NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A bizarre New York Times article that had been published in error had some scratching their heads Tuesday afternoon.
The article was titled "Fields of Watermelons Found On Mars, Police Say," and claimed, "Authorities say rise of fruit aliens is to blame for glut of outer space watermelons."
The byline was listed as "Joe Schmoe."
The errant article went on to say, "The FBI declined to comment on reports of watermelons raining down, but confirmed that kiwis have been intercepted. This story is terribly boring."
The post was deleted within an hour of going up and users were later redirected to a page that stated, "This article was published in error."
A Times spokesperson told the website Futurism that it was "a mock article intended for a testing system" and was published in error.
Earlier this year, NASA sent up the Perseverance rover to explore the planet along with Ingenuity, the first helicopter to attempt powered flight on another planet.
No watermelons have been discovered on the Red Planet.