Building National Identities is a relatively recent human past time. But don't tell anyone. Tartiflette is a traditional French dish. In reality, it was created in the 1980s to promote the sale of a type of cheese - Reblochon. Don't let the truth get in the way of a good story. Similarly, most of Europe did not adopt the Fork until the 18th century. It took time to overcome the perception as an 'unmanly Italian affection'. Then, gradually, it became viewed as rude and uncivilised to eat with the fingers. It is worth remembering that the idea of Nations (race-based states) only started at a time, in 1800, where everyone was mostly poor and disconnected. By 1975, Europe and the Americas had become rich. By 2015, Asia had started catching up. Our race-based idea of nation-state civilisation suffers from falling for tall tales of forks and cheese.
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