And now, great moments in unintended consequences. Part 1. Tree Decree The year 2019. The problem? Mexico needs trees. The solution. The Sewing Life Project. A $3.4 billion program that pays farmers to plant fruit and timber trees on Farron land. Not only will this help spruce up the environment, but it will fight poverty and inequality by paying the farmers to maintain the new trees. Sounds like a great idea. With the best of intentions, what could possibly go wrong? It turns out poor farmers need money, and since standing trees didn't qualify for the program, the system incentivized farmers to cut down mature trees to make way for new ones. In one village, two-thirds of the program's participants chopped down forests to get that cash. One study found the program caused the deforestation of more than 280 square miles. But you know what they say about the best laid plants. Part 2. Paycare The year 1998. The problem? Well, technically this was a research study, but private daycare centers in Israel are tired of parents arriving late. The solution? Find hardy parents a small fee for every laid pickup. Sounds like a great idea. With the best of intentions, what could possibly go wrong? It turns out money isn't the only incentive, and a fine is just a price. To the surprise of the researchers, laid arrivals more than doubled. The penalty it seemed allowed parents to ease their conscience. The shameful apology that once burdened them shifted to a simpler legitimate cash transaction. When they were happy to pay, because honestly I asked any new parent what they wouldn't pay for an extra 10 minutes of free time. Part 3. Loophole lunch The year 1896. The problem? Alcohol is ruining the moral fiber of New York. The solution? The reigns law? A bevy of rules that made it harder to open or operate drinking establishments, including a ban on the sale of alcohol on Sundays, except for hotel and lodging houses that served drinks with complimentary meals. I mean, wealthy New Yorkers tend to dine out at ritzy hotels when their servants have the day off, so no need to ruffle their rich upstanding virtuous feathers. It's those poor people that are ruining everything, so yes, stick it to them. Sounds like a terrible idea. With pure, atanical intentions, what could possibly go wrong? It turns out, people like drinking, even on Sundays. The ban was wildly unpopular. Almost immediately, reigns law hotels were born. Basements and addicts were converted into badly furnished rooms, and proprietors made deals with neighboring lodging houses. In Brooklyn, the number of registered hotels went from 13 to 800 after 6 months. Prostitutes and unmarried couples found the new rooms especially convenient. To fulfill the law's food requirement, bar staff invented the reign sandwich, an easy, simple meal that would be served with a patron's drink, but not consumed. The frequently inedible sandwich would be whisked away in seconds, and quickly paired with the next order. It was not uncommon for the same sandwich to be reused for weeks. Yum! Food for naught! Great moments in unintended consequences! Good intentions, bad results. Do you know a great moment in unintended consequences? Put it in the comments! We might steal it! I mean, borrow it! I mean, you know what I mean.