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What are some notable scams in history that went unnoticed for so long? (lemmy.ml)
submitted 3 years ago by to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml
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[–] 43 points 3 years ago* (last edited 3 years ago) (6 children)

Restaurants being rated with “Michelin stars” was created as a ploy to encourage people to buy cars and drive more to go on road trips to these restaurants so they’d wear through more tires and have to buy more

*Edited because I was a bit off base

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  • [–] 8 points 3 years ago (4 children)

    That sounds like it could be plausible or could be a great story. Do you have a source?

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  • [–] 34 points 3 years ago (3 children)

    Not quite middle class people, but otherwise correct:

    From Wikipedia

    In 1900, there were fewer than 3,000 cars on the roads of France. To increase the demand for cars and, accordingly, car tyres, car tyre manufacturers and brothers Édouard and André Michelin published a guide for French motorists, the Michelin Guide.

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