A delicious photo shoot.

I fear the Balloon Boy saga has forever given hoaxes a bad name. Well, not forever, but for the time being. The backlash wasn’t the result of a family pretending a child was in peril. You can convince the whole nation its imperiled and emerge a genius. The problem with the Balloon Boy prank was its utter crassness; it signified nothing more than a sloppy attempt at reality-show riches. It taught people nothing and delivered no sense of wonder or fun. In short, you need to have style and understand context to be a respected hoaxer. Someone who fits that bill is Alan Abel, the proudest practitioner of the art.

Since the late 1950s, Abel has been pranking his way into media professionals’ hearts and craws, showing Americans that they are “a nation of sheep” who too readily believe what they are told. And his opinion of the gullible media is no kinder.

There was his campaign for S.I.N.A. (Society for Indecency to Naked Animals.), in which he convinced TV and newspapers that he was a prudish crusader who wanted animals to have to wear pants in public. And who can forget the time he planted audience members at a live taping of Donahue and had them faint on cue. Hoaxes are an important tool that help us maintain a healthy skepticism. Long may they (and Abel) live.

ALSO:

Alan Abel’s official site.
Watch Abel Raises Cain, a documentary about Abel on Hulu.
Esquire interviews Alan Abel.
Jiffy Pop popcorn. Mmm….