Anil sez, "A 17-year old boy and his family took an entire nation for a ride this month when they announced that the boy had topped the 'International Scientist Discovery' exam conducted by NASA. News agencies picked up the story and pretty soon the boy became a national hero in India with legendary tales appearing in every newspaper. It was even written that the President had taken the exam in 1960, and so had astronaut Kalpana Chawla! The state legislature decided to 'honor' him, and every legislator decided to donate a month's salary to him. The hero's bubble was burst when reporters tried to get more details from NASA (days after the story broke) and discovered that no such exam existed."
(Thanks, Anil!)
Update: Mark sez, "The legislature wanted to give a day's salary to the boy, not a month's salary. I thought it sounded too generous!"
