According to historical records, in 1787, Catherine the Great boarded a ship to Crimea to inspect the land she had just conquered. However, Crimea was still devastated at that time. In order to please Her Majesty the Queen, her lover, the then Governor of Crimea, Grigory Alexandrovich Potemkin , ordered the construction of many fake villages with pleasing shapes in the places where she passed during her tour.
He asked people to place the painted fake houses on the roadside, and the sacks containing wheat were actually filled with sand. At the same time, he also asked people to drive a group of cattle and sheep to secretly follow the queen's carriage. No matter where the queen stayed, she would see livestock strolling leisurely.
In addition, he also used lime to draw clown-like smiles on the faces of the local poor farmers, and stood on the roadside to welcome the Queen when she passed by.
However, the shrewd queen did not realize that she had been deceived at all. When she walked through these "actors" and "scenes", she was very satisfied. Historians have since called these fake man-made towns "Potemkin villages."
So in this article, the author will lead you through the four most legendary "Potemkin Villages" in history. I believe you have never heard of them.
If you look at it from a distance, Heping Village is no different from other villages and towns. It was built in the 1950s and is located on the North Korean side of the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea. In the village, well-preserved houses can be seen everywhere, just like an ordinary town on the border.
But when you look closely, you will find something unusual. There is no glass on the windows of those houses, and all lighting facilities are equipped with timers. What is even weirder is that, except for a few maintenance workers here and there, you can't see any residents in the town at all!
This town is a complete fake, no one lives here at all. The purpose of its existence is simply for political propaganda, so that North Korea appears to be a prosperous and comfortable country in the eyes of the opposite party. Moreover, the loudspeakers in the town broadcast 20 hours a day to encourage people in the south to defect to North Korea. The sound is so loud that it can even be heard in the Ulsan area of South Korea. So far, however, none of these tactics have worked.
The city introduced below is not just a political tool like the Peace Village, but has a very important practical purpose.
Ann Arbor is the sixth largest city in Michigan. In this beautiful and livable town, there is a "Magic City" (Mccity) specially built for artificial intelligence.
How should we test the safety performance of driverless cars? If we want to minimize the safety risks of driverless cars, we need to simulate real road conditions during testing and set up some emergency situations for them, such as icy roads, pedestrians suddenly crossing the road, etc.
Of course, these tests cannot be conducted in inhabited areas. Therefore, technicians in the automobile industry came up with a brilliant idea, which is to build a fake but highly realistic town for artificial intelligence cars. The "Magic City" was born. Although it is a fake city, it has real houses, streets, intersections, traffic lights , signs and parking lines, etc. There is even a railway passing through the town.
It has become a professional testing ground for many car companies, such as Honda, Toyota , Nissan and Ford, who are all testing their self-driving cars here. The "Magic City" is still kept secret. Although people know its existence, they are usually not allowed to visit it.
There are all sad stories surrounding the man-made city below. Theresienstadt is located in the Czech Republic. It was built for Jews in Germany during World War II.This artificial city was used as a settlement place for Jews before they were transported to other concentration camps. One can imagine the harsh living conditions in the city.
In 1944, Germany was under pressure and allowed the International Red Cross to pay a visit to the city. So, the trick of Potemkin was performed again to fake the original harsh environment of the settlement. Before the tour group arrived, thousands of Jews were rushed to Auschwitz to relieve overcrowding in the city. All the houses were repainted and various temporary plants were planted in the gardens.
This city of terror and despair was transformed by Nazi Germany. They even made a movie about it, promoting Theresienstadt as a "spa town" and the "most ideal retirement place" for Jews. But when the visit is over, the good times come to an end.
Although the artificial cities mentioned above are fake, at least they really exist in this world. But what I will introduce below is really only one concept left.
If you turn over a map of New York, you will easily find a town called Agro. But no matter what kind of transportation you use, I guarantee you won’t get there because it doesn’t exist! So why is such a non-existent place clearly marked on the map?
In fact, this is the result of a conspiracy between businessmen. American General Cartography found that other companies often plagiarized their maps. So, they deliberately marked such a non-existent place on the map of New York City, hoping to catch those casual plagiarists.
Later, this town that only existed on the map aroused the interest of many people, and they all tried to find where this place was. Due to the large number of tourists, some people even discovered business opportunities. A store owner took a fancy to the popularity of this place, so he really opened a supermarket called "Agro" in this desolate wasteland.
Compared with the for-profit "such-and-such towns" and "such-and-such ancient cities" that have appeared in various places in China in recent years, these historically famous man-made towns have their own unique charm.
Although they are dead cities, they reflect living humanity. Through them, we can re-examine ourselves as human beings and see our sins, our absurdities, our cunning, and our progress. Although they are all genuine "A goods", as time goes by, they surpass the "genuine" ones and illuminate the world with their own unique light!
