The
Berners Street hoax was perpetrated by
Theodore Hook in
Westminster,
England, in 1810. Hook had made a bet with his friend,
Samuel Beazley, that he could transform any house in London into the most talked-about address in a week, which he achieved by sending out thousands of letters in the name of Mrs Tottenham, who lived at 54
Berners Street, requesting deliveries, visitors, and assistance.