Cargo cult

Cargo cults were groups of people who lived on islands in the South Pacific in the early 1900s. They noticed that when airplanes flew over their islands they would drop off lots of supplies. The people were amazed and would try to recreate the airplanes with items they had around, like bamboo poles, or pieces of wood. They believed that if they built the airplanes, then the supplies would return. But it didn’t work. They never got the supplies back. This is why it is called a cargo cult.