2) The Drinking Man’s Diet

Now here’s one I am fully behind. It was invented by Robert Cameron and was a kind of predecessor to the deadly Atkins diet. Cameron’s pamphlet, produced in 1964 starts like this:

Did you ever hear of a diet which was fun to follow? A diet which would let you have two martinis before lunch, and a thick steak generously spread with Sauce Béarnaise, so that you could make your sale in a relaxed atmosphere and go back to the office without worrying about having gained so much as an ounce? A diet which allows you to take out your favorite girl for a dinner of squab and broccoli with hollandaise sauce and Chateau Lafitte, to be followed by an evening of rapture and champagne?

Unsurprisingly, with an intro paragraph like that the pamphlet sold 2.4 million copies in 13 languages.
Unfortunately, like Atkins, this diet that heavily restricts carb intake isn’t the least bit healthy. It’s so tempting though. Here’s the pamphlet’s closing paragraph in case you were in any doubt:

So, drinkers of the world, throw away your defatted cottage cheese and your cabbage juice; and sit down with us to roast duck and Burgundy. You have nothing to lose but your waistlines.

If only real life worked like that.