# Famous lies througout history? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 16, 2003, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-lies-througout-history/213582 "2003-11-16T20:18:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sludgely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71e660/32.png) [@sludgely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sludgely)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-lies-througout-history/213582/1 "2003-11-16T20:18:55Z")
A friend and I were trying to compile a list of great lies throughout history, and we can’t really think of anything. All we have is Nixon’s watergate scandal. Can anyone else think of noteworthy, history making lies? ---
**Author:** ![Innanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ecd19e/32.png) [@Innanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Innanna)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-lies-througout-history/213582/2 "2003-11-16T20:23:26Z")
My best guess is the lying that the Allies had to do to the Germans in WWII. Admittedly, a great deal of the lie was a lie of ommision, but still–if the Allies had mentioned (or acted in a way that would have implied) to the Germans that they had figured out Enigma, I think history would have been a wee bit different. Mind, that is off the top of my head. I am sure that others who are better informed will be 'round in a bit. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-lies-througout-history/213582/3 "2003-11-16T20:45:13Z")
You mean other than “The Iraqi government has large stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction”? Or are you excluding the current administration? ---
**Author:** ![sludgely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71e660/32.png) [@sludgely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sludgely)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-lies-througout-history/213582/4 "2003-11-16T20:46:11Z")
Excluding the current administration. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-lies-througout-history/213582/5 "2003-11-16T20:49:07Z")
“I am not a crook” - Richard Nixon Tripler C’mon. I’m sure every candidate has his/her own espionage experts. ---
**Author:** ![lucwarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e19adc/32.png) [@lucwarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lucwarm)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-lies-througout-history/213582/6 "2003-11-16T20:56:05Z")
“I did not have sex with that woman . . . .” * * * I suppose that ‘Piltdown Man’ is more of a hoax than a lie, but it’s prolly worth mentioning. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-lies-througout-history/213582/7 "2003-11-16T21:01:55Z")
Off the top of my head… The burning of the Reichstag. The accusation of Dreyfus. The Gulf of Tonkin incident. Stalin’s show trials. Margaret Thatcher and the sinking of the Belgrano. Tony Blair’s “45 minutes” claim (well it’s not the current _US_ administration…) and the yellowcake debacle. ---
**Author:** ![Fuji\_Kitakyusho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@Fuji\_Kitakyusho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuji_Kitakyusho)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-lies-througout-history/213582/8 "2003-11-16T21:06:25Z")
“I’ll call you.” In the context of making history, not a great lie, I grant you; however, this has to be one of the most frequently told. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-lies-througout-history/213582/9 "2003-11-16T21:06:46Z")
Greatest lie \*\*throughout \*\*history: “This new invention will be used solely for peaceful ends.” Actually, I could name a few greater lies, but this isn’t in GD (yet). ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-lies-througout-history/213582/10 "2003-11-16T22:34:46Z")
> [@](#): > > Margaret Thatcher and the sinking of the Belgrano. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![gcarroll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/65b543/32.png) [@gcarroll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gcarroll)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-lies-througout-history/213582/11 "2003-11-16T22:49:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Chefguy \* > \*\*You mean other than “The Iraqi government has large stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction”? Or are you excluding the current administration? \*\* Can you cite where this was actually SAID by the current administration? As I understand it, it was claimed (a) The Iraqi govt at one time had WMD, and these had not been destroyed as per agreement. (b) The Iraqi govt was seeking to obtain new and better weapons of mass destruction. © It is intolerable for the Iraqi govt to obtain serious germ warfare agents or nuclear weapons, in addition to the chemical weapons they probably already have (had). I do not think it was actually claimed the Iraqi govt actually HAD nuclear or biological weapons, only that they were seeking them and were probably close to getting them. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-lies-througout-history/213582/12 "2003-11-16T23:02:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by gcarroll \* > **Can you cite where this was actually SAID by the current administration?** Go easy on him, boys, he’s a newbie here. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Baraqiyal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecccb3/32.png) [@Baraqiyal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baraqiyal)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-lies-througout-history/213582/13 "2003-11-16T23:25:31Z")
Off the top of my head, “We did not trade weapons or anything else for hostages” – Ronald Reagan. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-lies-througout-history/213582/14 "2003-11-16T23:32:11Z")
“To my knowledge, that is not happening.” King Hussein of Jordan during Gulf War I, in response to Iraq’s flying SCUDs over Jordan’s airspace. ---
**Author:** ![AZCowboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/97f17d/32.png) [@AZCowboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AZCowboy)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-lies-througout-history/213582/15 "2003-11-16T23:37:22Z")
**gcarroll** , to help trigger your memory: > [@](#): > > **George Bush** said: > Secondly, the American people know that Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction. > [March 7th WH Press Conference](http://abcnews.go.com/sections/us/DailyNews/bush_newsconf_transcript030306.html) > [@](#): > > **George Bush** said: > First, some ask why Iraq is different from other countries or regimes that also have terrible weapons. While there are many dangers in the world, the threat from Iraq stands alone – because it gathers the most serious dangers of our age in one place. Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction are controlled by a murderous tyrant who has already used chemical weapons to kill thousands of people. This same tyrant has tried to dominate the Middle East, has invaded and brutally occupied a small neighbor, has struck other nations without warning, and holds an unrelenting hostility toward the United States. > [Remarks by the POTUS on Iraq, 10/7/02](http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/10/20021007-8.html) > [@](#): > > **George Bush** said: > The danger is already significant, and it only grows worse with time. If we know Saddam Hussein has dangerous weapons today – and we do – does it make any sense for the world to wait to confront him as he grows even stronger and develops even more dangerous weapons? > [Remarks by the POTUS on Iraq, 10/7/02](http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/10/20021007-8.html) Did that help? ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-lies-througout-history/213582/16 "2003-11-16T23:53:04Z")
Anything said by the Iraqi Information Minister [Muhammed Saeed al-Sahaf](http://www.welovetheiraqiinformationminister.com/) during GWII. Some gems: > [@](#): > > “There are no American infidels in Baghdad. Never!” > [@](#): > > “I can say, and I am responsible for what I am saying, that they [American troops] have started to commit suicide under the walls of Baghdad. We will encourage them to commit more suicides quickly.” > [@](#): > > “We have them surrounded in their tanks” And, finally: > [@](#): > > “The American press is all about lies! All they tell is lies, lies and more lies!” People favored using his quotes as examples of absurd humor. For a while, people were riffing on him and his preposterous statements to good effect. ---
**Author:** ![daniel801](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@daniel801](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/daniel801)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2003, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-lies-througout-history/213582/17 "2003-11-17T00:12:50Z")
Quick point that may apply to several posts above: Lying includes a measure of intentional deception. To say what one believes to be true, regardless of its actual truth, is not lying. ---
**Author:** ![ltfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@ltfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ltfire)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2003, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-lies-througout-history/213582/18 "2003-11-17T00:41:46Z")
The check is in the mail. Trust me, I won’t cum in your mouth. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2003, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-lies-througout-history/213582/19 "2003-11-17T03:18:36Z")
Bush I as VP: “I wasn’t in the loop.” (Contradicted by sworn testimony by Schultz and otheres.) ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2003, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-lies-througout-history/213582/20 "2003-11-17T03:52:54Z")
The Donation of Constantine. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-lies-througout-history/213582.md?page=2)