Molwanîen

A fictitious encyclopaedia article, also called a nihil article (from the Latin nihil 'nothing') or submarine, is a freely invented entry in a Lexicon on persons or things that do not exist outside the encyclopaedia or exist only as fiction. It should not be recognised as such by the reader. It is not always easy to recognise a fictitious article as such. This is especially true if the article appears in several encyclopaedias. In such a case, the entry can support the authenticity of the entry and pretend that the item described actually exists.

A well-known example is the Stone louse (Petrophaga lorioti, ancient Greek or Latin Loriot's stone eater), a fictional rodent drawn by the humourist Bernhard-Viktor Christoph-Carl von Bülow, pen name Loriot (1923-2011), who presented it in his sketch "The Stone Louse" on his TV programme in 1976. Loriot himself appears in it in a parody of zoologist and television presenter Bernhard Grzimek (1909-1987). The medical dictionary Pschyrembel included the stone louse as a fictitious encyclopaedia article in 1983. This led to further articles and remarks in various scientific and popular science publications and submissions. Since then, the stone louse has been a well-known example of scientific wit. The picture shows the stone louse, the humourist Loriot and the stone louse's feeding damage.