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#157321 - 12/06/08 02:27 AM Wal-Mart stampede
brandtb Offline
Addict

Registered: 11/26/04
Posts: 500
Loc: S.E. Pennsylvania
Of course you heard about the Wal-Mart worker who was trampled by shoppers.

I've been in one of these crowd situations. I (and about five hundred other people) were waiting for the last commuter train out of town one cold, rainy night. The last two trains over the prior hour had been canceled because of mechanical problems, so nobody was in a good mood. The door dividing the waiting area from the track area was about seven or eight feet wide, secured by a locked, sliding door. When the train was announced, everybody surged toward the door. I was near the front of the crowd. When the door opened, everybody started moving toward the bottleneck.

Once it started, there was no way to stop. The people behind pressed forward, and the people in front had to keep moving. If somebody had fallen (luckily, nobody did) there would have been no way to get him back up because of the pressure of the crowd pushing from behind. It wasn't that there was any malice involved, it was just a matter of crowd dynamics and physics. It was as if each person pressed on the one in front with an pound of force, but the cumulative effect was a ton at the front of the crowd.

http://www.crowddynamics.com/Main/Crowddisasters.html

http://www.wikihow.com/Evade-a-Stampede-of-Shoppers
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Univ of Saigon 68

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#157325 - 12/06/08 02:41 AM Re: Wal-Mart stampede [Re: ]
brandtb Offline
Addict

Registered: 11/26/04
Posts: 500
Loc: S.E. Pennsylvania
I think the point is that they can't stop. The pressure of the people behind them won't allow it.
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Univ of Saigon 68

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#157330 - 12/06/08 03:36 AM Re: Wal-Mart stampede [Re: brandtb]
Bear_Claw_Chris_Lapp Offline
Enthusiast

Registered: 08/23/07
Posts: 227
Loc: Sector 16
Never under estimate the danger of stupid people in large groups.....
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In omnia paratus

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#157331 - 12/06/08 03:37 AM Re: Wal-Mart stampede [Re: ]
GarlyDog Offline
τΏτ
Old Hand

Registered: 04/05/07
Posts: 776
Loc: The People's Republic of IL
Originally Posted By: IzzyJG99

What disturbs me the most is...did no one stop and help this guy...are the people in these stampede situations that freakin' bargain crazed?


I don't think so. In a stampede situation like this you couldn't stop if you wanted to. You go into survival mode moving in the direction of least resistance. Stopping might mean your own death.
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Gary








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#157337 - 12/06/08 04:50 AM Re: Wal-Mart stampede [Re: GarlyDog]
Desperado Offline
Veteran

Registered: 11/01/08
Posts: 1530
Loc: DFW, Texas
Originally Posted By: GarlyDog
Originally Posted By: IzzyJG99

What disturbs me the most is...did no one stop and help this guy...are the people in these stampede situations that freakin' bargain crazed?


I don't think so. In a stampede situation like this you couldn't stop if you wanted to. You go into survival mode moving in the direction of least resistance. Stopping might mean your own death.


Sad story. Ironic that it was so close to the anniversary of the stampede deaths in Cincinnati, Ohio at The Who concert 12/03/1979.
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I do the things that I must, and really regret, are unfortunately necessary.

RIP OBG

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#157339 - 12/06/08 05:01 AM Re: Wal-Mart stampede [Re: Desperado]
Chris Kavanaugh Offline
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 02/09/01
Posts: 3824
About the same time we had another incident in Riverside California. Two latinas got into a catfight over a toy at Toys R Us.
Their machismo boyfriends intervened, one pulling up his shirt to display a pistol, and, in the ultimate scissors cuts paper, the other guy pulled his concealed pistol out.
They chased each other down the aisles trading shots until both were deceased, ie non returnable at the service desk.
Several customers were slightly hurt just trying to run away.
This is why my christian expression of religosity is eastern orthodox.
I wait until January to celebrate.
ROFLOL


Edited by Chris Kavanaugh (12/06/08 05:03 AM)

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#157342 - 12/06/08 05:17 AM Re: Wal-Mart stampede [Re: Chris Kavanaugh]
Desperado Offline
Veteran

Registered: 11/01/08
Posts: 1530
Loc: DFW, Texas
Originally Posted By: Chris Kavanaugh
About the same time we had another incident in Riverside California. Two latinas got into a catfight over a toy at Toys R Us.
Their machismo boyfriends intervened, one pulling up his shirt to display a pistol, and, in the ultimate scissors cuts paper, the other guy pulled his concealed pistol out.
They chased each other down the aisles trading shots until both were deceased, ie non returnable at the service desk.
Several customers were slightly hurt just trying to run away.
This is why my christian expression of religosity is eastern orthodox.
I wait until January to celebrate.
ROFLOL



Regardless of one's religious beliefs, it seems most everyone has some sort of celebration this time of year. I shall use Christmas in this instance. . .

HAVE WE AS A SOCIETY FORGOTTEN WHAT THIS SEASON IS ABOUT?????


Edited by Desperado (12/06/08 06:50 AM)
Edit Reason: Whew, must have been sleep spelinoling
_________________________
I do the things that I must, and really regret, are unfortunately necessary.

RIP OBG

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#157348 - 12/06/08 11:40 AM Re: Wal-Mart stampede [Re: Desperado]
Bill_G Offline
Journeyman

Registered: 06/06/08
Posts: 92
Originally Posted By: Desperado
HAVE WE AS A SOCIETY FORGOTTEN WHAT THIS SEASON IS ABOUT?????


Sadly, I am afraid many have. And those who haven't are not supposed to utter the "C" word if we do!

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#157351 - 12/06/08 12:05 PM Re: Wal-Mart stampede [Re: brandtb]
ki4buc Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 11/10/03
Posts: 710
Loc: Augusta, GA
A gas station I have gone to for 2 years recently decided to not be an Exxon anymore. Since they do not have to pay franchise fees, the gas is of course cheaper. It's now a whopping 3 cents cheaper than the other gas station about 1/2 a block a way. I no longer go there because the lines are ridiculous. I pay my 3 cents more a gallon down the street.

How much would I save over the course of a year if I went to my old gas station? $15.60 That's assuming a complete fillup of my 10 gallon tank once a week.

People are so motivated by saving a few cents they lose their sense. $20 a year savings is not really going to help you in the long run. Plus, everyone likes to shop at discount stores, and most people are satisfied with buying the same crap every 2 years, when you could have spent less money and had the product last 10 years or more.

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#157355 - 12/06/08 12:49 PM Re: Wal-Mart stampede [Re: Bear_Claw_Chris_Lapp]
Kris Offline
Addict

Registered: 04/13/07
Posts: 627
Loc: A Canadian Back in Canada
Originally Posted By: Bear_Claw_Chris_Lapp
Never under estimate the danger of stupid people in large groups.....


Reminds me of the despair demotivator's posters...
http://despair.com/idiocy.html
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"One should not increase, beyond what is necessary, the number of entities required to explain anything"
William of Ockham (1285-1349)

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