This has been floating around on the internet for at least 10 years now. There was even a Wikipedia article about it but it was deleted.

It started with a guy named Brian Bethel, a journalist trying to make a name for himself. So he came up with this story, or stole someone else's idea, but he was the first to write about it or attach his name to it.

Then it took off. Now a guy named David Weatherly is trying to cash in on it to with a new book.