Lying Through Their Teeth

From Wired:

Fifteen minutes later, another reporter called, and at that moment the tooth phone transformed from conversation starter to probable product. Yes, they told the reporter, they were looking to build a prototype, and, yes, possibly have it available within a year.

That phone call launched a tech hoax whose brew of misrepresentation, obfuscatory articles and the internet created a media blitz that landed them on Time magazine’s 2002 Best Inventions list.

Here.