The Cobra Effect

I hate it when the thumbnail is better than the blog, but here we go regardless.

And I will try to throw some other sexy snake GIFs in here, but just know that some of these came with a price...

What the fuck is the Cobra Effect?

It has nothing to do with half-naked women shooting snakes out of their vaginas, no matter what this blog's attachments might imply…

Instead, it's a phenomenon that is also called “perverse incentive” in business school and describes an attempted solution that actually makes a current problem worse.

The term ‘cobra effect’ was based on an occurrence in India during British rule when the British government, concerned about the number of venomous cobras in Delhi, offered a bounty for every dead snake.  

This was initially successful until some shifty Indians began to breed cobras for the income. When the government became aware of this, the reward program was scrapped. And when cobra breeders set their now-worthless snakes free, the wild cobra population increased, making snake matters even worse.

In the latest edition of Twisted History, I outline some of the most historic Cobra Effects throughout history including The Great Hanoi Rat Massacre of 1902, that one time Britain inadvertently funded the Afghan opium trade, and a terrible era in Canadian history when both the Canadian government AND the Catholic church made a LOT of money off the systematic abuse of children.

Give it a listen, if you dare, or at least watch the greatest snake charmer of all time…

Take a report.

-Large

As always, Twisted History is brought to you by my friends 3Chi…

And if you go to 3chi.com and use the promo code STOOL5, you get a discount at checkout PLUS a free gift.

TAR

-L