h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Things we do for no apparent reason...

Posted Nov 13, 2002

On a recent trip overseas I noticed something very strange...

I was in New York City, strolling down the street, minding my own business, when my progress was increasingly halted by a constant stream of people hurtling my way.

You might think that there is nothing remarkable about having to dodge people in New York in the middle of the day. The thought did cross my mind, but I was clearly doing something that was not normal in those parts.

I eventually saw a number of people heading in my direction, relatively unimpeded by those who were causing me so much trouble.

Naturally I joined with my comrades heading east (or whichever direction it was at the time!) and continued on my way.

Not having any particularly pressing thoughts on my mind, I pondered what had caused me to go against the pedestrian flow in such a manner. As I was now wandering along on the right of the footpath I was free to marvel at the snails pace that the traffic was moving at and continue my thoughts.

Then it struck me. What I had been doing, naturally, was to do what I usually did at home. In America, people drive on the right hand side of the road. Pedestrians were walking on the right hand side of the footpath! Where I live, people drive on the left. We all walk on the left of the footpath!

Of course, when there are three people on the street it's every man for himself, but when you get a sufficient quantity of people on the footpath at the same time, we seem to naturally and completely unconsciously gravitate to the same side that we do when we are driving!

Was this a bizarre coincidence? Or do we do this out of our unconscious conditioning from years of driving on the road?

I wonder what else we do that we have no idea what really caused our actions?

What do you think? Did you already know this? Was I slow in taking this long to figure it out? Or am I completely full of it?

Next time you are walking down a busy city street, think about what side of the footpath everyone is walking on, and if anyone actually realses why they are doing it...

BT!

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Latest reply: Nov 13, 2002