A closer look
French authorities spent the final year of World War I building a completely fake replica of Paris on the outskirts of the actual city, complete with wooden train stations, sham factories, and translucent canvas streets illuminated to fool German bomber pilots flying at night. The government hired elite electrical engineers to perfectly mimic the glow of a bustling metropolis from the sky, hoping the Germans would drop their payloads on an empty field of theatrical props. Tragically for the brilliant set designers, the war ended just before the decoy city was fully completed, meaning France built the world's most elaborate, life-sized architectural theater project for absolutely nothing and quietly dismantled it before tourists could realize how unhinged the military command had become
