The Great Moon Hoax

"On this day in 1835, the Great Moon Hoax was perpetrated by the New York Sun newspaper. They launched a series of articles about the supposed discovery of life on the moon, which they falsely attributed to the well-known astronomer Sir John Herschel. Life forms were said to include such fantastical creatures as unicorns, and bat-like, winged humanoids." [source unknown; perhaps originally from Coast to Coast]