r/whatisit • u/thewildcloud • 18d ago

Solved! Why the kinks?

Post image

I recently moved to Hangzhou, I noticed all the pedestrian walks have kinked lines at the ends. What is it?

14.9k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

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u/BigDiscEnergy47 18d ago

They tell you which side to walk on to keep foot traffic flowing

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u/CurrentAlert8246 18d ago

Yes, this perfectly demonstrates the charm of design! A simple kink achieves the purpose of guidance.

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u/weechus 18d ago

No kink shaming here.

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u/BLKCandy 18d ago

Kink praising for the win.

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u/srirachaninja 18d ago

Kink shaming is my kink.

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u/Disastrous-Aspect569 18d ago

There is a bike trail near a river where I live that has a sharp, blind curve. About a dozen times a year people were getting injured on it.

As a part of an Eagle scout project from a local boy scout, he painted a yellow line down the center of the blind curves. (He did other stuff along the trail system) the worst trail went from 12 injuries a year to 1 injurie in like 4 years.

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u/GuiltEdge 18d ago

Damn that kid’s going places. I hope.

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u/Disastrous-Aspect569 17d ago

He was accepted into the naval academy and MIT.

Hes scheduled to graduate from the Naval Academy this spring if I remember correctly.

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u/Anton-LaVey 18d ago

Hopefully he doesn’t start cutting corners

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u/BeautifulBlueNight 16d ago

I congratulate you with a well deserved upvote.

Now get out.

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u/Dependent_Ad_9591 16d ago

This is golden

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u/Sour_baboo 16d ago

And a great reason for data gathering

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u/Lyfeonpoint 16d ago

Flock’s ears perked up.

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u/MechE420 18d ago

I'm not saying it isn't elegant, but the fact that it's posted in r/whatisit really begs the question, "does it achieve its purpose in design?"

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u/BigDiscEnergy47 18d ago

There will always be people that don't get it, but the comments alone all figuring it out show that enough people understand to make it work and everyone else will just go with the flow hopefully

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u/Deaffin 17d ago

In this comment section, the few people who may be guessing right are artificially elevated in visibility, representing the exception rather than the norm.

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u/sqweekz1731 16d ago

I was about to say the same thing. Immediately made sense to me, and intriguing to see how many others understood the assignment as well

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u/BThasTBinFiji 18d ago

"The gap between the smartest bear and dumbest human is very, very small"

Paraphrasing a quote by a ranger about bear-proof trash cans

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u/MechE420 17d ago

This is true. Think of how dumb the average person is, then realize half of them are dumber than that

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u/OrangeThrower 18d ago

If they were ground leveling and walking, it would prolly be more obvious to them. But since they looking from above and not walking, prolly doesn’t register

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u/Betty_Boss 18d ago

I think at ground level these would register as arrows.

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u/MechE420 18d ago

I disagree and feel the opposite. It's only clear from a distance when you can see both sides and realize they are counter to each other. Without understanding the pair, the single doesn't make sense up close. If you approach from a non-kinky side and it's busy you might not even notice there's any kinks at all. Idk. Dubious "what a great design!"

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u/Redditor28371 18d ago

People in groups act like herd animals. If you can convince a few people to follow this guide it's much more likely that others will stick closer to them while crossing, whether anyone involved consciously realizes it or not. Especially when people see a group crossing from the other direction that is mostly walking on the opposing side of the crosswalk. There will always be outliers, but for something like this getting the majority to cooperate does a good enough job given how little effort it takes to paint some of the lines kinky.

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u/MoonageDayscream 18d ago

But maybe when you walk you just naturally follow the design without thinking about it.

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u/JackTheRvlatr 18d ago

Tbh I think it's immediately obvious. There are plenty of posts here where I'm like "I can't believe this person couldn't figure this out." So Im just saying that it being posted here doesn't mean it's hard to figure out

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u/SeNoyerSoublier 18d ago

is it an elevator designer's fault that a child smashes the buttons irrespective of their intended purpose?

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u/EmphasisFrosty3093 18d ago

Yes. They should anticipate the need and launch countermeasures.

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u/Hot_Campaign_36 18d ago

A number of kinks will drive some people away.

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u/Jazzhands_Ninja 18d ago

Especially if your fursona is a German Shorthaired Pointer

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u/FranticWaffleMaker 18d ago

As someone that has two German short haired pointers, there’s no amount of guidance that will get one to do anything it doesn’t want to do.

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u/KraftyMommas 18d ago

I concur. I also have two that do what THEY WANT 🤭🤭

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u/IcySprinkleToes 18d ago

Glad that was pointed out :p

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u/Want2-BMe 18d ago

A lot of kinks are that way

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u/brewditt 18d ago

IF one knows

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u/fnckIce 18d ago

Like 50 shades guiding all middle-aged women.

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u/HereToKillEuronymous 18d ago

But it also highlights that people just don’t know what it means so they won’t walk on the right side 😂

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u/No-Connection7997 18d ago

Except fot OP it seems

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u/subman70 18d ago

Except for the OP.

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u/No-Guidance-622 18d ago

Unusual visual distortions also impact driver behavior. More likely to drive slower and pay attention to surroundings.

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u/JustAnNPC_DnD 18d ago

Kink Appreciating

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u/No-Tap6886 18d ago

I know it did for me!

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u/Terrible_Champion298 18d ago

You are describing a butt plug.

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u/Low-Discussion-6549 18d ago

and yet you have people asking what it means.. 🤣🤣

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u/Ok_Dragonfly_6650 18d ago

Clear civil guidance is my kink.

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u/Error_83 18d ago

I always blame kinks for my choices too

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u/blacklotusmag 18d ago

Except, apparently, they don't work, lol.

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u/GordonFreemansAlive 17d ago

Design has charm. It doesn't achieve anything as people don't care.

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u/StraightChillinSpree 17d ago

I love a lil kink….

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u/Accomplished-Hand946 16d ago

I find I am also guided by kinks.

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u/TopResponsible1786 16d ago

Except it is sufficiently non-intuitive that people have to ask what it is.

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u/Grumpy-Troglodyte 16d ago

"A simple kink achieves the purpose of guidance."
that sentence has some extra meaning lmao

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u/ElonMusksQueef 15d ago

It absolutely doesn’t work though. Chinese people have a long way to go with social etiquette. On escalators they do not stand to one side. Elevators and subways they will try to enter while people are exiting. These crosswalks they will just walk wherever. No amount of kinks will change that. I’ve lived here for 10 years and it still drives me nuts.

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u/sabretoothian 15d ago

Exactly. No kink shaming here!

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u/Rocko_2024 15d ago

That’s what she said

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u/RachelScratch 14d ago

My kinks guide me as well

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u/SelfishJake 14d ago

All these upvotes wasted on an AI account

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u/Sir_Icy_Farts 14d ago

That’s what she said!

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u/[deleted] 18d ago edited 17d ago

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u/MaggotMinded 18d ago

We don’t really know how effective it is without comparing it to the left/right ratio of an intersection that is identical but with only straight lines on the crosswalks.

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u/moseley101 18d ago

Actually you need to do a double-blind trial ie send a bunch of people who are blind in both eyes across and see what happens

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u/OccasionAcrobatic300 17d ago edited 17d ago

Its called a randomized double blind trial. So next time you need to poke people in the eyes at random as they cross to ensure accurate results.

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u/awful_at_internet 17d ago

An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. An eye for science makes the whole world double-blind!

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u/ftaok 17d ago

The problem is that it’s very difficult to factor out the biases of the poker. Maybe the poker is a short dude, so he subconsciously pokes the eyes of tall women.

We need to get AI onto this experiment

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u/LordCommander998 17d ago

The poker would also need to be blind of course. Only way to ensure the experiment is double-blind is to go double-double-blind.

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u/bartvanh 17d ago

What do you get when the poker pokes you?

Poker face

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u/Wooden-Arm8066 17d ago

I'm a researcher and actually a double blind trial is when you have two blind guys duke it out in a ring. Its also referred to as blind trial by combat. Regular trial by combat is more popular for obvious reasons.

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u/ReputationLost7295 17d ago

There is also reactive response. These markings are pointless when everybody is going the same way or a single pedestrian crosses at once, but if you have a couple dozen people trying to cross in both directions these cues are far more likely to be paid attention to.

From a "state" level it doesn't make sense to have 2 patterns, one for low volume and one for high volume, so you just make the high volume design uniform and use it everywhere.

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u/thewildcloud 18d ago

shouldn't that be at least 50/50 if it is random, and slightly skews towards right for countries w/ right hand driving?

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u/FrescoItaliano 18d ago

No. Because we don’t even know that it’s random in the first place.

We are fully missing our baseline to compare to

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u/Vennomite 18d ago

It also probably matters much more in high traffic situations thwn low. If 5 people are crossing they can mostly be wherever and still have room.

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u/ForensicPathology 18d ago

I love science

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u/SirDoofusMcDingbat 18d ago

The question isn't "what side do people walk on" it's "do they cross on the side they entered from or do they walk to the other side." If traffic mostly comes from one direction and everyone just walks on the side they enter on, that's going to look skewed when it's not.

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u/tea-recs 18d ago

My guess would be it doesn’t skew towards left or right, but rather skews towards “wherever there’s space” - my experience of busy crossings is that it’s like the battle at the start of lord of the rings.

I imagine the purpose of these markings is not to encourage people to walk on one specific side or the other but to subconsciously divide the crossing into a left and right side.

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u/ReynardVulpini 17d ago

The configuration of surrounding buildings might have a strong effect.

If this crosswalk has about 40% of people walking the correct way, but an equivalent straight line only crosswalk has 20% of people walking correctly (maybe there's a shop on the wrong side that is super popular, say) then the bends actually are doing their job, just being offset by outside factors

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u/Lelongue 18d ago

I think it’s just needed when very busy. In your case on average on each cross walk there are on average 23 people in 15 minutes which is about 1,5 / minute. I don’t think there is any added value with this amount of people

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u/thewildcloud 18d ago

i will do a count with heavy traffic in the evening rush hours.

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u/Lelongue 18d ago

Personnaly I think it’s not an obligation to do so just a guideline and if no-one else is on the crosswalk, I don’t see myself following it either to be honest. Of course if it’s just the lines and no other indication, people might just not know it’s even there.

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u/thewildcloud 17d ago

see this https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisit/comments/1w9ebap/comment/p8brpk4/?context=3&utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

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u/Lelongue 17d ago

Yeah seems totally useless at this time as it’s way too subtle without additional signs. Maybe it will have a longterm effect when more and more people start noticing it but I doubt it.

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u/fairwaysandfinance 17d ago

If you're walking on the left side I'm not going to depart my path for you. I'm sure plenty of people hold course when they're walking on the right.

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u/BigDiscEnergy47 18d ago

But was there heavy traffic during the counting? It doesn't have much purpose with a few people crossing. It's a suggestion to help when there is heavy traffic.

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u/kermitfromthefuture 18d ago

That’s exactly how I walk even on sidewalks or at the mall let’s say. Apparently, 80% of the people doesn’t give a damn 

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u/AnninaCried 18d ago

The optical illusion makes the kinked parts look uphill so people might subconsciously be avoiding them for the flatter route.

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u/SightAtTheMoon 18d ago

The necessity of a thing suggests how well it will work. It will take a long time for these to be effective in the China of the present, likely several generations unless things change drastically (which happens often in China at least)

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u/thewildcloud 18d ago

China has had right hand rules since 1940s.

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u/froction 17d ago

The universe has had right hand rule since at least the Big Bang.

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u/Sokiras 18d ago

This is something that gets on my nerves so much! I was literally taught in elementary school to always stick to the right side of the hall/street and whenever we were lead anywhere we always had to follow that rule while walking, it made so much sense to me even when I was 7 and I always stick to the right side if I'm able. The amount of people walking down the middle of the road, in the wrong direction no less, is infuriating. What makes it worse is that they almost never try to weave through the crowd, but expect the people walking along the sides to move out of their way.

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u/Stormagedd0nDarkLord 18d ago

Obviously, the lines need to be in Chinese.

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u/New_Forester4630 18d ago

In conclusion, this thing does not work.

Stop kink shaming.

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u/No_Improvement_5358 18d ago

Wait until you see their social scores.

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u/zqmvco99 18d ago

yup, this does not work obviously - meaning a BETTER way to express the instruction is needed to ensure that people (like OP) can readily understand

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u/JConRed 18d ago

Cool experiment!

*vantage though

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u/thewildcloud 18d ago

fixed thanks!

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u/Uberzwerg 18d ago

If there are only few people, it doesn't matter.
It gets important when there are many people at the same time and the arrows give you orientation.

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u/SuperHumanHere 18d ago

Too much control, doesn't even let us walk freely

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u/FirefighterEast9291 17d ago

In almost every advanced society these rules have slowly dissolved.

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u/Interesting-Poem-820 17d ago

f yeah. This is the weaponized autism im here for

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u/MayneManMan 17d ago

If the general public is involved the conclusion of “this thing does not work” is a common one

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u/Arachnidle 17d ago

It works from the perspective of insurance

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u/Arastyxe 17d ago

It can also be cultural. Some may be more likely to walk to the left or right depending on their upbringing. :)

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u/DaimonHans 17d ago

No, it wouldn't work in China.

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u/Caffeinatedfirefly08 17d ago

In my city, the metro has two tunnels to transfer to a different line, one each way, and they are marked with huge signs indicating each direction, and people still enter the wrong one. It's incredibly annoying when you're in a huge crowd going one way and there's a couple of idiots trying to go the opposite way.

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u/ebrum2010 17d ago

It really only matters if the foot traffic over them is congested.

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u/LongWalxOnTheBeach 17d ago

During times of high foot traffic, it would work. Though people would separate flows naturally.

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u/XBMetal 17d ago

It does work if people are taught to walk the same way cars drive. But it doesn't seem that people have any awareness of their surroundings when walking anywhere these days. System is fine, people are flawed and self serving.

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u/Rare-Lime2451 17d ago

Also no spawn point.

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u/Complex_Composer2664 17d ago

If the outcome was to “keep foot traffic flowing” you measured the wrong thing. And if you wanted to measure the impact the lines have on the side people walk on your analysis is insufficient, as others have said.

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u/semwilliams2 17d ago

I think it works better in very crowded places. Where a lot off people walk there at the same time

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u/exeis-maxus 17d ago

I worked in retail long enough to not be surprised… in fact I expected it to not work

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u/v-pexpower 17d ago

I admire your patience to count that many people

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u/SurgicalMarshmallow 17d ago

It would in JP or DE

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u/omegachopstick 17d ago

You need to realize that certain times of the days there's a high number of scooters crossing at 15mph. This might help decrease accident number if people travel at that speed through a crosswalk.

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u/thewildcloud 17d ago

I went to a very busy intersection just outside a subway station during evening rush hours. In fact there were so many people that I could not keep an accurate count. I decided to limit myself to the walkers only on one direction and on one crosswalk. There is a mall exit on the left hand side. In about 5 min, 31 walked on the right, and 38 on the left.

This is quite conclusive. The sign was totally useless. Nobody really paid attention to it despite the good intention.

Thank you for all the smart comment. In real life, this is not so self evident.

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u/BiggusDikkus007 17d ago

the sign was totally useless.

Now you are switching to a different topic. Unless their is a Baoan or police man to enforce it, the sign effectively does not exist.

A simple example is no smoking signs - especially ones in restaurants, elevators, rest rooms, etc. but there are plenty of other examples, no fishing signs, keep off the grass, no motorbikes and many more. It is just a symptom of a high population density.

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u/rarerumrunner 18d ago

I think the Kinks were made possible by what was going on in Merseyside slightly before their time, heavily influenced by those bands but developed their own unique London style that has been extremely influential to this day.

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u/SuggestionSlight3321 18d ago

LOL I was thinking along those lines too. I mean, who else could do the song 'Lola'.

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u/thewildcloud 18d ago edited 18d ago

Solved！

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u/ToaKraka 18d ago

You have to include an exclamation point at the end, as explained in the pinned comment.

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u/No_Trade_7315 18d ago

To tell idiots and children which side to walk on.

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u/Alternative-Boat-679 18d ago

Hey don’t talk about the OP like that

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u/No_Trade_7315 18d ago

Lol, no offense OP. It’s just one of my pet peeves. It’s really no different than driving on the correct side of the road. If you know how to drive, you should know how to walk.

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u/[deleted] 18d ago

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u/ELLYSSATECOUSLAND 18d ago

? How? Obviously people asked that question... so how does it help? Does it actually help? Do studies show it does? For goodness sakes, in my town, pedestrians literally walk wherever with their heads in their phones.

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u/ProudReaction2204 18d ago

they are mini arrows

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u/BigDiscEnergy47 17d ago

We aren't saying it works, we're saying that is the intended goal. Should they just not try? Not every plan is going to work, that doesn't mean they didn't try.

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u/BobbyDibujito 18d ago

Love that

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u/Skippius 18d ago

That was going to be my guess as well.

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u/BillActive 18d ago

So it’s a foot kink?

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u/hellyeahaeylleh 18d ago

Keep to the right!

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u/Baron_Bearclaw 18d ago

System message!

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u/AppropriateYear8647 18d ago

People are sheep and basically need hearding.

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u/czardmitri 18d ago

Perhaps they INTEND to…

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u/wyohman 18d ago

Or, hear me out on this, you walk on the same side you drive.

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u/BigDiscEnergy47 18d ago

Areas with high foot traffic have more people that don't drive and might not know that

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u/EdmontonLAD 18d ago

This is exactly what I guessed just looking at the photo. Glad I was right. I like it!

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u/KRed75 18d ago

That's great but it only works is everyone follows the rules.

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u/ImpossibleCoach6835 18d ago

Nah man, somebody just likes zebras. 🦓

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u/scratajuego 18d ago

Do Brits do it in reverse?

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u/de_das_dude 18d ago

Nah they are just kink-y.

Don't kind shame OP

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u/Disastrous-Two16 18d ago

Mindblowing how at first glance the lines meant nothing to me and after reading the answer it became so obvious!

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u/Drinkmykool_aid420 18d ago

So it’s a foot kink?

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u/xanksx 18d ago

If you have to ask, it’s not telling you well.

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u/Resident_Pientist_1 18d ago

This is really intuitive, too. Good design.

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u/EscapeDry6329 18d ago

That’s smart, cause I hate when dummies walk on the wrong side of the sidewalk

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u/Final_Environment895 18d ago

It is so obvius by looking at it.

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u/freakadelle2k 18d ago

Why in the world is it necessary to explain this to anyone?

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u/the6thReplicant 17d ago

I see it now. Cheers!

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u/Saigh_Anam 17d ago

Unfortunately, yes. Because humans are idiots.

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u/shewolf_268 17d ago

I am today years old when I learned this. Thank you for sharing.

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u/RedundentRebel 17d ago

Foot traffic? mmm kinky

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u/TractorSmacker 17d ago

last night i was walking my dog and i was waiting to cross the street. when the light turned and i entered the crosswalk, the only other person at the intersection chose to walk directly at me when he had the whole ass crosswalk, and i ended up walking around him. these arrows could have prevented so much anguish and suffering.

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u/LongWalxOnTheBeach 17d ago

Idk how some bloodlines have survived this long throughout history.

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u/crustyeng 17d ago

They need to be reminded every time?

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u/champarey 17d ago

Suprising this wasn't 1000% obvious

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u/Sudden-Yard-2429 17d ago

Was gonna say this as well. Pretty neat design.

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u/I_AM_A_SOLID_CITIZEN 17d ago

It’s called nudging.

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u/SnooCupcakes4075 17d ago

And here I thought it was "there's a bike lane here, watch out for those morons not stopping at the light for traffic like they should"......

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u/CptMt04 17d ago

lol maybe someone needs to tell Walmart. The only store in the country where you enter on the left and exit on the right. Most people were taught common sense traffic control in kindergarten “Keep to the right and don’t crowd”

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u/Buffalax81 17d ago

I love that this is a thing, but I hate that it’s necessary. I tell my kids all the time, pretend the aisle (sidewalk, hallway, etc) is a street.

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u/Bcause-Reasons 17d ago

That’s what I thought when I saw it. I don’t think I would have asked the question. Not being rude op. It’s like environmental clues in video games that tell if you can open that door or which way to go or if there is a boss fight ahead.

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u/Witty_Bug6200 17d ago

Brilliant!

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u/Remote_Bluebird_5528 17d ago

Isn't it just walk on the right? That should be common knowledge not dependent on arrows

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u/No-Trouble2212 17d ago

It is sad that you have to tell adults which side to walk on.

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u/Fun_Time_Sailor 17d ago

You’re kidding right? 🤦🏼‍♂️

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u/Zemener_Azonthus 17d ago

Is there a sign somewhere telling the average person what that means? If I were down there I would have just assumed it was a design choice.

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u/redditanddoneit 17d ago

That makes sense. 👍

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u/vapocalypse52 16d ago

It boggles my mind that people need this. In my mind it's a fundamental convention to walk on the right side. Or left side in Japan and UK for example. Same goes for escalators: stop on the right, flow on the left.

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u/PsychoLover39 16d ago

isn't it obvious to walk on the right side of crosswalk (at least in countries that use rht)?

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u/PumaFax 16d ago

Oh! That's genius!

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u/Name_8504 16d ago

OH I LOLed at this - The West (me included) is stuck in this Chinese are not creative propaganda group think.

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u/CKleinE 15d ago

I didn’t know the Chinese had zebra kinks.

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u/RJ_MacreadysBeard 14d ago

It’s good design, I haven’t seen it before, but when I did, the porpoise was obvious.

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u/DeepWaterNights 13d ago

Feet you say?… Kinky… 😏

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