.
In 2013, the Japanese-language version of a Chinese media site published an article about trends in aircraft carrier design, showing what the future holds. While the article covered many aspects of technology and advancements, the images it included used a design scheme from Battlestar Galactica. The other image was just a concept of a floating city by a Dutch designer. This time no reason was given, or it was simply written off as a mistake.
1. Man sold crack to undercover cop that turned out to be crushed cookies
Drug dealing is a risky business at the best of times, but especially when you're caught by undercover cops who can use evidence of the deal to prosecute you. So what happens if the evidence isn't technically related to a drug sale?
A North Carolina man was arrested in 2014 after arranging to sell crack to an undercover officer. Instead, he crushed a chocolate pie in a bag and sold it to the cop. The officer tested it and found no traces of drugs, but arrested him two months after the deal.
It turns out that selling counterfeit crack, even if it tastes good, is still illegal, and he was charged with both selling and making a counterfeit controlled substance.
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