If you want to beat the lines during your next outing to a theme park, just turn left when you enter. That’s because most people tend to instinctively veer to the right when entering. If you go left, you’ll be going against the grain, and against the intent of amusement park designers. So, which direction do people most walk in — clockwise (starting right) or counterclockwise (starting left)? It’s common practice for runners to move counterclockwise on athletic tracks, and the same action goes for horses and car races, as well as for baseball players running the bases. There’s even evidence that the chariot races at ancient Rome’s Circus Maximum ran counterclockwise. The bottom line is that it’s natural to simply follow the herd, and people most often choose to go counterclockwise. A store in the Philadelphia area tried to funnel shoppers to the left upon entering, but they fought the clockwise movement. Instead of turning left, shoppers careened around pallets and displays that blocked their path to the right, attempting to go counterclockwise with the same determination of salmon swimming upstream. As it turns out, people have their own variation on migratory patterns, too.
