Most famous hoax
A Canadian doctor, a certain J. S. Greenstein, published a paper on a wholly fictitious
contraceptive which he
called "Armpitin," for which he sketched the chemical formula, including several molecular
groups represented
by the initials NO. "Armpitin," he explained, was found to affect males by way of the olfactory
nerve, and
rendered them sterile for a number of days equivalent to the number of NO Groups in the
formula. The paper
was seriously reviewed in an annual review of pharmacology, and Dr. Greenstein received
requests from
pharmaceutical companies to sell them the patent.