In 1859, in San Francisco, Joshua Abraham Norton, declared himself "Emperor of the United States", and eventually "Protector of Mexico".

$1.6 million in rare photographs disappear. An owner of one of the oldest photographic galleries in the country is accused of defrauding artists, collectors, and friends in the case.

Emperor Norton

Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist says he was conned in dealer’s $1.6m art fraud scheme
A Michigan Art Dealer Accused of Defrauding Collectors Out of $1.6 Million Is Expected to Strike a Plea Deal
A Michigan Photography Dealer Allegedly Bilked Elderly Clients Out of More Than $1.6 Million by Pretending to Be in a Coma
Michigan photography dealer Tom Halsted passed away...

John R. Brinkley dreamed of being a doctor. Unfortunately he couldn't achieve that goal. He could however say he was one, and became known for implanting goat gonads into patients. Brinkley was on the forefront of quack medicine, disinformation, and conspiracy theory radio.

Forrest Fenn, a wealthy art collector, decided to create a treasure hunt to get people outdoors. He filled a chest with treasure, and hid it somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. The lure of the treasure led people from around the world to analyze the clues, and search for the treasure. The hunt led to injuries, death, and betrayal.

John R. Brinkley
John R. Brinkley - Wikipedia

In 2001, The Free State Project was founded with the intention of recruiting Libertarians to New Hampshire, in an attempt to create a sort of Libertarian utopia. Not too surprisingly, things didn't exactly go as planned.

Salomon August Andrée was a Swedish engineer, physicist, aeronaut, and polar explorer lead an attempt to reach the North Pole by hydrogen balloon in 1897. Andrée had very little experience piloting balloons, and the expedition immediately went off the rails.

Free State Project
The Town That Went Feral

Salomon August Andrée