The invisible trap: why encyclopedias invent people and places
In short: From fake photographers to nonexistent mountains, editors have long used deliberate errors as a defensive weapon. These 'copyright traps' are designed to catch plagiarists red-handed by inserting trivial, false information that is impossible to replicate by accident.
Known as 'Mountweazels' or 'trap streets,' these fictitious entries serve a specific legal and editorial purpose. By embedding a unique, false detail—such as a non-existent person or a phantom settlement—into a reference work, editors can prove copyright infringement if a competitor copies the material. If a second publication reproduces the exact, nonsensical error, the theft is undeniable.
The variety of these traps is vast. In the 1975 New Columbia Encyclopedia, editors included the biography of Lillian Virginia Mountweazel, a fictional photographer who supposedly died in an explosion. Similarly, the German medical encyclopedia Pschyrembel once featured the 'Steinlaus,' a mythical rock-eating louse. Even the digital age has seen such tactics; in 2005, the New Oxford American Dictionary included the fake word 'esquivalience' to protect its electronic text from easy duplication.
However, these fabrications can sometimes escape detection for years or even trigger real-world consequences. In the 1930s, mapmakers invented the town of Agloe, New York, which eventually became a real place after a general store was built at its fictional coordinates. In other cases, the 'trap' can be more provocative, such as the 1985 creation of Ripton, Massachusetts, a fake town used to protest the ignorance of state officials regarding rural areas.
While effective for catching thieves, these entries can also mislead the public or create lasting myths. The term 'nihilartikel' describes these 'nothing articles,' which range from the whimsical, like a one-winged Persian bird, to the purely functional, like invented phone numbers in a directory.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Fictitious entry
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