MOOOO!!! MOOOOOVE along, lil dawgies!!

[Brightglaive]

Nothing says Herd instinct like this.....

As I was approaching the front entrance of my work yesterday morning I notice there are four people lined up standing at the door waiting to go in. I work in a secured building so you either have to swipe a badge, ring the doorbell, or wait for someone to come out. If you ring the door bell the security guard just inside the double set of glass doors will press a button that releases the magnetic lock. You can actually hear the audible click of the door magnetic lock releasing. You can also hear the thunk of the door re-locking.

So as I'm walking toward the door ( i'm about 30 ft away) I see the lady in front press the doorbell and hear the audible click of the door when the maglock releases. The lady just stands there. I then hear the audible thunk of the door re-locking. She then rings the door bell again. Now I could let this go as this lady and the lady behind her were obviously visitors but.... there were 2 employees in the line. Not only that but the security guard who is visible from the doorbell will wave people in.

So I walk up, swipe my badge in the badge reader while singing, " Ding dong the wicked badge is dead!!" (for the employees benefit). My swipe didn't work (half the time they don't) so I swiped again and this time the door unlocked. I open the door and hold it for all four of them to go in and they all STAND THERE.... looking at me like a bunch of poleaxed oxen. Completely frozen.

So I decided to have a little fun with them and started saying, "Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?"

Finally goaded out of the stupor of their group dream state they all go in.

I guess I upset the herd mentality but I had a good laugh while I was doing it.

"SHEEP!!!you're all SHEEP!!!!"

[Evil Queen]

Lookit Mommy! Lookit all the Sheeple!

[Chanlin]

Wow.... just wow.

My favorite one time was at the university. We were in room 4410 in one of the largest, and oldest, buildings on campus. The building is a veritable maze because not all of the stairways go to all of the floors. There are a total of 10 elevators, again all of which do not go to all of the floors.

In any case if you aren't familiar with the building at all it can be quite a daunting task to get around. Most instructors that have a class there will send e-mails to first year students advising them to make a dry run to the class room just for this reason. Also many of the rooms are so large there are 3 entrance doors to them (this is important).

Anyway I'm getting a little off topic here. I get up to 4410 for the first day of class. and there are 10 people standing in the hall. I was running 5 minutes late. I look up at the signs above the door (and next to the doors and ON the door) all of them were notes from the instructor saying this door is locked please use the right most entrance. So I walk down to the right most entrance walk in the class room. The instructor is looking a little annoyed and is taking attendance and is mumbling to himself about being 12 people short even with me showing up. so I turn around poke my head out the door. "Are you all here for Psych 1020?" They all nod, I wave them in. The instructor just smiles "And here we have a fine example of pack mentality and the bystander effect all rolled into one."

[Apathy]

Hot damn what a bunch of morons.
I don't know what the problem is with original thought. Maybe TV burnt out the Original Thought lobe on most people's brains. Well, if they had brains.

[smileyeagle1021]

snip... and there are 10 people standing in the hall. ...snip

is it wrong that I've before stood outside an unlocked classroom door just to see if I'll get a group of like 10 people who will just stand outside with me before someone checks if it's locked (or in this case stand by a sign that says please go to other door to see how many people will stand there with me)

[mattm04]

is it wrong that I've before stood outside an unlocked classroom door just to see if I'll get a group of like 10 people who will just stand outside with me before someone checks if it's locked (or in this case stand by a sign that says please go to other door to see how many people will stand there with me)

I was standing outside the local "orange home improvement warehouse" one day when my phone rang. I stepped to the side of the entrance door since I knew that cell reception can be hit or miss in that building. I was standing about 15 feet from the door, against the brick wall. After I hung up I saw that about 15-20 people were standing outside the door. These are automatic sliding doors, you get near them they open. I walk up the the door it opens I walk in. I stopped to look at a display near the entrance to the building and one of the other sheeple stops an employee stocking and says "It is bad custoemr service to not let you customers in." and walks off. Leaving a really puzzled look on the employees face. The employee goes out the exit door walks around the front and goes up the entrance door, it opens, and he goes back to stocking, still confused.

[BookstoreEscapee]

The instructor just smiles "And here we have a fine example of pack mentality and the bystander effect all rolled into one."

That story is all the better because it was a psychology class!

is it wrong that I've before stood outside an unlocked classroom door just to see if I'll get a group of like 10 people who will just stand outside with me before someone checks if it's locked (or in this case stand by a sign that says please go to other door to see how many people will stand there with me)

I love you.

[ArcticChicken]

I keep meaning to get a friend, then go que up outside a random door somewhere downtown. See how many people we can get to join us. Then walk away and see how long it takes the crowd to disperse.

[wagegoth]

What I really hate is when you're at a stoplight and all the cars in front are being driven by sheeple. You can tell because, when the light changes, nobody moves. They're waiting for someone else to go first. They will sit there until someone behind them honks. Usually that someone is me.

[NightWatch]

What I really hate is when you're at a stoplight and all the cars in front are being driven by sheeple. You can tell because, when the light changes, nobody moves. They're waiting for someone else to go first. They will sit there until someone behind them honks. Usually that someone is me.

Oh! I get it now! That's why people don't turn when the green left turn arrow pops up. It's not cuz they're blind/freaking stupid/distracted, it's because there isn't a person in front of/next to them to go first!! You my friend, have solved the great 'no-turn-on green' mystery. Have a cookie.

[ShadedWings]

Sheeple amuse me... one time, when I was running the front end of the grocery store late at night, I was printing out the self-serve credit/debit slips and getting ready to close them down for the night. After a few minutes, I had someone come up for something to be signed or explained to them, I forget what they wanted exactly, but it involved them writing something down on the counter of the self-serve next to me.

Before I knew it, there were three people in line behind him. Even though he obviously had no groceries, the screen on the self-serve was displaying a "now printing/time left" progress bar, the light was off on the lane, there was a sign saying "CLOSED!", and I was gathering a metric shit-ton of slips as they came spewing out, and there were two cashiers waiting with nothing to do on open lanes.

I leaned over and quirked an eyebrow at the soft muttering I heard as I finally realized there were people there, and said "Um... this one's closed? There are two lanes open over there, with lights on, they'll gladly help you..."

Second one in line muttered, "Then why the hell were you all over here then?"

I almost blurted, "What, you weren't waiting in line too?"

[gerund]

Stupid Stupid stupid

A town near me has a historic building converted into a casino. The lift from the underground car park goes to the first floor and then you change to the lift right next to it to go to the second floor.

The only catch is that the first lift has a button to the second floor, but it lights for a second and just goes out if you press it. However there is a sign right next to that button that says "This lift does not go to the second floor. Change lifts on the first floor."

So I get in the first lift in the car park level one day, and there are several people get in with me. There is an older man already in the lift, standing in front of the buttons and he is all red in the face.

I lean over him and press the first floor. He presses the second floor and the light goes on and off again. He starts out nicely, "What's wrong with this lift?" and I am about to tell him to read the note right next to the button when he starts screaming at me.

"I'VE BEEN STUCK HERE GOING UP AND DOWN AND THIS F--KING LIFT WON'T GO UP TO THE SECOND FLOOR! F--KING USELESS THING"

I thought to myself:- It's not my problem he can't read AND it's not my problem he can't walk up the stairs AND it's not nice to shout and swear at someone who's about to help you.

I said in my best Gomer Pyle voice "I dunno" while shrugging, then stepped out of the open door while he started pounding the button again. I walked two steps to the other lift, pressed the button, stepped inside and went straight to the second floor.

As far as I know he's still there.

[wagegoth]

Oh! I get it now! That's why people don't turn when the green left turn arrow pops up. It's not cuz they're blind/freaking stupid/distracted, it's because there isn't a person in front of/next to them to go first!! You my friend, have solved the great 'no-turn-on green' mystery. Have a cookie.

Ooooo, my first cookie! Thanks!

[powerboy]

is it wrong that I've before stood outside an unlocked classroom door just to see if I'll get a group of like 10 people who will just stand outside with me before someone checks if it's locked (or in this case stand by a sign that says please go to other door to see how many people will stand there with me)

I have to try that sometime

What I really hate is when you're at a stoplight and all the cars in front are being driven by sheeple. You can tell because, when the light changes, nobody moves. They're waiting for someone else to go first. They will sit there until someone behind them honks. Usually that someone is me.

I hate that.

[Zombi]

This is a danger in Britain - if you stand still for too long, people start queueing behind you in the vague hope that you're waiting for something interesting. I know it's a great British institution, but it still frightens me.