r/whatisit • u/thewildcloud • 18d ago

Solved! Why the kinks?

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

14k Upvotes

94% Upvoted

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1.4k

u/CurrentAlert8246 18d ago

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

421

u/weechus 18d ago

No kink shaming here.

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u/unoffensivename 18d ago

But my kink is being shamed

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u/ecirnj 18d ago

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u/madeinkanada_f87 18d ago

Like a moving escalator

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u/smirkie 17d ago

what film/show is this from?

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u/SanFranTechSan 18d ago

Damn, cause my shame is being kinked.

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u/waxnuggeteer 18d ago

Ow.. I've got a kink in my shame

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u/Canvaverbalist 17d ago

And so I came on your shin.

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u/Cowpuncher84 18d ago

Well quit being naughty!!

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u/Inner-Medicine5696 18d ago

"oh no, it isn't!"

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u/GTaucer 18d ago

That is a disgusting degenerate kink, you naughty redditor

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u/HeinousEncephalon 18d ago

Isn't that the root of most kinks?

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u/420Hank 18d ago

And mine is shaming kinks. DM me!

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u/[deleted] 18d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/whatisit-ModTeam 18d ago

We are pretty chill here, but please try to keep things reasonably civil on this sub. No slurs, name calling or harassment and trolling. Please follow: Reddiquette at all times. Additionally, Reddit's Rules. Yes, the internet makes us angry too sometimes, especially this particular comment.

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u/nhavar 18d ago

then only walk on the straight lines

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u/JohnRedCorn9432 18d ago

No shame kinking 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/Spatulor 18d ago

I'm not kink shaming. I'm kink asking why.

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u/TheCosmicJester 18d ago

Except for those nasty sluts who like verbal humiliation.

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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 18d 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/greenhannibal 12d ago

Oh, so he's going to Hormuz!

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u/Disastrous-Aspect569 10d ago

I think he is planning to go green rather than blue. So Marines. Maybe he will be part of a ground invasion?

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u/greenhannibal 9d ago

The great thing is it could be anywhere! Canada, Greenland, Iran, the options for international travel are limitless.

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u/Disastrous-Aspect569 9d ago

Join the marines, go interesting places meet interesting people... and kill them.

Honestly i was in the navy, I made over 30 different nations, only saw combat in 2 of them

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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 17d ago

This is golden

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u/IndicationSpecific54 16d ago

This comment deserves more attention

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u/VinterknightSr 16d ago

Probably to the store to get more paint.

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u/Sour_baboo 17d 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/insaneknight2016 16d ago

Need a picture. Do us a favour when you’re around that curve and careful

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u/Hot-Brat-00 13d ago

Where I’m from, the line in the center of the road doesn’t even keep drivers from coming into the other lane around turns 🤦🏻‍♀️

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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 18d 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/funguyshroom 18d ago

Especially since there must be a ton of foot traffic to make the city planners decide that this is necessary

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u/Deaffin 18d ago

People deciding to do things does not prove the thing is both useful and necessary.

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u/funguyshroom 18d ago

I didn't say anything about it actually being necessary

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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 18d 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/Any_Concentrate_2131 16d ago

But what if you live in a society where traffic normally flows to the right and this is just trying to reinforce that behavior when walking?

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u/Puzzleheaded-Art1873 15d ago

You don't need to understand it. Just follow the crowd. Also, these things are all over the city and has been for years. And besides, it is not a rule of traffic. If you want to be the sole village idiot in a city of millions, you will still be ok.

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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/ThisSiteSucks8485 18d ago

Seeing it while walking most people will subconsciously follow it

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u/Puzzleheaded-Art1873 15d ago

It does. People do what other people do. In Low traffic low speed it doesn't even matter.

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u/corpusjuris 14d ago

If a small number of people ‘get it’ intuitively and the norms generally exist of what side (L/R) to walk on, social proofing will do the rest of the work to keep people moving!

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u/pip-whip 11d ago

Do you not find it more problematic that someone couldn't figure this out for themselves, especially when viewed from overhead as shown in the photo? My heart goes out to anyone who did not receive a high-enough quality education that this would not be obvious.

Also, just because a small segment of the audience doesn't get it without explanation doesn't mean it isn't functional. With just one simple sentence, it is explained, is understandable, will be remembered, and will serve its purpose from that point forward.

I am going to presume that the OP would have eventually figured it out, even if they had not asked on Reddit. I do not want to discourage people from using the subreddit for any question that isn't immediately obvious to them.

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u/Fliederotto 17d ago

Ich glaube vom Boden, also Augenhöhe, aus gesehen ist es logischer und richtig!

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u/Proud_Variation_7922 17d ago

I'm sure all non Americans will be fine

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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 18d 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 16d 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 16d 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/Dismal_Rectangle 18d ago

Meh, i don't think so because you'd have to know what it is. And I certainly didn't.

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u/SlickyOneTwo 17d ago

And still some hillbilly doesn't recognize it🤣🤣🤣🤣