I'm a simple emigrant, but not typical

There is a town in Germany that, until almost fifty years ago, was recognized as the most average of all averages. And its name is the Hole of Hatred. I'm not joking. In Rhineland-Palatinate there is a beautiful town Haßloch (Hassloch). Its name literally translates as "hole of hatred." The German Consumer Research Association (GfK) in the 1980s decided that the town, its people, and even the dogs there were as typical as can be. Their average age, income, education level, and a whole bunch of other criteria seemed ideal for the role of a guinea pig. Up until the very onset of COVID, Hassloch was used as the country’s key test market. That is, if GfK wanted to introduce some product to the German market – they would start by launching it in Hassloch. There, people were given smart cards and tracked by them who exactly buys the product and how often. And, if in Hole of Hatred the product was loved, then you could push it to the rest of the country. All the major stores in the town cooperated with GfK, essentially almost the entire town’s commerce. The researchers didn’t limit themselves to products. On those poor folks they tested TV/radio advertising, and billboards. They even slipped covert advertising into newspapers. The residents were divided into control groups, being shown different versions of the ads. Moreover, the locals themselves didn’t always know they were the test subjects. And rightly so—we know that open surveillance of an experiment changes its course. To be fair, GfK’s studies turned out to be about 90% accurate. That is, the behavior of the residents of Hole of Hatred was indeed typical for Germany. I’m not hinting at anything, just so you know. #curiosities photo: hassloch.de