 A thesis on this is, that Henry Goebel, an old man, was under pressure of lawyers to provide affidavits and got pangs of conscience and this was his way to indicate the story was untrue.In the culture of Germany there is a close association of "Münchhausen" and "untrue, telling lies".So-called "Goebel Original Lamps" are in the archives of the Henry Ford Museum, Dearborn.