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PaperclipPerfector  6d ago (text post)   2806 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for August 23, 2026

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Who are some people that you strongly suspect to be fabulists that the general populace has not identified?

I made a comment in the context of Jason Arday about fabulists and I used Jordan Belfort, Marcus Luttrell, Chris Kyle, Greg Mortenson, Frank Abagnale, Jr. as examples. I called out or was suspicious of all of them other than Abagnale and I chalk that up to me hearing his story as a child and then not thinking about it. Took 0 convincing.

Not sure if you’re aware but Abagnale has been exposed as a fraud. I forget who the guy was but there was a comprehensive analysis done that examined his backstory (and a subsequent book has even been written about it) that dismantles his con job; and the movie his story is based on was a complete fabrication. Just like other movies like Bloodsports, Frank Dux was completely exposed as a fraud and his story is wholly made up.

The fact that Abagnale managed to convince the world he was a genius con artist and even get a movie made out of it demonstrates he is, in fact, a genius con artist

I keep saying they need to make a sequel to Catch Me If You Can about the making of Catch Me If You Can, with Spielberg, Hanks, and DiCaprio playing idiot caricatures of themselves.

Truman Hanks as Tom Hanks

Robert Pattinson as Leo DiCaprio

James CromwellStanley Tucci as Steven Spielberg

You've got a stew going on

Everyone playing themselves, with no de-aging cgi or makeup. Except for Frank Abignale Jr., who is played by Gonzo from the Muppets, obviously.

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