17 October 2007

Revolver

I haven't complained about people's behavior in at least five or ten minutes, so...

What is it about revolving doors that causes most people's brains to instantly calcify? I'll grant that they are annoying, but they aren't really that difficult to operate. Or are they? Because it seems like about 75% of the time when I'm approaching one, someone in front of me, or on the other side of the doorway, has some sort of problem negotiating the door.

I've seen people try to crowd into the same section as their friends. I've seen people walk up to an already-moving door and just stop dead in their tracks, not knowing what to do (and of course, since I'm behind them I also have to come to a sudden stop). I've seen the same thing happen with a door that isn't moving. I've seen someone step into a door that was slowing down and, when it stopped, just stand there instead of pushing--maybe they thought it was motorized or self-propelled in some way?

I guess the revolving door is the pedestrian equivalent of the rotary: even if you know what to do when you come upon one, you can't assume that other people do.

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