26 July 2019

Why walk around the pole?


Perhaps it could be bicyclists not wanting to duck.  But that logic is harder to apply to this taller space:


I've spent countless hours walking trails in the woods, so I understand a healthy respect for spiderwebs might be a logical reason, but that wouldn't apply in this case:


And those are not bicycle tracks.  So... what's the reason.  Superstition?

Top image via.  Second and third photos via.

7 comments:

  1. I'd say the "not walking under a ladder" superstition. It's not a ladder, but the triangle is the same, so let's not take any chances.

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  2. What about animals? Would they avoid the arch because it looks like a potential trap?

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  3. I think misterjeff has it right.

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  4. If leashed dogs are common, people might be opting to follow the dog rather than make it backtrack to unsnag the leash.

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  5. I vote for children. They seem to delight in any opportunity to deviate from the path adults design for them!

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  6. My first thought was that the answer is multiple people walking together, with one person skirting the outside instead of waiting for their companion(s) to walk through first. But the second and third examples seem like they have enough width to make that not necessary.

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