WEBVTT - Do People Walk In Predictable Paths?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works. Hey, brain Stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>it's Christian Sager here. Do you want to beat the

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<v Speaker 1>lines during your next theme park outing? When you enter

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<v Speaker 1>the theme park? Just turn right. It's incredibly simple advice,

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<v Speaker 1>But experts say you'll avoid the longest lines because most

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<v Speaker 1>people tend to instinctively veer to the left upon entering.

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<v Speaker 1>If you go right, you'll be going against the grain

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<v Speaker 1>and against the intent of the amusement park designers. But

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<v Speaker 1>do most people tend to walk in a clockwise direction

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<v Speaker 1>in other situations. It's an intriguing question, especially since it's

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<v Speaker 1>common practice for runners to move counterclockwise on athletic tracks.

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<v Speaker 1>The same counterclockwise action goes for horse and car races

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<v Speaker 1>and for baseball players running the basis. There is even

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<v Speaker 1>evidence that the chariot races at ancient rome Circus Maximus

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<v Speaker 1>ran counterclockwise too. To test the idea that a person

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<v Speaker 1>right or left handedness influences their directional preferences, researchers studied

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<v Speaker 1>the use of dominant hands. But they found, according to

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<v Speaker 1>the results published by the Association for Psychological Science, is

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<v Speaker 1>that lefties prefer the left side and right he's like

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<v Speaker 1>the right Now this may not sound astounding, but the

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<v Speaker 1>way these tendencies manifest offers clues into our clockwise counterclockwise behaviors.

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<v Speaker 1>Scientists studied the reaction of stroke patients who had lost

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<v Speaker 1>the use of their dominant hand. Over time, the patients

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<v Speaker 1>reversed their natural bias and associated the good side of

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<v Speaker 1>objects spatially speaking with the side they were forced to use.

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<v Speaker 1>Scientists studied other groups who were artificially forced to use

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<v Speaker 1>their non dominant hand and found similar results. Right handed

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<v Speaker 1>participants who used their left hand to sort dominoes almost

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<v Speaker 1>immediately showed a lefty bias when identifying the good side

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<v Speaker 1>of an object. A number of theories address why these

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<v Speaker 1>directional habits began, but it's continuation has everything to do

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<v Speaker 1>with predictability. People move in predictable patterns, and for the

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<v Speaker 1>most part, this is a good thing. Take driving a car,

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<v Speaker 1>for example. If automobile drivers didn't move in a way

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<v Speaker 1>that other drivers expected, chaos would erupt and many situations,

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<v Speaker 1>including four waste stops, would become accident zones. Some researchers

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<v Speaker 1>also point to the rotational patterns in nature, such as

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<v Speaker 1>the clockwise migration patterns of elephant herds, penguins, and most

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<v Speaker 1>songbird species often, say researchers, this migration is guided by

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<v Speaker 1>wind and weather patterns that help herds conserve energy, or

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<v Speaker 1>by solar pathways that shape their movements, and it's not

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<v Speaker 1>so different for us humans. Today's episode was written by

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<v Speaker 1>Lori L. Dove, produced by Dylan fag And. For more

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<v Speaker 1>on this and other topics, please visit us at how

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<v Speaker 1>stuff Works dot com m