ManBeef.com

Man Beef

URL	http://www.ManBeef.com
Commercial?	No
Type of site	Former satirical website
Registration	None needed
Owner	Chris Ellerby/Joseph Mallett
Created by	Chris Ellerby/Joseph Mallett
Launched	2001-01-04
Current status	Inactive

ManBeef.com was an elaborate hoax site beginning in January 2001, news of which spread primarily by means of e-mail forwarding. The site purported to sell human meat, and even offered tips and recipes on preparing meals. Colorful pictures and illustrations adorned the site to further the appearance of legitimacy. Like Bonsai Kitten, many individuals fell for the hoax and were disgusted. E-mails circulating would often be in the form of petitions pushing to stop the immorality.

To avoid exposing the hoax, ManBeef claimed they did not allow customers to purchase meat products from the site itself. "We do this, because we prefer to deal with our customers on a more personal basis," the disclaimer stated in part. The only products actually available to purchase were souvenir merchandise such as mousepads, mugs and t-shirts.

Traffic

At its peak, the site received about 500,000 hits daily.^[1] It was causing so much controversy that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched an investigation, and found no wrongdoing because there was no evidence of human meat actually being sold.^[1] In June 2001, the creators of the site, Chris Ellerby and Joseph Mallett, who used the combined pseudonym "Joseph Christopherson"^[2], declared that the site was indeed a hoax^[3], and in July, issued a statement to The Columbian^[4] stating the purpose of the site was to "outrage the more sensitive viewers".^[2]

Demise

In 2005, the registration for the ManBeef.com domain name expired and was quickly snapped up by a pornography-themed cybersquatter. As of December 2010^[update], the name still exists in this state. As of August, 2011 the site is now a domain parking page.

KittyBeef and PuppyBeef

KittyBeef.com and PuppyBeef.com are hoax sites that claim to sell cat and dog meat. They use the ManBeef site as a template. Cat meat and dog meat are actually consumed in some parts of the world.

See also

• Hufu

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Manbeef.com". Hoaxipedia. Alex Boese. 2008. http://www.museumofhoaxes.com/hoax/Hoaxipedia/Manbeef.com/. Retrieved 1 September 2009. 
2. ^ ^{a b} "Yes, We Have No Manbeef". Urban Legends. About.com. http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/weekly/aa072301a.htm. Retrieved 1 September 2009. 
3. ^ "Where's the ManBeef?". Snopes.com. Barbara and David P. Mikkelson. 10 January 2009. http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/hoaxes/manbeef.asp. Retrieved 1 September 2009. 
4. ^ "Human Flesh For Sale For Cooking at Manbeef.com-Fiction!". TruthOrFiction.com. http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/m/manbeef.htm. Retrieved 1 September 2009. 

External links

• Archive.org's facsimile of the original site
• Urban Dictionary entry