Ever start telling a story as a joke and it gets out of hand? People believe it no matter how much you swear you made it up and try to destroy your life? No, just Joseph Matheny? This week we tackle Ong’s Hat, the internets first honest to goodness hoax that took on a life of its own and to this day has people believing it is all true. They also believe the man claiming responsibility is just a government shill planted to throw us off the truth. And the story has everything: Weird religious cults, quantum physics, dimensional travel, hidden laboratories, luxurious silk top hats, carpet salesmen... We are banging on all cylinders! All that and more this week on the podcast that knows a thing or two about other dimensions... at least the Lower 4th Dimension... Hysteria 51!Special thanks to this week’s research sources: Books and Papers-Matheny, J. (2002). Ong’s Hat: The Beginning. Sky Books (NY).-Ong, Albert R. The Ong Family of America. (Martins Ferry, OH: privately printed, 1919) PDF: (http://archive.org/download/ongfamilyofameri00onga/ongfamilyofameri00onga.pdf)VideosThe Mystery of Ong's Hat - https://youtu.be/o5GtwKrL2XAOng's Hat: The Original ARG - Sex, Drugs & Quantum Physics - https://youtu.be/siF75w1gJrALegend of the Pines: Ong’s Hat, New Jersey - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2iODYDz9E4&t=40sOng's Hat: The Dimensional City - https://youtu.be/SXUpIC0j954Why Did the Scientists in This Remote Cabin Disappear? - https://youtu.be/NIG3x3kVtosThe First Internet Hoax - Inside A Mind - https://youtu.be/uHkn0CWWfBkWebsitesNJ Pine Barrens - https://www.njpinebarrens.com/a-hat-a-hut-or-a-tavern-the-tale-of-ongs-hat/Ong’s Hat Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ong%27s_HatOng's Hat, New Jersey Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ong%27s_Hat,_New_JerseyJoseph Matheny Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_MathenyWeird NJ - https://weirdnj.com/stories/ongs-hat/BBC Limelight - https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001hg08Joseph Matheny - https://josephmatheny.com/2019/05/30/the-mystery-of-ongs-hat/Joseph Matheny - https://josephmatheny.com/2012/09/29/the-hat-the-egg-the-chaos-ongs-hat-hidden-history-or-piney-mythology/Slate - https://slate.com/culture/2018/10/ongs-hat-conspiracy-theories-decoder-ring.htmlMiriadic - https://miriadic.fandom.com/wiki/Ong%27s_HatAV Club - https://www.avclub.com/the-internets-first-conspiracy-theory-involved-a-ghost-1831031313Gizmodo - https://gizmodo.com/ongs-hat-the-early-internet-conspiracy-game-that-got-t-1832229488Medium - https://medium.com/history-of-yesterday/early-internet-conspiracies-centered-on-a-creepy-ghost-town-1263bffaad44Email us your favorite WEIRD news stories:weird@hysteria51.comSupport the ShowGet exclusive content & perks as well as an ad and sponsor free experience at https://www.patreon.com/Hysteria51 from just $1ShopBe the Best Dressed at your Cult Meeting!https://hysteria-51.creator-spring.com/Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy