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The story goes that a freak accident occurred at a circus during an act involving a dwarf bouncing on a trampoline. The dwarf jumped sideways off the trampoline just at the moment a hippopotamus began to yawn. The dwarf landed in the hippo's yawning mouth and was abruptly, and accidentally,
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Ewan, Ferguson (25 May 2003). "Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Isn't there something a little
Qjabout all this?".
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The original story was set in an
Austrian circus, the hippo was named Hilda, and the dwarf was named Franz Dasch. In 1999, a new version of the story appeared in the
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in 2003 said the story is a marvelous metaphor for the reality that "Life is not safe. You can't plan for disaster. The hippo can get you at any time."
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has been circulating via the internet since the mid-1990s. Many print newspapers have been fooled into publishing the story as fact.
154:, once told the story in a segment called "Educating Ricky" in 2002 in which Karl believed the story to be true. This led to both
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swallowed whole. The audience applauded until they realised this was not part of the show and the true horror set in.
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Mapes, Terry (11 June 2006). "Book shows you really can fool all of the people some of the time (book review)".
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in
Thailand. The setting had changed to northern Thailand and the dwarf was called Od. The
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Borrowson, Warren (18 August 2006). "Book about hoaxes is short on research (book review)".
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post in 1994. According to Alex Boese, the story cannot be found in back issues of the
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Harmon, Rick (11 June 2006). "Hippo Eats Dwarf puts some rumors to rest (book review".
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claim the dwarf was consumed in front of an audience of 7,000. According to
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story was republished by several
Australian papers including the
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85:, the hoax news story began circulating on the internet with a
363:"Lewis Black - Hippo Eats Dwarf - Live at Gotham (Video Clip)"
93:, but he also incorrectly claims that it cannot be found in
458:"Hippo Eats Dwarf: A Field Guide to Hoaxes and Other B.S."
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Hippo Eats Dwarf: A Field Guide to Hoaxes and Other B.S.
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The hoax first appeared in 1988; it was reported in the
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references it in a joke during a stand-up appearance.
176:published a comedic version of the story in 2009.
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338:"karl Pilkington talks about a hippo"
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26:news article which claims that a
220:. Museumofhoaxes.com. 2005-02-23
126:The story reached the UK in the
344:from the original on 2021-12-20
200:includes an entry on the hoax.
289:"There's no biz like show biz"
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218:"Hippo Eats Dwarf (Comments)"
71:, allegedly sourced from the
319:, p. 1, Pan Macmillan, 2010
30:was accidentally eaten by a
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246:. snopes.com. 19 July 2006
50:Euan Ferguson writing in
162:laughing hysterically.
129:Manchester Evening News
151:The Ricky Gervais Show
413:Montgomery Advertiser
528:Journalistic hoaxes
508:"Hippo Eats Dwarf"
244:"Hippo Eats Dwarf"
136:In popular culture
22:is the title of a
462:Publishers Weekly
317:Hippo Eats Dwarf!
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198:Museum of Hoaxes
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160:Stephen Merchant
95:National Lampoon
77:National Lampoon
67:National Lampoon
20:Hippo Eats Dwarf
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538:Death hoaxes
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467:. Retrieved
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395:. Retrieved
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315:Alex Boese,
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36:urban legend
32:hippopotamus
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16:Urban legend
340:. YouTube.
167:Lewis Black
123:Sunday Mail
522:Categories
469:29 October
397:2018-10-13
348:2012-05-28
325:0330521306
250:2010-09-01
224:2010-09-01
204:References
120:, and the
117:Advertiser
494:439344307
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421:412866396
301:0027-9587
276:478367853
165:Comedian
141:In comedy
490:ProQuest
440:ProQuest
417:ProQuest
342:Archived
272:ProQuest
69:magazine
60:History
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465:. 2006
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114:, the
87:Usenet
82:Snopes
34:. The
192:Other
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42:Story
28:dwarf
471:2018
321:ISBN
297:ISSN
180:Book
158:and
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