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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 ^[1]^[2] 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. ^[3]^[4]

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.^[5]

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 a interdimensional travel device of the same name.^[6]^{[need quotation to verify]}

They were largely based in the ghost town of Ong's Hat, New Jersey, hence the name of the project.

Notes

^ 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
^ 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

[1] Szulborski, Dave . This is Not a Game: A Guide to Alternate Reality Gaming. Lulu Press, 2005

[2] Unruh, Wes. The Art of Memetics. We are, 2008

[3] Szulborski, Dave . This is Not a Game: A Guide to Alternate Reality Gaming. Lulu Press, 2005

[4] Unruh, Wes. The Art of Memetics. We are, 2008

[5] Aspray, William . The Princeton Mathematics Community in the 1930s, Transcript Number 41(PMC41) . The Trustees of Princeton University, 1985

[6] The War Against the Matrix, 2004, ISBN: 960-7928-67-9

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 ==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 <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 leveraged print, radio, television and digital mediums ([[CD ROM]], [[DVD]], 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 [[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 <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 ([[CD ROM]], [[DVD]], 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>