“I did once come across a case of ‘cello scrotum’ caused by irritation from the body of the cello. The patient in question was a professional musician and played in rehearsal, practice, or concert for several hours each day.”
-British Medical Journal, 11 May 1974

In 1974, British doctor Elaine Murphy and her husband, John, sent the first-ever description of ‘cello scrotum’ to the elite British Medical Journal. The journal accepted the letter, and published it in the 11 May issue of that year. Just one problem: the Murphys totally made it up! LOLZ!

From The Scientist:

Murphy’s letter was written in response to a letter published months earlier in the BMJ reporting cases of “guitar nipple,” a skin condition seen in three young girls learning to play classical guitar.

“Perhaps after 34 years it’s time for us to confess that we invented cello scrotum,” wrote Murphy and her husband, in the latest edition of the BMJ. “We thought [guitar nipple] highly likely to be a spoof, and decided to go one further by submitting a similar phenomenon in cellists. Anyone who has ever watched a cello being played would realise the physical impossibility of our claim.”