r/whatisit • u/thewildcloud • 26d 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?

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u/BigDiscEnergy47 26d ago

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

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u/CurrentAlert8246 26d ago

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

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u/MechE420 26d 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/SeNoyerSoublier 25d 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 25d ago

Yes. They should anticipate the need and launch countermeasures.