Hephocapalytirosises

Hephocapalytirosises is the name of a fictional fatal disease . In reality, it is a senseless sequence of Greek-sounding syllables.

The term was used on April 13, 1964 in a false report about the alleged death of Nikita Khrushchev as a result of "acute hephocapalytirosises", which was received by telex at the WDR in Cologne. From there it was sent to the German Press Agency and was circulated to other press services as a breaking news item . In Moscow, the director of the Soviet news agency TASS immediately denied the report as nonsense , whereupon it was withdrawn. The English newspaper Daily Herald headlined Khrushchev dead? No, he drinks vodka . The originator of the false report remained unknown; it is assumed that a German journalist was joking. As a result of the incident, despite an official apology, the DPA Moscow office was closed and the correspondent was expelled.

Web links

• Hephocapalytirosises . In: Der Spiegel No. 17/1964, April 22, 1964
• The Day Khrushchev Died . In: Time of April 24, 1964