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mkl

The story:

780 points, 4 years ago, 356 comments https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20227175

406 points, 2 years ago, 261 comments https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25510351

The reality:

336 points, 2 years ago, 145 comments https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27173859

I guess HN prefers a good story about rags-to-riches underdogs!

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Everyone does which is why Frito Lays isn’t fighting this myth very hard. Even though it was a complete lie, it’s still good for their brand.

I remember when this story(the lie) was first circulating there was one thing that didn't really make sense to me, although the person who said they created it took inspiration from hispanic foods he grew up eating, flamin' hot cheetos has a cayenne flavor which to me reminds me of the US south and Tabasco sauce and nothing like anything anything from Mexico(besides that its spicy).

Wait what? The Tabasco pepper literally originated from Mexico, and it's named after a state.

The Tabasco pepper is native to Mexico, but Tabasco sauce is not, it was created by some guy in Louisiana and is not really based on a Mexican sauce.

https://www.tastingtable.com/930569/heres-how-tabasco-sauce-...

Right, but the pepper is the key ingredient in Tabasco sauce. It's like saying a soy-based sauce invented in the US is "nothing like anything anything from China" when soy sauce originated there.

Counterpoint: tomatoes

garage : startup :: mom's kitchen : novel junkfood

I imagine they don't want the headache. Confronting this guy with his lie could get very messy from a legal and PR perspective.

> I guess HN prefers a good story about rags-to-riches underdogs!

Less so over time it seems

Follow the incentives! Which option has more opportunity for the lizard brain to feel good watching the number in the top right go up?

There is much more opportunity to earn virtue points with a rags to riches story (regardless of the truth of the story) because it naturally breeds all sorts of "this could never happen at BigCo" contrarian take which then lends itself to all sorts of tropes and anecdotes about perverse HR policies, evil capitalists, inept bureaucracies, internal politics, team churn, etc, etc. There are tons more virtue points up for grabs in that type of circle jerk than there are in response to an article that debunks the story.

>Which option has more opportunity for the lizard brain to feel good watching the number in the top right go up?

Amusingly, the "lizard brain" is also an often repeated myth https://cos.northeastern.edu/news/its-time-to-correct-neuros.... ,

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