I almost don’t want to spoil anything about this video without you watching it, so I’ll embed it and then write about it below.
This social experiment of sorts from Smart.com starts with a problem: Too many people try to cross the road even when the light is red, and it results in accidents.
Instead of trying to solve the problem with stricter laws or an increased traffic police presence, Smart.com decided to make waiting fun. Part of what they did just made for a good commercial, but the core idea is actually pretty awesome: Instead of having the red crosswalk man stand still, why not have him dance? By catching people’s eyes and entertaining them, they were significantly more likely to wait at the light until it turned green.
I love stuff like this. It makes me want to try to solve the world’s problems with joyous solutions. Like board games? Maybe?
Here’s another idea. A machine attached to the stoplight pole that lets you play pong with someone on the other side of the road:
saltyhorse: That’s awesome! I like that you actually get to see the person as you’re crossing the road.
I love this idea! Imagine if these were placed around the world.
Or would people eventually become blase and start running across anyway?
MAybe the red lights could have a variety of animations, each one chosen from a random pool? Would that be enough to keep people’s attention?
behroozshahriari: I think if the dance sequence was randomly generated instead of being on a loop, it could keep people’s attention for quite a while. 🙂
There are a bunch of these by Volkswagon called the Fun a Theory, but I hadn’t seen this one. Delightful! https://www.thefuntheory.com/
The Fun Theory! I remember those videos. There’s one that encourages people to take the stairs, and another that gets people to throw away their trash. I really love stuff like this.
I kinda love this more than a little.
This is like the piano stairs!