We’ve got a bunch of new people now so let’s bring back a classic post. What low stakes conspiracy theory do you believe that you cannot prove but feels right to you?
I’ll start: I believe that dating apps have made a concerted effort to smear in person meeting people and tie it to being “creepy” through social media so you are forced to meet people online(which was the creepy option just 15 years ago)
Crosswalk buttons and hold open/close door buttons in elevators are just there to give an illusion of control
Those are both regional.
Almost no open/close buttons do anything in the US, but they’re completely honest in Japan.
Crosswalk buttons may: actually hurry up the cycle and stop traffic sooner, wait until the next red light and show a crossing indicator that it’d otherwise skip, or do nothing at all. This can change from city to city, from intersection to intersection, and even over a schedule throughout the day.
You’re most definitely right. Honestly, I’m super happy that one of my stupid posts got more responses than I’ve ever had before
You might find this interesting too: https://computer.rip/2023-03-13-the-door-close-button.html.
Second half of the link article is also about traffic lights / crosswalks.
One city that I lived in just had crosswalk buttons for accessibility purposes. It was only for the deaf and/or blind so they could feel the vibrating crosswalk button.
In my experience a reasonable amount of elevator close buttons have an effect, at least where I’ve been in the US
Everybody who replied to me trying to claim the buttons actually work are in the pocket of big button
I find the open button works but the close one doesnt
Interesting, I truthfully find the elevators are responsive where I am but crosswalk buttons feel like a scam
Where i am i know the cross walk buttons work because the pedestrian lights dont go on otherwisr
In South Africa the elevator open/hold open/close buttons work instantly, but the crosswalk buttons definitely do not work.
This is actually the case where I live too, I just wanted something dumb that I sorta believe
I think this is true a lot in NA, but it doesn’t feel like it’s the case here. Especially with the buttons for cyclists, after pressing it there’s often a sort of count down wait timer on the pole that appears and while it sometimes counts down all the way normally at others it will sometimes jump down a bit, seeming based on other factors. They also just don’t feel like they’re just on a set timer, so yeah
Interesting, I can’t tell a difference with crosswalk buttons where I live but at least some elevator buttons are responsive here
There’s this one crosswalk on a major stroad, if you press the crosswalk button, the traffic lights will cycle through 5 times before finally lighting the crosswalk.