Why everyone’s talking about... Queues
SHOPPERS arriving four hours before Ikea reopened its furniture stores and Mps in a 1,421-yard-long line to vote in the Commons… the fine British tradition of queuing is alive and well!
AS HUNGARIAN writer George Mikes said: ‘An Englishman, even if he is alone, forms an orderly queue of one.’
In 2010, Immigration Minister Phil Woolas even wanted the art of queuing made compulsory in citizenship tests migrants must pass to get a British passport. Apparently, we spend two years of our lives in a line. In fact, Britain imported queuing from the French, whose word ‘la queue’ (meaning ‘tail’) comes from the Latin ‘cauda’.
So why do we think it’s British?
FROM the Second World War ideals of fair play and rationing. Queues prove the ‘strong reciprocity’ theory: that people will co-operate for society’s benefit – but only if they think no one else is cheating.
It’s why surveys put queue-jumping as Britons’ biggest pet hate.
However, we’re not the best nation at queuing. Japanese football fans tape their name to the pavement rather than be there physically – and the system’s respected. Also, arguably the world’s longest line is the annual Arbaeen pilgrimage in Iraq, with 25 million people.
Now that’s devotion…
AND not confined to the religious. Star Wars obsessives waited 12 days for the LA premiere of The Force Awakens, while there are always queues for the release of a new iPhone model.
Theme parks often want lines, to stop visitors rushing through too quickly, and to raise anticipation.
But queues also signal shortages. Winston Churchill called Communist Eastern Europe ‘Queuetopia’.
THE All England Club actually has a 17-page Guide To Queuing.
Among the advice to overnight campers is: ‘In the morning (approximately 6am) you will be woken by the Stewards, asked to dismantle any camping equipment, and close up into tighter formation to create space for those joining The Queue on the day.’
Why does the other queue always move faster?
IT’S all down to statistics. If there are four lines, there’s a 25 per cent chance yours is fastest. That’s why a single queue is less stressful.
If you have to pick a queue, go to the left (as right-handed people gravitate to right), and choose the one with most men in it, as they’re more likely to lose patience and quit. And one piece of useless information: people wait an average of six minutes before giving up.