The Burlington Liars' Club is an American

organization An organization or organisation (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-ise, -ize (-isation, -ization), see spelling differences) is an legal entity, entity—such as ...

that awards the title "World Champion Liar" annually. The club, located in

Burlington, Wisconsin Burlington is a city in Racine and Walworth counties in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, with the majority of the city located in Racine County. The population of the city was 11,047 as of the 2020 census. History Prior to the arrival of Europea ...

, has been bestowing the

award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An award may be d ...

since 1929."How the Burlington Liars' Club Started,"
Burlington Historical Society,

, retrieved July 5, 2021Streitfeld, David:
"Burlington Liar's Club"
section, in "You," May 3, 1985, ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

,'' retrieved July 7, 2021

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

"Liars Club Names the Top Lie of 2008,"
January 6, 2009, updated January 14, 2015,

Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...

, retrieved July 7, 2021

History

The organization grew out of informal social gatherings of the local police and fire departments, where various tales (of varying degrees of credibility) were frequently swapped. During a slow news period around Christmas of 1929, two local freelance reporters made up a story about the social group being a "Liar's Club," and handing out a

medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...

for the year's best lie, and sent the story out for publication. Freelance reporter Mannel Hahn (sometimes misspelled "Manuel" Hahn) fabricated the

news story An article or piece is a written work published in a print or electronic medium, for the propagation of news, research results, academic analysis or debate. News A news article discusses current or recent news of either general interest (i.e. ...

about a lying contest between the Burlington police and fire departments, and sent it to the ''

Milwaukee Journal The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper and also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely read. It was purchased by the G ...

'' and ''

Chicago Daily News The ''Chicago Daily News'' was an afternoon daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, published between 1875 and 1978 in Chicago, Illinois. History The ''Daily News'' was founded by Melville E. Stone, Percy Meggy, and William Dougherty ...

''—and friendly rival local writer Otis "Otey" Hulett repeated it to the

Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in Racine County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River (Wisconsin), Root River, south of Milwaukee and north of Chicago. It is the List ...

newspaper. All three newspapers published the story January 2, 1930. The reported "winner" was the a local sea captain who claimed, with detailed explanation, to have seen a three-mile-long whale."Burlington to Crown Most Colossal Liar,"
December 29, 1930, ''

Wisconsin State Journal The ''Wisconsin State Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Madison, Wisconsin by Lee Enterprises. The newspaper, the second largest in Wisconsin, is primarily distributed in a 19 county region in south-central Wisconsin. As of Septembe ...

'' (

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

), retrieved from Newspapers.com OCR text, July 5, 2021 A "runner-up" (not immediately reported by Hulett) was the local

police chief A chief of police (COP) is the title given to an appointed official or an elected one in the chain of command of a police department, particularly in North America. A chief of police may also be known as a police chief or sometimes just a chief, ...

, who denied he could (or had) ever tell (or told) a

lie A lie is an assertion that is believed to be false, typically used with the purpose of deceiving or misleading someone. The practice of communicating lies is called lying. A person who communicates a lie may be termed a liar. Lies can be int ...

(some accounts name him as that year's winner). The story was so popular with the newspapers, that they demanded to know the "annual" winner the following year, as well as the identity of club officers. Though Hahn had since moved to Chicago, Huelett embraced the idea, and named Hahn as president, himself as vice president, and "Pink" Schenning (a former regular at the tale-swappings, who had once suggested a medal for the best lie) as secretary-treasurer. Subsequently, the group's "annual award" became an object of widespread media and public interest, and the organization became more formal and consistent in its efforts, and broadened its geographic scope. By 1933, the organization claimed to have sorted through 1,500 entries in the "contest" for biggest lie in America, to select the winner."Adjudged Champion Liar of America; Phil McCarthy of Denver Wins Award With Cross-Eyed Cat Yarn,"
January 1, 1933, ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' retrieved July 7, 2021 By the 60th year, the contest had become "international.""Time Lapse,"
along with "Time Out: Jesse Jackson...", January 2, 1991, ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

,''retrieved July 5, 2021 In 1980, the club was abandoned, but revived in 1981, and during the 1980s repeatedly received over 300 submissions a year."Liars Like Dry Humor,"
January 2, 1987, ''

,'' retrieved July 7, 2021

Winners, participants and judges

Initially, Hahn and Hulett "judged" the contest, (and the next year apparently Hulett judged). Hahn indicated that judges should be "newspapermen and lawyers" who are "experts" at recognizing or ferreting out lies. Just before the second years' award announcement, the ''

'' (

) reported that the award was only given to Burlington locals, over the age of 70, who had "related three fantastic stories" during "ordinary conversation" over the preceding year in front of "one or more judge." However, by 1933, contestants' entries were being accepted from throughout the United States, and winners were selected from other states. Since the contest began accepting foreign entrants, by its 60th year, it has received entries from Canada and Europe. Winners have ranged across a wide spectrum of society. Many women have participated, and by 1940 one had won. Winners have been as young as a 12-year-old (who won the 60th contest by claiming "her sister" was "so thin" she used a Cheerio as a Hula-Hoop). Though the organization has a policy of not allowing politicians, or other "professional liars," to be considered," Politicians Barred From Amateur Fibbers’ Fest,"
Nov. 26, 2001, ''

,''retrieved July 5, 2021 some notable figures have been awarded either an annual "Professional Class Liar" award (as

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded l ...

leader Paul Goebbels),

:
"Goebbels Champion by Liars' Club Test; Burlington, Wis., Amateurs Give Him Professional Class Medal,"
October 29–30, 1942, ''

'', retrieved July 5, 2021 or a "lifetime membership" in the club (as with mischievous aviator Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan)."Corrigan Made Member Of Wisconsin Liars' Club,"
July 19, 1938, ''

'', retrieved July 5, 2021"Corrigan,"
July 17, 1988, ''

The Item ''The Item'', formerly known as ''The Sumter Daily Item'' and ''The Daily Item'', is an independent morning newspaper published in Sumter, South Carolina, five days a week (Tuesday to Friday), with a "Weekend Edition" delivered on Saturday morn ...

'',

Sumter, South Carolina Sumter ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Sumter County, South Carolina, United States. The city makes up the Sumter, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area. Sumter County, along with Clarendon and Lee counties, form the core of Sumter–Lee ...

, page 2A, retrieved July 5, 2021 In 1933/1934, Bruno Ceresa won the award with the claim that his grandfather's clock was so old that its pendulum's shadow had worn a hole in the back of the clock)."Champion Liar, Who Claims Shadow Worn Hole in Clock, Is Coal Miner Near Here,"
January 7, 1934, '' Pittsburg Press'', retrieved July 5, 2021 In 1940, founder Hahn credited it as the best lie so far, and it was later judged (in 1954) as the best lie of the first quarter-century of the organization. "Membership" in the club is variously described as being open to all, for a fee of one dollar, or a dollar and a lie. In 2009, it was reported that the dollar fee granted a lifetime membership in the Club, and entitled the holder to submit an unlimited quantity of lies each year. Membership, by then, had grown to over 2,000 globally, according to an officer of the club. However, by 2020, only an estimated 75 entries were received in the annual contest—won by the contest's first-ever three-time winner, Daryl Lockwood, of Waupaca, Wisconsin.Willams, Scott
"Burlington Liars Club's Lie of the Year takes on the pandemic,"
Jan 3, 2021, ''

'' on Madison.com, retrieved July 5, 2021

Controversy

December 30, 2010, the

reported that the winning entry in the contest was not original, but had been previously said by comedian

Steven Wright Steven Alexander Wright (born December 6, 1955) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and film producer. He is known for his distinctive lethargic voice and slow, deadpan delivery of ironic, philosophical and sometimes nonsensical j ...

. The AP also reported that two of the "runner-up" lies were not original. The winning contestant insisted he came up with the story on his own, however. Club officials dismissed the matter, allowing the winners to retain their titles.

https://abc11.com/archive/7870379/ "Yarn that was named 2010's top lie wasn't original,"
December 29, 2010, '' ABC 11,'' Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, retrieved July 5, 2021

"Award-Winning Psychic Girlfriend Lie Unoriginal,"
December 30, 2010, ''

CBS News CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...

,'' retrieved July 5, 2021

Cultural impact

The term "Liars' Club" (or, variously, "Liar's Club", "Liars Club,") has become an element of global

lexicon A lexicon (plural: lexicons, rarely lexica) is the vocabulary of a language or branch of knowledge (such as nautical or medical). In linguistics, a lexicon is a language's inventory of lexemes. The word ''lexicon'' derives from Greek word () ...

, as it is commonly referred to, fictionally, as a way of disparaging the honesty of groupsWade, Nicholas
"The Struggle to Decipher Human Genes,"
March 10, 1998, ''

,'' retrieved July 7, 2021, which quotes a researcher: ''"I have been calling the group of scientists involved in human sequencing the Liars' Club," said Dr. Venter,... "They all have a different way of calculating their costs and the amount of sequencing they have actually accomplished."'' Rich, Frank, opinion essay
"Journal; The Liar's Club,"
March 21, 1998, ''

,'' retrieved July 7, 2021 Dufresne, Chris
"Don't Look Ahead, They Might Be Gaining on You,"
October 7, 2002, ''

,'' retrieved July 7, 2021, which opens with: ''"Welcome to Liars Club, the carefully worded world of football double talk."'' or individual people (alleging membership in the "Liars' Club,"editorial
"Harry Reid, the fierce partisan: He's a paid-up member of the Liars Club and he tells the big ones,"
November 2, 2016, ''

Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It covers general interest topics with an emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout Washington, D. ...

,'' retrieved July 7, 2021 Cohen, Michael, opinion essay
"The Liars Club: America is afflicted by a president and political party that cannot tell the truth,"
December 10, 2019, ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

,'' retrieved July 7, 2021—or a "local chapter" thereof, even where none exist).Pilgrim, Sophie
"Chief rabbi joins France's thriving liars’ club,"
in "The French Observatory," April 5, 2003, ''

France 24 France 24 ( in French) is a French state-owned publicly funded international news television network based in Paris. Its channels, broadcast in French, English, Arabic and Spanish, are aimed at the overseas market. Based in the Paris suburb ...

,'' retrieved July 7, 2021"November 1876 to May 1897 mysterious large airships... were reported flying in... the US. Who built these craft and for what purpose?,"
in "Yesteryear," undated (HTML file contains dates 2011-02-17 and 2011-02-09), ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

,'' retrieved July 7, 2021 Following the national (and later international) notoriety of the Burlington Liars' Club, various other groups, formal or informal, calling themselves a "Liars' Club," (or variations of the name) have arisen in the U.S. "Read local,"
March 19, 2012, Princeton Public Library,

Princeton, New Jersey The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...

, retrieved July 7, 2021; same group's

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

page is at
https://www.facebook.com/theliarsclub
/ref>
June 26, 2019, ''

,'' retrieved July 7, 2021 and abroad.Yeadon, David
"Tome-Word Bound,"
May 14, 1995, ''

,'' retrieved July 7, 2021; references a London "Liars Club." One such group became the title-subject of a noted book, a memoir by Mary Karr, '' The Liars' Club.'' Yardley, Jonathan
"Book review: 'The Liar's Club' by Mary Karr,"
June 18, 1995, ''

,'' which summarizes the book's theme as: "the essential American story." In 1980, another book, a compendium of lies entered in the Burlington Liars' Club contests, was published: ''America's One Hundred One Most High Falutin', Big Talkin' Knee Slappin', Golly Whoppers and Tall Tales: The Best of the Burlington Liars' Club,'' by Deindorfer ISBN 0894801368.''America's One Hundred One Most High Falutin', Big Talkin' Knee Slappin', Golly Whoppers and Tall Tales: The Best of the Burlington Liars' Club,''
book listing, Biblio.co.uk, retrieved July 7, 2021; same topic a
AbeBooks.co.uk
/ref> In the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, a string of American and Canadian

game shows A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating and narrating wh ...

, calling themselves '' The Liar's Club'' or '' The New Liar's Club''—and variously starring

Rod Serling Rodman Edward Serling (December 25, 1924 – June 28, 1975) was an American screenwriter and television producer best known for his live television dramas of the 1950s and his Anthology series, anthology television series ''The Twilight Zone (1 ...

Allen Ludden Allen Ellsworth Ludden (born Allen Packard Ellsworth; October 5, 1917 – June 9, 1981) was an American television personality, actor, singer, emcee, and game show host. He hosted various incarnations of the game show ''Password'' between 1 ...

—appeared intermittently in syndicated television, on the

USA Network USA Network (or simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Media Group division of Comcast's NBCUniversal. It was launched in 1977 as Madison Square Garden Sports Network, one of the first national sports ...

, or on the

Global Television Network The Global Television Network (more commonly called Global, or occasionally Global TV) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English language, English-language terrestrial television, terrestrial television network. It is currently Canada's se ...

. A comparable stage entertainment, ''The Perfect Liars Club,'' is performed internationally."Perfect Liars Club,"
official website, retrieved July 7, 2021

A band A band may refer to: * A band (NATO) The NATO A band is the obsolete designation given to the radio frequencies from 0 to 250 MHz (equivalent to wavelengths from 1.2 m upwards) during the cold war period. Since 1992, frequency allocations, ...

, and various bars in the U.S."Liars Club Chicago,"
retrieved July 7, 2021Venue description
"Liars' Club, San Diego,"
(undated), ClubPlanet.com, retrieved July 7, 2021"The Liars Club Bar & Grill"

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

, on Manta.com, retrieved July 7, 2021"Pott County Liars Club,"

Shawnee, Oklahoma Shawnee () is a city in and the county seat of Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 29,857 in 2010, a 4.9 percent increase from the figure of 28,692 in 2000. The city is part of the Oklah ...

, (undated) on Groupon.com, retrieved July 7, 2021 (including one in BurlingtonBurke, Michael
"No lie: Liars Club bar opens in Burlington,"
December 29, 2016, ''

Racine Journal Times ''The Journal Times'' (known before 1972 as ''The Racine Journal-Times'') is a daily newspaper published in Racine, Wisconsin, serving Racine County. The newspaper is owned by Lee Enterprises. History The ''Journal Times'' traces its roots ...

,'' retrieved July 7, 2021review
"Wonderful Coffee Shop,"
Trip Advisor, retrieved July 7, 2021) and abroad,"The Liar's Club,"
in "What's on / Manchester / Pubs & Bars," (undated), ''The Skinny'' (

Manchester, England Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, U.K.) retrieved July 7, 2021 have named themselves "Liar's Club," or some variation of the name. The Chicago bar also markets a line of internationally distributed,"Liars Club" merchandise
at Cafe Press ( U.K.), retrieved July 7, 2021 irreverent and political-themed

T-shirts A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt, or tee for short) is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a '' crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shir ...

and knick-knacks using "Liars Club" as its brand name."Liars Club Chicago: Liars Club Store"
retrieved July 7, 2021; same topic a
weareliarsclub.com
/ref> The term "Liar's Club" has been widely adapted by elements of media, including cartoons—political"Cartoon of the Day: "Liars' Club,"
February 27, 2019, ''

'' on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

, retrieved July 7, 2021"Bagley Cartoon: The Liars’ Club"
October 12, 2020, ''

Salt Lake Tribune ''The Salt Lake Tribune'' is a newspaper published in the city of Salt Lake City, Utah. The ''Tribune'' is owned by The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc., a non-profit corporation. The newspaper's motto is "Utah's Independent Voice Since 1871." History ...

'' retrieved July 7, 2021 and otherwisecartoon:
"Liar's Club,"
(Liar's Club boss promises employee world trip), retrieved July 7, 2021cartoon:
"The Strange World of Mr. Mum,"
(fisherman brings "whopper" to Liar's Club), retrieved July 7, 2021—and a sport fishermen's radio program."''The Liars Club'', 6-3-21"
podcast,

iHeart Radio iHeartRadio (often shortened to just "iHeart") is an American freemium broadcast, podcast, radio streaming and Music Streaming platform owned by iHeartMedia. Founded in August 2008, iHeartRadio serves as the national umbrella brand for iHeartM ...

, retrieved July 7, 2021 "The Thief in the Liars' Club" is a popular, traditional logic puzzle, based on the fictional conundrum of a crime committed in the club, all of whom are liars, none of whom therefore can be trusted witnesses for the police."The Thief in the Liars' Club,"
puzzle, at ScientificPsychic.com, retrieved July 7, 2021"The Thief in the Liars' Club,"
puzzle, at PuzzleFry.com, retrieved July 7, 2021 The Burlington group's annual announcement of the "Biggest Liar" (or "Biggest Lie," "Liar of the Year," or "Lie of the Year,") is a common fixture of major media at the turn of each year, typically widely published in the last week of a year, or the first week of the following new year.

"Wisconsin Man Dubbed World Champion Liar of 2009,"
December 30, 2009, updated March 25, 2015,

, retrieved July 7, 2021

References

{{reflist

External links

The Burlington Liars' Club
at the Burlington Historical Society 1929 establishments in Wisconsin Racine County, Wisconsin Wisconsin culture