Not-so-little white lies

It's the source of some chagrin to me that one of the most useful skills in life appears to be the ability to bullshit freely and without guilt or embarrassment, as it's certainly not a skill I have. Most of us will know a pub bullshitter, the sort of person whose tall tales are sometimes entertainingly imaginative and at others just wearisome, and/or a workplace bullshitter, who somehow manages to swan into senior roles by veneering over a lack of the requisite talent, ability or intelligence with a glossy covering of bullshit.

But some people take bullshitting to such a whole new level that you can't fail to admire them. Take Juan Puyol Garcia, for instance, whose story I came across at work recently: a Madrid hotel manager who had the considerable cojones to pretend to be a Nazi spy and duped the Germans repeatedly. Not only was he instrumental in ensuring that the Nazis were caught out by the D-Day landings, they actually honoured him with the Iron Cross for the completely false intelligence with which he'd provided them over the years. The scope and sheer audacity of some of his lies is extraordinary (as is the extent of the Nazis' gullibility, to be honest). Here's the site Badass Of The Week to tell you more. I think he might just be my new hero.