Leonardo’s bicycle

In the post-truth era, fake news may be booming, but this is just the latest chapter in a long history of frauds and shams. Peter Köhler has gathered a fascinating and entertaining collection of the most famous, most obscure, and most curious hoaxes from the past and present, including: Leonardo da Vinci’s bicycle sketch, the fake artifact known as the Jupiter of Nidderau, and the female Pope Joan; islands that wander, the dirty truth about diesel and vegan mussels; the forged Laichinger Hunger Chronicle, the infamous Indian rope trick, and a singing cat, who knows 36 songs by heart.