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Pictures Don't Lie...Do They?

Date Added: Dec. 11, 2001
Last Updated: Dec. 11, 2001

Long before there was the wonderful World Wide Web, there was image editing software. Amateur artists reveled in creating marginally real-looking collages and forgeries, then sharing them with their friends. The wide availability of e-mail now means their work can be seen by more people more quickly. Unfortunately, the joke behind the creation isn't always passed along with the picture.

I don't even have any words to say....

A photo from a camera with pictures that had been taken on the trade building of a tourist and the plane is heading behind him to hit the building. The camera was found by rescue workers and developed. I received this e-mail from a retired firefighter neighbor of ours who received it from a firefighter he worked with in Coronado, CA. He volunteered to be on the search and rescue mission and is there for 10 days. It is hard to believe it when you see it and wonder if the person taking the picture realized the plane was going to hit the center. They still don't know who the person is.

Hey, what's that?

Often, these graphic creations are shared with a few friends with no explanation. However, as friends share with friends and so on, curiosity takes over and stories are borne, as was the case earlier this year with the tale of Canada's Giant Mutant Cat. That may be the case here, or the creator just decided his creation was too clever not to have fun with.

Among the most convincing signs this one is a Photoshop forgery:

This plane would be traveling at about 300 - 600 miles per hour. There isn't a camera lens on this planet that could capture the plane at that angle in the background while keeping it and the guy in the foreground in perfect focus.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, the temperature in New York City was about 65 degrees. Why would the tourist be wearing a winter coat and stocking cap?
Based on the buildings in the background, the picture was taken facing north, meaning this plane would have struck the north side of the tower. The south tower was the one struck from the north, but it didn't have an outdoor observation deck.
The WTC observation decks open at 9:30 A.M. The first collision occurred at 8:49 A.M.
In all the rubble, in all the destruction, this one camera survived and rescue crews found it so quickly? Definitely pushes the envelope of believability, but what's even more amazing is that the media who scrambled to show you every impact, every collapse, from every angle didn't jump all over this piece of "evidence."

If you still need convincing, visit the below referenced sites for more reasons why this one should be dismissed as nothing more than a joke.

As a joke, many people want to know who's behind it. There has been some contention as to the identity of the now infamous "Tourist Guy." A Brazilian businessman initially took credit/blame for the creation and quickly got a lot of attention, but it was this attention that prompted the real "tourist guy" to step forward.

According to Wired.com, the real "guy" is a 25-year old Hungarian who wishes to be known only as "Peter" to avoid the attention his Brazilian counterpart received. He admitted that he created the doctored photo as a joke for his friends and had no idea how big it would get. Break this Chain!

References: Snopes.com, TruthOrFiction.com, About.com

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