Snowball the giant cat

In 2000 Cordell Hauglie played with photoshop and … well … the results went viral. 

There was some amount of (tongue-in-cheek) reporting that blamed atomic radiation. It was featured on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Good Morning America. 

He said later: 
"My daughter wanted to send an electronic photo of her cat to her friend. I got a little carried away.

"[that's the] the dangers of email … if some dumb guy and his dumb cat can go around the world, you've got to be careful".

Photographer Ken Light had a helpful suggestion when you see a photo doesn't feel right.  

"Trust the photographer, know the source. Look closely – if photos seem too fantastic, they probably are."