Let me elaborate on the link that Lnewman posted in reply 52. The original photo was supposedly the last photo on a roll of film in a camera found in the rubble at Ground Zero. The photo is faked of course, but some people were taken in early on because the photoshop job is actually quite good. Next thing you know, the guy's showing up in shots of the Hindenburg explosion, etc.
The last photo page in that series offers this:
"Comments: One inevitable byproduct of a disaster as enormous and devastating as the September 11 attacks is the dissemination of sick jokes. The so-called "Tourist Guy," pictured above, was one of the first clear-cut examples related to the events of 9/11. Both the photo and the accompanying text (all the various versions) are fake.
If you look closely at the above image, Midtown Manhattan is clearly discernible in the background behind our blissfully unaware subject, indicating that the photographer is facing north from the location of the twin towers. Only one of the planes that collided with the World Trade Center on September 11 approached from that direction — the first, American Airlines Flight #11, which struck the north tower (One World Trade) at 8:45 a.m. The trouble is, the north tower had no rooftop observation deck like the one pictured here; even if it had, it wouldn't have been open to tourists at such an early hour.
There are further discrepancies to ponder:
Why isn't the fast-moving aircraft blurry in the photo?
Why doesn't the subject (or the photographer, for that matter) seem cognizant of the plane's high-decibel approach?
The temperature was between 65 and 70 degrees that morning, according to news reports. Why is this man dressed for winter?
How did the camera survive the 110-story fall when the tower collapsed?
How was the camera found so quickly amidst all the rubble?
Why did this one-of-a-kind, newsworthy photo never appear in the media until after it had already been well circulated via email?
As to the question of why anyone would invent a hoax as callous and tasteless as this in the first place, I would simply point out that the emergence of sick jokes is more often the rule than the exception in the wake of tragic events such as 9/11. Much as we may not like to accept it, the behavior is both predictable and understandable in terms of how people cope with the unthinkable. The example before us demonstrates that, in the words of folklorist Alan Dundes, "one person's tragedy may become a point of projection or catharsis for the fears and anxieties of others. Remember, people joke about only what is most serious."
It doesn't get much more serious than this.