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| ==History== | ==History== | ||
| The threads of the story can be traced back as far as the 1980s on ], old ] ] networks and early ] . The aim was to create a fictional story line, and embed it in various media cultures to establish backstory. It may have started as an ], or the first ], a work of ] or as a ] experiment, to see how far the ] could spread <ref>Szulborski, Dave . ''This is Not a Game: A Guide to Alternate Reality Gaming''. Lulu Press, 2005</ref><ref>Unruh, Wes. ''The Art of Memetics''. We are, 2008</ref> or a combination of all of the above. The story eventually used print, radio, television and digital mediums (], ], Internet, BBS) in its dissemination. <ref>Szulborski, Dave . ''This is Not a Game: A Guide to Alternate Reality Gaming''. Lulu Press, 2005</ref><ref>Unruh, Wes. ''The Art of Memetics''. We are, 2008</ref> | The threads of the story can be traced back as far as the 1980s on ], old ] ] networks and early ] . The aim was to create a fictional story line, and embed it in various media cultures to establish backstory. It may have started as an ], or the first ], a work of ] or as a ] experiment, to see how far the ] could spread <ref>Szulborski, Dave . ''This is Not a Game: A Guide to Alternate Reality Gaming''. Lulu Press, 2005</ref><ref>Unruh, Wes; Edward Wilson. ''The Art of Memetics''. We are, 2008</ref> or a combination of all of the above. The story eventually used print, radio, television and digital mediums (], ], Internet, BBS) in its dissemination. <ref>Szulborski, Dave . ''This is Not a Game: A Guide to Alternate Reality Gaming''. Lulu Press, 2005</ref><ref>Unruh, Wes. ''The Art of Memetics''. We are, 2008</ref> | ||
| The initial ground rules acknowledged the possibility that such an experiment could end up going down darker paths, and they specifically ruled out Ong's Hat being used for cult-like activity. This does not appear to have stopped some from claiming that the story really is a front for a cult. Even though it is a fiction, the tale may be based on earlier works.<ref> Aspray, William . The Princeton Mathematics Community in the 1930s, Transcript Number 41(PMC41) . The Trustees of Princeton University, 1985</ref> | The initial ground rules acknowledged the possibility that such an experiment could end up going down darker paths, and they specifically ruled out Ong's Hat being used for cult-like activity. This does not appear to have stopped some from claiming that the story really is a front for a cult. Even though it is a fiction, the tale may be based on earlier works.<ref> Aspray, William . The Princeton Mathematics Community in the 1930s, Transcript Number 41(PMC41) . The Trustees of Princeton University, 1985</ref> | ||
Revision as of 07:00, 7 June 2011
This article is about a literary work. For the New Jersey Pine Barrens locality, see Ong's Hat, New Jersey.
Ong's Hat was one of the earliest internet-based secret history conspiracy theories created as a piece of collaborative fiction (aka Incunabula) by four core individuals, although the membership propagating the tale changed over time.
History
The threads of the story can be traced back as far as the 1980s on bulletin board systems, old xerox mail art networks and early zines . The aim was to create a fictional story line, and embed it in various media cultures to establish backstory. It may have started as an in-joke, or the first alternate reality game, a work of transmedia storytelling or as a memetic experiment, to see how far the meme could spread or a combination of all of the above. The story eventually used print, radio, television and digital mediums (CD ROM, DVD, Internet, BBS) in its dissemination.
The initial ground rules acknowledged the possibility that such an experiment could end up going down darker paths, and they specifically ruled out Ong's Hat being used for cult-like activity. This does not appear to have stopped some from claiming that the story really is a front for a cult. Even though it is a fiction, the tale may be based on earlier works.
It is known that Joseph Matheny was intimately involved, and he eventually concluded the project.
Plot
The urban legend (or alternate history) states that a facility manned by renegade Princeton professors conducted quantum physics and chaos theory experiments, and according to conspiracy theories, discovered a new theory for dimensional travel using a device called The EGG. This device was to later inspire a children's TV series called Galidor to use an interdimensional travel device of the same name.
They were largely based in the ghost town of Ong's Hat, New Jersey, hence the name of the project.
See also
- lonelygirl15
- Church of the Subgenius
- The Blair Witch Project
- Finding Ong's Hat, poet Laura McCullough's first novel.
Further reading
- Matheny, Joseph (2002). Ong's Hat: The Beginning. New York: Sky Books. p. 186 pages. ISBN 0-9678162-2-X.
- Szulborski, Dave (2005). This Is Not a Game: A Guide to Alternate Reality Gaming. Lulu Press. p. 384 pages. ISBN 1-4116-2595-1.
- Matheny, Joseph (1999). The Incunabula Papers: Ong's Hat and Other Gateways to New Dimensions. Santa Cruz: iMMERSION. ISBN 0-9674890-1-6.
Notes
- Szulborski, Dave . This is Not a Game: A Guide to Alternate Reality Gaming. Lulu Press, 2005
- Unruh, Wes; Edward Wilson. The Art of Memetics. We are, 2008
- Szulborski, Dave . This is Not a Game: A Guide to Alternate Reality Gaming. Lulu Press, 2005
- Unruh, Wes. The Art of Memetics. We are, 2008
- Aspray, William . The Princeton Mathematics Community in the 1930s, Transcript Number 41(PMC41) . The Trustees of Princeton University, 1985
- The War Against the Matrix, 2004, ISBN: 960-7928-67-9
External links
- Excerpts from This Is Not A Game: A Guide to Alternate Reality Gaming describes the Ong's Hat literary experiment
- El Centro includes the Incunabula Links
- Ong's Hat: The Beginning, a range of materials to download including the original book as well as graphic novels and CDs.
- The Incunabula Research Center
- Weird N.J. Volume 2: Ong's Hat
- The Ong's Hat Mystery Revealed: An Interview with Joseph Matheny
- Ong's Hat at DisInfo
- Early 90's Well Gopher Postings
- 1993- from Totse
- An interview with John Tukey at Princeton University on 11 April 1984 Includes references to a earlier Ong's Hat story