Bunga! Bunga!
The Dreadnought Hoax involved aristocratic joker Horace de Vere Cole and five friends — writer Virginia Stephen (later Virginia Woolf), her brother Adrian Stephen, Guy Ridley, Anthony Buxton, and artist Duncan Grant — who disguised themselves with skin darkeners and turbans. On 7 February 1910, Cole's accomplice sent a telegram to HMS Dreadnought, saying that the ship must be prepared for the visit of a group of princes from Abyssinia. The telegram was purportedly signed by Foreign Office Under-secretary Sir Charles Hardinge. Cole with his entourage went to London's Paddington station where Cole claimed that he was "Herbert Cholmondeley" of the UK Foreign Office and demanded a special train to Weymouth; the stationmaster arranged a VIP coach. In Weymouth, the navy welcomed the princes with an honour guard. An Abyssinian flag was not found, so the navy used that of Zanzibar and played Zanzibar's national anthem. The group inspected the fleet. To show their appreciation, they communicated in gibberish drawn from Latin and Greek. During the visit to Dreadnought, the visitors showed amazement or appreciation by exclaiming, "Bunga! Bunga!" When the real Emperor of Ethiopia, Menelik II, visited England some time later, he was chased by children shouting "Bunga! Bunga!". Ironically, the Emperor afterward requested to view the Navy's facilities, but the senior Admiralty officer in charge declined to grant his request. During the First World War, HMS Dreadnought rammed and sank a German submarine. The telegram of congratulation read, "BUNGA BUNGA".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreadnought_hoax
Berners Street Hoax
On 27 November 1810, at five in the morning, a sweep arrived to sweep the chimneys of 54 Berners Street in Westminster, London, -- the home of Mrs Tottenham. The maid informed him that no sweep had been requested, and that his services were not required, and the disappointed tradesman went on his way. A few moments later another sweep presented himself at the door, then another, and another, twelve in all. After the last of the sweeps had been sent away, a fleet of carts carrying large deliveries of coal began to arrive, followed by a series of cakemakers delivering large wedding cakes, then doctors, lawyers, vicars and priests summoned to minister to someone in the house they had been told was dying. Fishmongers, shoemakers, and over a dozen pianos were among the next to appear, along with "six stout men bearing an organ". Several dignitaries, including the Governor of the Bank of England, the Duke of York, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Lord Mayor of the City of London also arrived at 54 Berners Street. The narrow streets soon became severely congested with disgruntled tradesmen and onlookers. Deliveries and visits continued until the early evening, bringing a large part of London to a standstill. Theodore Hook had bet his friend Samuel Beazley that he could transform any house in London into the most talked-about address in a week. To achieve his goal, he had sent out 4,000 letters purporting to be Mrs Tottenham and requesting deliveries, visitors, and assistance. Hook had stationed himself in the house directly opposite 54 Berners Street, and he and his friend had spent an amusing day watching the chaos unfold.
Tags
- LOL (175)
- USA (116)
- WTF (85)
- Iran (57)
- Internet (56)
- IranElection (45)
- Capitalism (39)
- Israel (39)
- Human Rights (38)
- Cool (35)
- View all 1959 tags »
