Now that the truth is emerging about Falcon Heene’s faux balloon escapade, Chicago Tribune columnist Phil Rosenthal points out that we’ve all seen this kind of hoax before — on "The Simpsons."

In "The Simpsons" episode, Bart Simpson dropped a walkie-talkie into a well and the entire town of Springfield thought he was down there and doomed to die. And before "The Simpsons," there was "Curious George," Rosenthal points out.

— Allison J. Waldman