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14 April 2011

Psychic teenagers? [More:]

Every morning, I walk past streams of teenagers on their way to the local high school. They are coming from the train stop, I am on my way to it.

This morning, there was a huge puddle covering half the road, making it necessary to cross to the other side of the road. And you were stuck on that side of the road for a good long stretch, because there's a busy bridge and no way to cross back over.

Here's the weird thing, ALL the kids approaching the puddle were walking on the opposite side of the road, as if they somehow knew already. At first I thought, "Well, they're probably texting their friends who are a few blocks behind them, to warn them of the puddle." But this is hundreds of kids we're talking, no way everyone got a warning to cross the street.

How did they know? It was eerie, I tell yuh.

Maybe all that pot smoke I smell every morning has somehow made them super in-tune with their environment... or something.
Maybe since they walk this way at least once a day, they know when there will be that big puddle. Say if it had recently rained heavily?
posted by Splunge 14 April | 16:19
I think Splunge has it. I used to walk to school every day - heck, actually I still walk to the train station every day - and over time you just notice where the trouble spots are and work out a way to avoid them.

This winter the sidewalks were so icy that for a portion of my route home, I would just step off into the street and walk up the middle of the street (not a busy one, fortunately). I just noticed, like, last week that I was still doing that even though the ice is long gone. It's safe to go back to the sidewalk now.

But yes, there's a lot to be said for a regular walk on the same route through the different seasons. You notice all these little things, plants coming up in gardens, funny cracks on the sidewalk, people who walk their dogs at the same time, when houses go up for sale or get bought or get painted, and even stuff like "oh yeah, that big puddle is going to be there today at the bottom of the street because it rained all night last night."
posted by Miko 14 April | 16:52
Good guess, Splunge, but nope. Rains all the time (I'm in Portland) and this was an enormous puddle was due to a blocked drain. Not foreseeable.

And the striking thing is that the kids never walk on the opposite side of the road. Ever.
posted by Specklet 14 April | 17:34
I can already picture the headline for the NYT Lifestyle section feature article:
Hot New Teen Trend: Is Dowsing the New Sexting?
posted by Atom Eyes 14 April | 17:46
Flocking. Emergent behavior. They walk on the side of the road that the kids in front of them walk on. Only the first couple of kids needed to actually encounter the puddle. They then text or call the next kids, who start off on the right side of the road. All the other kids are just following a block or two behind. They don't even know why, themselves. Like birds.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson 14 April | 19:02
Stepford Cuckoos
posted by Eideteker 14 April | 19:13
Vampires. You are in the Pacific Northwest.
posted by amro 14 April | 19:24
Atom Eyes, I just snorted water through my nose. Thanks.
posted by msali 14 April | 20:13
They must have seen it do that before. There's a corner on my street that always gets backed up when it rains. I know where to step to avoid getting in it- and also to stand way back when traffic is moving to avoid getting splashed.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero 14 April | 21:35
atom eyes: SNARF
posted by Miko 14 April | 22:59
Hee hee, Atom Eyes!

Nope, Teeps. I've been walking past there every day for the last four months, in the rain. Never happened.

I think IRFH has nailed it. It occurred to me, but I just thought it was too many people following blindly the person in front of them.

So strange.
posted by Specklet 15 April | 00:21
Douchebag of the year award. || Our new sidebar art is a tribute to the people of Japan,

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