"Project Snowflake" revealed as hoax
From: "Carol Feeney" <exn@hiphype.com>
Date: Tue, 31 Mar 1998 22:14:44 -0800
|
For Immediate Release
Wednesday, April 1, 1998
NR 98-12
UFO CONSPIRACY EXISTS ACCORDING TO EXN POLL OF CANADIANS
"Project Snowflake" Revealed as April Fool's Internet Stunt
In the spirit of April Fool's day, the staff at Discovery Channel's
EXN.ca Web site revealed today that they had mixed fact with fiction
to create "Project Snowflake", an Internet stunt designed to coincide
with the re-launch of the award-winning science site. In conducting
the stunt, they also learned a surprising fact: 74% of Canadians
polled believe that the Government is hiding UFO technology.
Since March 27th, thousands of Canadians have been drawn to the
EXN.ca site <http://www.exn.ca/> to follow the saga of "Project
Snowflake", a fictitious story detailing an alleged top secret flying
saucer program operating in the 1970's near Gilton, Alberta - a town
that doesn't exist.
EXN.ca developed the ruse based on Canada's 40-year aerospace history
which saw significant advances in each decade since the 1950's, a
decade that delivered the Avro Arrow, the most advanced fighter jet
of its time. The 1960's saw the launch of the first Canadian
satellite - the Alouette - and the 1980's introduced the world to
Canadarm, the pride of the country.
Since the 1970's saw no real breakthroughs in the Canadian aerospace
industry, EXN.ca created "Project Snowflake" to fill the gap,
spinning a five-day tale of intrigue and scientific discovery,
complete with photos and accounts from local farmers describing
strange lights in the night sky, mysterious gouges in their fields,
and unusual tremors that shook metal objects.
"Project Snowflake gave us the opportunity to demonstrate how daily
elements that we feature on our Web site include the very latest news
in science, technology, and adventure," says Jeffrey Elliott,
managing director of NetStar Interactive. "EXN.ca is a vital
companion to our flagship science series @discovery.ca, and we wanted
to raise awareness with our audience that the site enhances the
Discovery experience. Our goal was also to show that science can be
fun and, judging by the great response that we've had to Project
Snowflake, including selection as Yahoo! Canada's Pick of the Week,
I think we've proved the point," he added.
During the stunt, visitors to the site were polled. The results are
remarkable:
* 63% of respondents believe that UFOs exist
* 63% think that UFO technology exists on Earth
* 74% believe that the Government is hiding UFO technology
EXN.ca, free of cost to anyone with Internet access, is a dedicated
science World Wide Web site with a unique identity and original
content. A service of the Discovery Channel Canada, it originally
launched Oct. 31, 1996, with an ambitious plan to develop Canada's
source for science news and content on the Internet. Currently,
EXN.ca serves 145,000 visitors each month and recently garnered a
Top-5 rating from WEB Magazine, alongside other notable science sites
run by the Smithsonian Institution and Scientific American.
- END -
For further information:
Carol Feeney
mailto:exn@hiphype.com
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RELEVANCE OF THIS MESSAGE: Followup to previous
Index: Project Snowflake (#2)
Index: UFO Hoaxes (#7)
Created: Apr 1, 1998
