"Cobra effect" - it is a solution to the problem, which gets worse





Idiomatic expression "cobra effect" refers to a solution to the problem, which is only exacerbated the situation. The history of its origin, in a nutshell, is:

In the days of British colonial rule in India sprung a huge number of cobras. Just save them was not. In order to rid the country of poisonous creatures, the government announced an award for each killed the head of the snake. Indians gladly undertook the destruction of cobras and adapted to make good on this. After a while the cobra is almost completely disappeared, but with cobras, of course, a source of income has dried up, and hunters snakes. Then resourceful Indians started breeding cobras to continue to take their heads in exchange for money. Finally, the award for the cobras killed had to be canceled.

But at this point poisonous cobras, as it turned out, it was even more than before the announcement of the award.

via factroom.ru