January 29, 2004
A pickled "dragon" that looks as if it might once have flown around Harry Potter's Hogwarts has been found in a garage in Oxfordshire, England.
The baby dragon, in a sealed jar, was discovered with a metal tin containing paperwork in old-fashioned German of the 1890s.
Allistair Mitchell, who was asked to investigate the dragon by a friend, David Hart, who discovered it in his garage, speculates that German scientists may have attempted to use the dragon to hoax their English counterparts at the end of the 19th century, when rivalry between the countries was intense.
"At the time, scientists were the equivalent of today's pop stars. It would have been a great propaganda coup for the Germans if it had come off," Mr Mitchell said.
"I've shown the photos to someone from Oxford University and he thought it was amazing. Obviously he could not say if it was real and wanted to do a biopsy."
The documents suggest that the Natural History Museum turned the dragon away, possibly because they suspected it was a trick, and sent it to be destroyed. But it appears a porter intercepted the jar and took it home. The papers suggest the porter may have been Frederick Hart - David Hart's grandfather.
Mr Mitchell said: "The dragon is flawless, from the tiny teeth to the umbilical cord. It could be made from indiarubber, because Germany was the world's leading manufacturer of it at the time, or it could be made of wax. It has to be fake. No one has ever proved scientifically that dragons exist. But everyone who sees it immediately asks, 'Is it real?"'
Some scientists believe that dragons were inspired by the extraordinary creatures that once roamed the Earth.
As J.K.Rowling's alter ego Hermione Granger once suggested, legends have a basis in fact.
© The Telegraph, London
March 28, 2004
NEWS STORY
BOOK DEAL FOR DRAGON HOAX AUTHOR
An author who was so desperate to get his book published that he staged a hoax involving a baby dragon has won a lucrative publishing contract.
After numerous rejections Allistair Mitchell concocted a tale that a dragon had been found in a garage last year.
He said: "I created the hoax in order to attract potential readers."
Mr Mitchell, based in Oxford, has now signed an book deal with Waterstone's for his book Unearthly History, a thriller featuring a dragon.
Writing under the pen name PR Moredun, Mr Mitchell concocted the tall tale which emerged in the media in January.
It was claimed that German scientists created the specimen in the 1890s and sent it to the Natural History Museum in order to dupe their British counterparts.
But, the story went, the museum had dismissed it as a hoax and it had been spirited away by a museum porter.
In fact the dragon was created by Crawley Creatures, the model makers behind TV's Walking with Dinosaurs, and the jar was made by a specialist glass blowing studio in the Isle of Wight.
A Waterstone's spokesman said: "This is a very refreshing approach to book publishing.
"My bet is that it is going to be a big seller - because of the hoax but also because it is a great book and people will recommend it on."
Story and Photo ©BBC.CO.UK
ELSWETORIAL
What a Jerk!
I am SO not amused!
I WON'T be buying his crap!
