THE PLACEBO EFFECT | TRAFFIC LIGHTS

Do Pedestrian Crosswalk Buttons Really Work?

Or are we being played?

Photo by Albert Stoynov on Unsplash

I have an impatient friend. Maybe you do as well.

She’s the one who honks her horn the millisecond the light turns green.
You know the type.

It’s her who’s kvetching, tapping her shopping cart when the line is too long (in her mind).

We were headed on foot to the local copier center, across the street, at a busy, heavy trafficked main intersection.

Trust me, there’s no dodging here without you becoming roadkill.

Impatience pressed the crosswalk button not once but three random
times.

The light didn’t change.

I wasn’t surprised. I always assumed the traffic lights were on a timer
and that it didn’t matter how many times you pressed that button.

What do you think?

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