In 1902, the Hanoi government tried to eradicate the rat population by paying for rat tails. People quickly realized that the smart thing to do was to trap a rat, cut off its tail, and then release it back into the wild so it could breed more rats to catch. In 1989, Mexico City introduced a pollution-control scheme whereby cars with even and odd license plates could drive on alternate days. People responded by buying a second car, often an old and highly polluting one.

More recently, Uber drivers in Nairobi created a hack to cut the company out of its share of the ride fee. Passengers hail drivers through the Uber app, which also sets the ride charge. At pickup, the driver and passenger agree to "go karura," which means that the passenger cancels the ride and pays the driver the entire amount in cash.