Who among us has n’t been fooled?Balloon Boy . Gay Girl in Damascus .
foreign autopsy . War of the Worlds . Aborted fetal cells in face creams ( oh waitress , that one ’s true ) . Jen is pregnant . Paul is utter . A Nigerian prince needs your help .
The big humbug has never been easier to achieve , and these days , a little cynicism is only chic . But in a strange twist , it turns out the cynics – and everyone in their name and address books – might be missing some really gravid stuff .
Even the crazy stories can turn out , on occasion , to be suitable of a mass - forward . Here , 10 narration that ca n’t be straight – the satire is too perfect , the romance too amorous , the fatuousness over the top . And yet , here we are .
Did you pick up the one about Elvis meeting with Nixon in the Oval Office ? One of them show up in a velvet suit , and that ’s plausibly the least ridiculous part of the story .
10: Elvis' Meeting With Nixon
Elvis Presleywas wing from L.A. to D.C. in 1970 when he adjudicate he require to meet the U.S. President of the United States – a very straitlaced Richard Nixon . President Nixon , not know to be a rock-and-roll fan , ( this was long before Obama pay for Common over to his menage ) , astonishingly agreed to the coming together .
Elvis had a thing for both gunslinger and law - enforcement badge , and informant say the latter drove the desire for the sit - down . Elvis offer to help out the state ( he did n’t mention how ) in exchange for one small matter : a badge from the U.S. Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs [ source : Carlson ] . That ’s like today ’s Drug Enforcement Administration .
The King , wearing a purple velvet suit , joined the president in the Oval Office and proceeded to suck up . Elvis lay claim theBeatleswere a bad influence , and he verily agreed with the president that drugs were destroying American society . He asked again about the badge . Nixon enjoin he could have one . Elvis hug him right - bye .
Elvis exit in 1977 with at least 14 controlled substances in his system , include morphia , Demerol , multiple barbiturates , several sedative soporific and Xanax [ origin : Lathan ] . Ex - married woman Priscilla Presley afterwards exact Elvis wanted the drug - enforcement badge so he could take his drug across borders without being searched [ source : Carlson ] .
9: The Cold War Race to Harness ESP
Everything was a race during the Cold War . From the ' fifty to the other ' XC , communism and democracy duked it out in the Space Race , the Nuclear Arms Race , the propaganda race … and , of course , the psychical - force raceway .
Yes , psychical power . distant viewing ( the practice of " seeing " aloof locations using nothing but brain major power ) was a serious projection carried out by serious people in the military and intelligence community . There were programs attend into telepathy , cybernetics and other psychical phenomena , but the one that at last follow in nurture some typically - cynical eyebrows was remote viewing [ source : Szegedy - Maszak and Fenyvesi ] .
The CIA and the military conductedpsychic experimentsfrom the early ' 70s up until the mid-’90s , at a monetary value of $ 20 million . There was a big remote control - reckon score in 1974 when a capable " saw " precise details of the Soviet Semipalatinsk weapons land site from a research laboratory at Stanford University [ source : Szegedy - Maszak and Fenyvesi ] . But little came of it , and years later theCIAdecided to scrap the whole project .
The U.S. governing is no longer exploring the use of ESP for spying . As far as we know .
8: Gadhafi’s Heartfelt Gift to Condi
In 2008 , then - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice , " Condi " to her admirer , contact with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi at his compound in Tripoli . As is customary , she received a parting gift , actually several , include a locket ( with Gadhafi ’s side inside ) and an impressive infield ring .
The Colonel never hide out his admiration for Rice . In a televised interview in 2007 , he claimed to " have intercourse her very much " . He total that he was " very gallant of the way she leans back and turn over orders to the Arab leaders . I substantiate my darling black African woman " [ beginning : Malone ] .
Despite these utterances , it ’s easy to send away thediamond ring . for sure that did n’t indicate a proposal of any form ?
Fast - forward a few long time , and you ca n’t help but wonder . After Gadhafi accrue to the Libyan Rebel , a search of his home revealed a prowler - style Koran satisfy with capitulum shots and military press photograph of his darling Leezza ( he called her that for some cause ) in a assortment of business suits [ source : Malone ] .
Was the annulus a proposal ? Probably not . We call back . But the gung - ho puppy love makes the record book of dictator eccentricity . Hitler’smilitary - issue Aryan snow - up dollsseem much the slightest bit less insane .
7: Heart Attack(s) at the Heart Attack Grill
Las Vegas resident John Alleman made the Heart Attack Grill his place by from home .
The sexual love - it - or - detest - it restaurant , something of a Vegas turning point , prod playfulness at the grow focusing on healthy eating with offerings like the Quadruple Bypass Burger , a phonograph record - setting 10,000 - caloriesandwich , served with Flatliner Fries ( proudly fried in complete lard ) , and a insurance policy of comping meals for " patient " more than 350 Ezra Loomis Pound ( 160 kilograms ) [ source : Heart Attack Grill ] . Alleman was much the shoes ’s mascot : He ate at the Heart Attack Grill every day , and often laud its virtues to passers - by in his character as unofficial greeter [ source : Jaslow ] . He was " patient John " to the restaurant ’s regulars and staff , the latter decorate as doctors and nurses lick in a cardiac social unit .
In February 2013 , the 180 - pound ( 81 - kilo ) Alleman had finished his meal and was stick out in front of the restaurant when he had aheart attack . He kick the bucket soon after . It was the third heart attack at the Heart Attack Grill ( as of March 2013 ) . The restaurant scrap the effrontery that its intellectual nourishment is to blame and continues its quest to " put the danger back into hamburgers " [ informant : Jaslow ] .
6: Jesus Thwarts a Robbery
Derek Lee chose the improper group of woman to plume in Lake City , Fla.
Jacquie Hagler was throwing a jewellery party at her business firm when Lee walk in wearing a bandanna over his look and holding a ordnance . When he demand her 15 partygoers turn over their money and cell speech sound , and then held hisgunto one of their heads , they held their ground – scrupulously .
Hagler turned to her organized religion for supporter . Rather than handing over the loot , she state the hit man to get out " in the name of Jesus . " She said it again and again . Her friends joined in the chanting , and Lee was presently faced with a way full of women calling " Jesus ! Jesus ! Jesus ! Jesus ! " [ source : News4Jax ] .
Lee fled the theater at a dash . Despite the bandanna , the women subsequently picked him out of a exposure lineup . He was arrested , and Hagler forgive him .
5: The U.S. Army Had the Best Pot
It ’s wide known the U.S. Army ( and theCIA ) studied LSD , a powerful hallucinogenic drug , for possible use as a chemical substance weapon . Less known is that theArmyexperimented with pot .
Very , very , very strong mountain .
It was the synthetical , hard variety , and soldiers volunteer ( out of nationalism , of course ) to test the stuff . The studies began in the 1950s and ended in the early ' 70s , with unsatisfying results [ reference : Willing ] .
Researchers note such effects as uncontrollable , hysteric laughter with no apparent cause ; hallucinations that endure for 24-hour interval ; and soldier just smirking for hours on oddment . And while it seems such upshot may indeed have hindered enemy ranks , the armed services was in the mart for incapacitation , and investigator realize apace that the initial " knockdown effect " of the drug wore off when the soldier lie down and rested [ source : unforced ] . Again , seems like that would have slowed the enemy ’s progress , but at long last the Army give up on weaponizing weed .
And so lay - back , voraciously hungry war was not to be .
4: Liz and Dick Get a Yacht for Their Dogs
celebrity – and the wealthy in general – have been known to do some wacky thing with their riches , and actorsElizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton , one of the most famous Hollywood couples of all time , are no exception .
It ’s positively tabloid - esque : They were shoot a movie in England in the ' 60s , and Liz was compulsive to bring along her four beloved dogs . Small problem , though – England had very rigorous ordinance when it came to importing deary . In parliamentary law to forestall the spread ofrabies , all dogs had to spend six month in quarantine upon arrival ( a principle that was changed in 2012 ) [ generator : Associated Press ] .
Quarantine , of course of study , was out of the question , and apparently leaving them behind was , too . The solution ? Put the click in a 120 - foot ( 36.6 m ) yacht and tail it on the Thames River , just off English soil [ source : United Press International ] . The cost to keep their four dogs by their English ? In today ’s dollar , about $ 16,000 a week [ source : Associated Press ] .
Despite the price , the actors upped the posting further by spend nights in a hotel suite rather than onboard the gravy boat . A officer was assign to call the racing yacht every few hour during in the day to mark off that all was well with the pampered pooches .
3: 50 Cent’s Bat Mitzvah Gig
It sounds like an insult you ’d hear hurled between rival rapper : " You ’re so desperate you ’d headline a squash racket mitzvah . "
50 Cent , of course , is n’t desperate for gig . And if he ’s apprehensive about maintain his gansta image ( the cat is noted for surviving being shot nine sentence , in one incident ) , he does n’t show it . For a presumably tremendous amount of hard currency , the rap star performed at the 2005bat mitzvahof one Elizabeth Brooks , a $ 10 million affair in Manhattan ’s Rainbow Room [ origin : History ] .
Oh yes , he did . The man who brought us 2011 ’s " The Return of the Heartless Monster " played a party for a 13 - year - one-time girl .
Of naturally , the man also brought us " Get Rich or Die Tryin ' , " so maybe it ’s not that crazy . Money is money , b*tches .
In any event , 50 Cent was in good company . Also in the entertainment lineup at Little Lizzie ’s shindig were Steven Tyler , Tom Petty , Stevie Nicks , and Kenny G. Fiddy ’s bodyguard allegedly tried to foreclose partygoers from using their gift - handbag digital camera to snap pics of their boss but to no service . before long everyone was checking out the shots on social media and making playfulness of the " gangsta " doorknocker [ source : Sullivan ] .
2: What Dolly Parton’s Chest Is Worth
You ’ll hear lots of rumor about celebrityinsurancepolicies . There ’s a juicy one about J.Lo ’s butt , which by some accounts boasts $ 1 billion in reporting [ germ : Huffington Post ] . This particular policy has never been verify ( so circulate that one as fun , not truth ) . A billion does seem a flake over the top .
Another renown body part , however – actually a pair – is confirm to be insured for a hefty sum . land singer Dolly Parton ’s famous 40DDs carry a $ 600,000 policy – $ 300,000 each – and Parton is n’t shy about it [ source : Romero ] .
Other notable " parts " that have convey a whole mass of coverage let in Heidi Klum ’s legs , Mark Maguire ’s mortise joint , Fred Astaire ’s legs and Bruce Springsteen ’s vocal chord [ source : ABC News ] .
1: The Band Played as the Titanic Sank
It ’s been say so often , for so long , the story that the band maintain playing on the pack of cards of theTitanichas the feel of myth . Many people do n’t even consider it might be reliable .
In fact , as the ship lapse into the Atlantic in 1912 , eight musician did toy medicine instead of festinate into lifeboat .
Beyond that , and the fact that none of the band survived , little is known for sure – especially why they did it [ germ : Boltz ] . The chieftain could n’t have made them , because they did n’t crop directly for the cruise line . historian ' best guess is that band loss leader and violinist Wallace Hartley , areligiousman who stick to to a higher - than - usual moral code , thought the euphony might calm masses in a time of crisis , and the others follow wooing [ source : Turner ] .
A musician who once worked with Hartley said the fiddler believed music could make guild out of topsy-turvyness . Another pronounce Hartley had believe about the opening of being on a sink ship and had decide he would , in that casing , act as one of two anthem : " Oh God Our Help in Ages Past " or " Nearer , My God , to Thee " [ germ : Turner ] .
We ’ll in all probability never bed for indisputable what he choose . You ’ll read in dozens of places it was " Nearer , My God , to Thee , " but do n’t send on that . That ’s what the family line behind 1997 ’s " Titanic " decide to use .
