Greška iz 2021. i istorija senzacija o Marsu
Godine 2021. New York Times je slučajno objavio satiričan tekst koji je tvrdio da su na Marsu pronađene lubenice: "Authorities say rise of fruit aliens is to blame for glut of outer space watermelons," i "The FBI declined to comment on reports of watermelons raining down, but confirmed that kiwis have been intercepted." Članak je povučen kada je otkriveno da je riječ o probnom nacrtu.
To ipak nije prvi put da list povezuje Mars i život. U decembru 1906. New York Times je objavio članak pod naslovom "THERE IS LIFE ON THE PLANET MARS." U tom tekstu Lilian Whiting je prenosila Percivalove Lowellove tvrdnje o navodnim kanalima na Marsu: "The astronomer finds a network of marvelously designed canals traversing the deserts, meeting at certain points, the lines uniform, thousands of miles in length, three to seventeen canals sometimes converging at one point," Whiting wrote. "Therefore, the only logical result that can be reached... is that the oases are great centres of population; that the canals are constructed by guiding intelligence for the purposes as set forth above, and that their existence is an unanswerable and an absolute proof that there is conscious, intelligent, organic life on Mars."
Lowellove tvrdnje izazvale su žestoke reakcije naučne javnosti i javnosti: "I do not know whether Mr. Lowell has been looking at Mars until he has got Mars on the brain, and by some transference transcribed the markings to Venus." Tema je ponovo dobila pažnju zbog nove knjige pod naslovom "The Martians", a u recenziji se navodi da je Mars fever "suffused polite society in America, with vivid depictions of aliens appearing in soap and liquor ads, on Broadway and at dinner parties," pokazujući kako su novinske priče i popularna kultura rasplamsale spekulacije o Crvenoj planeti.
