This messed me up big time in Japan, where they stand left, walk right.

Except in Osaka and Kyoto for some reason...

Yes indeedy, and walk to the right on crowded streets so there can be two lanes of foot traffic in opposite directions.

Yes indeedy, and walk to the right on crowded streets so there can be two lanes of foot traffic in opposite directions.

This is a HUGE pet peeve of mine (when people don't do it) because I ride up and won a three-story escalator in the train station going to and from work. They're very narrow, so one idiot standing in the way blocks the whole thing up.

I've noticed that in Washington DC people are pretty insistent that you follow the protocol, "step aside, out-of-towner!"

On the London Underground escalators you stand right and walk left. Standing on the left is liable to get you shoved out of the way with some force, especially in the rush hour.

In Sweden, I saw an old lady shove a tourist to the right side of an up escalator (or was it left? I don't remember). Everyone there keeps a lane clear for people who are moving quickly. They'll even queue up at the bottom to get on the "standing" side. In the US, it's all willy nilly.

Metro had some signs posted about this. I don't know if they're still up (don't ride the subway often enough) but now would be the right time of year for them.

Sticky carpet: when I lived in DeeCee, I had a friend who used to stand at the bottom of clogged Metro escalators and shriek "WALK left stand RIGHT!" and then mutter "morons". Now that I live in Chicago, I just force my way past saying, excuse me, excuse me, excuse, trying to catch a train/plane.

I had a friend who used to yell, "more walk, less talk!" behind the people clogging up the escalator. I always say it under my breath with a little sigh, but never at full strength.

What baffles me even more than clogging up the escalator while it's moving, though, are the geniuses who get off and then come to a dead STOP, as if everyone else will just be able to flow around them like water or something. Those people always get a loud "keep moving!" from me, ever since I saw an elderly lady trip quite badly because a trio of buggy-sunglass-wearing Beverly Hills matrons couldn't be bothered to move their asses out of the way when they got off.

Yes, I know this one. Because I lived in DC. And I even found it civil for people to yell it while trying to walk up. It was educational.

I can't bring myself to yell it in other situations where I wish people knew it, though. Like airports. When you are TRYING to CATCH a PLANE. Maybe TSA trainees can stand at the foot of elevators and moving sidewalks and yell it. I'd write a letter to TSA, but I don't want to go up on a list.