Nova: The Viking Deception

A tiny map for a big idea. While other fraud may be more hurtful or scandalous, none is quite so cool as faking a medieval map of Canada in order to earn a couple hundred thousand dollars on the black market and to ruin Columbus Day forever.

Forgery is a legitimate art. After learning about even the most basic steps taken or skills needed to deceive the experts of an arts trade, much less their benefactors in The University, I know that I could never, never pull off this kind of heist. I have a better chance of painting the "Madonna of the Rocks" or composing the Ring sagas than I do of making a fake map from the fourteenth century. And why is there no class on "the great forgeries"? Man, I would seriously register for and then not attend that class.

By the way, you wouldn't think so, but finding out that Yale got scammed out of tons of money and then embarrassed in front of the entire academic universe--that is satisying.