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> There's something inherent in travel that gives rise to trickery. On the road a person has a heavy dose of anonymity (especially in past times), a steady sup

> There's something inherent in travel that gives rise to trickery. On the road a person has a heavy dose of anonymity (especially in past times), a steady supply of new potential targets without the usual societal protection mechanisms around them, all likely carrying things someone else is very interested in. For a long time being on the road was like operating outside of society so it was attractive to people who didn't fit in society and had to gain from staying outside, like tricksters.

dredmorbius 2y ago
That's a lot of it. The marks are also removed from their own support and defence networks, and have to rely on strangers. There are any number of interesting consequences and manifestations of this. One that comes to mind is the development and prevalence of fast-food franchise networks (McDonalds, KFC, Jack in the Box, etc.) which largely co-evolved with the US Interstate Highway system. For the first time people were traveling long distances by automobile and needed identifiable foodservice options they could trust to at least offer consistent service. Similar effects in the hospitality sector with branded hotels and motels. Previously such services had almost entirely been local institutions, known to locals or the occasional transport workers (truckers, sailors) they served. An interesting foreshadowing of the Interstate food/gas/lodging phenomenon developed on the passenger rail service of the Santa Fe, most especially that of the Harvey House chain of restaurants located at station stops and catering specifically to the rail passenger clientelle: a large passenger influx arriving on a (nominally) fixed schedule and requiring a full meal service within a specific interval during the train's station stop. The chain was launched in 1876 and grew to 45 restaurants (and 20 dining cars) in 12 states. I believe this was the first chain restaurant, literally strung along the rail lines: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Harvey_Company https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Harvey_Company>

dredmorbius 2y ago

That's a lot of it. The marks are also removed from their own support and defence networks, and have to rely on strangers. There are any number of interesting consequences and manifestations of this. One that comes to mind is the development and prevalence of fast-food franchise networks (McDonalds, KFC, Jack in the Box, etc.) which largely co-evolved with the US Interstate Highway system. For the first time people were traveling long distances by automobile and needed identifiable foodservice options they could trust to at least offer consistent service. Similar effects in the hospitality sector with branded hotels and motels. Previously such services had almost entirely been local institutions, known to locals or the occasional transport workers (truckers, sailors) they served. An interesting foreshadowing of the Interstate food/gas/lodging phenomenon developed on the passenger rail service of the Santa Fe, most especially that of the Harvey House chain of restaurants located at station stops and catering specifically to the rail passenger clientelle: a large passenger influx arriving on a (nominally) fixed schedule and requiring a full meal service within a specific interval during the train's station stop. The chain was launched in 1876 and grew to 45 restaurants (and 20 dining cars) in 12 states. I believe this was the first chain restaurant, literally strung along the rail lines: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Harvey_Company https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Harvey_Company>