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Comment by cs702 | Hacker News Reader

Yes, non-edible cakes made of light, cheap materials like styrofoam are routinely displayed at weddings and other ceremonies. One of the layers might be soft, allowing for fake-cake cutting.

The hosts know the cake is fake. Many of the guests know the cake is fake. After cake-cutting, the fake cake often remains on display while everyone eats slices of real cake brought in from a kitchen.

No effort is made to pretend that the cake on display is real. It has come to be understood, accepted, and expected by society that there should be a cheap sculpture of a cake on display and that everyone should act as if this cheap sculpture is a real cake during the ceremony.

How did we, as a society, arrive here?

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The same reason people live in cheap houses with crappy aluminum siding on 3 sides, and fake brick material on the front. The same reason people wear knock-offs of designer clothing. The same reason cars play fake engine noise over their stereo system. The same reason people rent Ferraris for the day. The same reason people go on "vacations" where they spend 5 minutes at each destination taking selfies.

People care more about the image of something rather than the actual thing. Authenticity is now something to be faked and posted to Instagram.

Hey, renting a Ferrari for the day is sometimes just a way to drive a Ferrari once!

Yeah, the last thing I'd want is to be surrounded by people. I want open road!

Do some cars really play fake engine noises on the speakers?

The Jaguar I-Pace does this [1]. It's the stupidest thing.

[1] https://electrek.co/2018/03/07/jaguar-i-pace-artificial-moto...

I was under the impression that some electrics and hybrids in electric mode played simulated engine noise through speakers to both alert nearby pedestrians that the vehicle is moving and to reassure the driver that it is operating normally.

I wouldn't put it past a manufacturer or aftermarket parts maker to play "vroom vroom" noises over the sound system at speeds too low for the driver to actually hear anything from the passenger compartment. If you can put an aluminum spoiler on a stock Honda Civic, you can put an engine noise simulator on your sound system.

Yep. It's pretty much industry standard on mid-range performance cars and trucks. Many manufacturers are moving to smaller I4 and V6 turbocharged engines on models that traditionally had big V8s. These smaller engines provide great efficiency and good performance, but they're much quieter and blander-sounding than the old V8s. Subtle digital augmentation of the engine note restores some of the feeling of performance at trivial cost.

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/faking-it-engine-sound...

https://www.ford-trucks.com/articles/f-150s-fake-engine-nois...

Some BMWs do this: https://www.autoblog.com/2011/09/23/active-sound-design-enha...

Your comment is absolutely correct, except for one word: "now". Humans didn't radically change in the last several thousand years. We have always been this way.

Of all of your examples, the one that comes closest to matching fake cakes is the fake engine noises that many vehicles play over speakers. A key difference is that most consumers are unaware that their car's engine noise may be fake, and if they find out they feel defrauded and tend to get upset.[a] The Washington Post calls fake engine noise the auto industry's "dirty little secret."[b]

In all your other examples, consumers are at least getting something of value. Cheap houses provide actual housing, at less cost. Knock-off clothes provide actual nice-looking clothing, at less cost. Rented Ferraris provide the actual enjoyment of driving a Ferrari, for less cost. Taking selfies on vacation spots provide some people with a temporary superficial pleasure from "showing off" to their friends.

What value does fake food provide when it is used only for display and no effort is made to pretend it's real?

[a] For example, see the comments here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lQPc9VXBzk

[b] https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/americas-bes...

Fake cakes provide themed decoration, just like the fancy lace curtains or floral centerpieces that are also common at weddings. It's basically the exact same reasoning you gave for knockoff clothes.

Thanks for your analysis. The common theme I’m going for is that people are choosing something that looks opulent over actual opulence, where there is a third alternative: choosing something real but not as opulent. People could choose the less luxurious-loooking house, or the store brand clothing but narcissism, vanity and the constant need to self promote won’t let them.

I once worked with a guy who probably made close to what I made (similar title/seniority), but he lived in a very affluent neighborhood and loved to mention it whenever the opportunity even slightly arose. I ended up needing to drop something off at his house once (he was out on an extended sick leave) and when he greeted me I had a look behind him into the house. It was totally empty! He probably slept on a cot in one of the 5 unused and unfurnished bedrooms. He was a total phony!

I think we can agree that the examples I brought up represent a small fraction of the phoniness we see all around us—they were just the few that came to mind while typing. It’s an epidemic as far as I’m concerned.

Yes, I see what you mean... and agree with you:

There seems to be much faking of authenticity and faking of opulence today.

:-(

PS. Your comments remind me of the "Rich man in the car paradox" -- see #3 here: http://www.collaborativefund.com/blog/the-psychology-of-mone...

Thanks for the link! Excellent read

> Authenticity is now something to be faked

See also: fake hardwood/marble paint effects applied to pine, in Victorian era houses.

Versailles Palace has a number of rooms with trompe l’oeil marble. Authenticity has always been something to fake.

Perhaps by watching lots of home videos on the internet or TV of people hauling massive tiered wedding cakes around, only to drop them or for a tier to give out and the whole thing to fall over?

As pretty and traditional as they are, they aren't nearly as practical to cut for a large crowd, especially once it's fallen on the ground, and nothing tops off the single largest event you'll host and pay for in your life like disappointing all of your guests.

I can honestly say that, at a wedding, I am never excited for the cake. It usually looks amazing and tastes like industrial lubricants.

I agree. However, at my own wedding I insisted there should be a cake. This is basically the only thing I insisted on - I kept saying that we're not actually married unless there's a cake.

Because weddings are complicated, I'm pretty sure I never got a slice of that cake.

I think you may have eaten a fake cake. I read about them somewhere.

Most American wedding cakes are terrible. Two reasons: the one discussed in the article is that often cakes are frozen to be decorated and stored, and so they're already stale by the time the wedding happens, and the second is that many American cakes just don't taste good. A sad byproduct of nutrition fads and pseudoscience combined with low levels of culinary discernment.

There are also compromises made on the frosting so that it doesn't melt at room temperature. Fake cakes let you serve cakes that actually taste good.

American cake is in general very good - I'm not sure where you're comparing it to - it's the cupcakes that are bad.

I think the biggest factor by far is that these cakes are decorated with "Fondant".

Which is like edible sculpting clay. It's technically edible but tastes like garbage. Buttercream makes a delicious cake but it is very difficult to mold some of the decorations people are requiring.

I wanted a fun "Batman" cake like this for my son's birthday party.

https://www.cta.ae/163-large_default/funny-block-batman-cake...

The bakery wants almost $600 for this cake. I think that is part of the reason we are seeing a "fake cake" trend.

I once delivered a huge four layer wedding cake. That delivery was the most tense 45 minutes of my life.

There are certain abilities we speculate that differentiate us from animals. I think the ability to abstract concepts separate from direct reality is among them. The ability to exist in symbolic space is a source of great advancement in humanity, but also of great tragedy.

That was how me and my wife ended up not cutting a cake in our wedding ceremony.

After 5yrs I love that girl

>How did we, as a society, arrive here?

It is only one of thousands of insane customs we have, but there have always been insane customs, they just kinda change in a random walk.

At my wedding we had pies. They were all real and lasted all of 5min once they were laid out.

I cannot fathom the desire to have a fake version of anything at your wedding.

I'm not sure many of us have arrived there.

In my experience, 90% of the things you see on a wedding are fake or staged.

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