# There are two doors for a reason. Don't use the left door **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 10, 2011, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-two-doors-for-a-reason-dont-use-the-left-door/570933 "2011-02-10T19:39:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-two-doors-for-a-reason-dont-use-the-left-door/570933/41 "2011-02-11T15:33:51Z")
> [@PSXer](#): > > I bump into people sometimes. I have no problem with people using the wrong door as long as they stay out of my way, it’s the people who get upset when I put my shoulder down and knock them right back through the doorway that annoy me. …same for those fuckers that ride their bikes on the sidewalk. ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-two-doors-for-a-reason-dont-use-the-left-door/570933/42 "2011-02-11T16:16:23Z")
I used to complain about the Wal-Mart having the enter/exit doors the wrong way, but then I heard the explanation for it and I am satisfied. It is so the line of people entering the store doesn’t have to cross the line of people exiting the store from the registers, as they would if they used the door on the right. ---
**Author:** ![Grapefruit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@Grapefruit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grapefruit)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-two-doors-for-a-reason-dont-use-the-left-door/570933/43 "2011-02-11T17:01:55Z")
Conformity is for suckers. You should write a letter of proposal to your school and ask them to remove all the walls. That way, no one has to trickle in and trickle out. It’ll be one big classroom for all! ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-two-doors-for-a-reason-dont-use-the-left-door/570933/44 "2011-02-11T17:10:53Z")
> [@Uncle\_Jocko](#): > > Which is exactly why I always run into a flock of God-fearin’ Americans coming in the Exit door Are they wearing raspberry berets? ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-two-doors-for-a-reason-dont-use-the-left-door/570933/45 "2011-02-11T17:31:08Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > Better – responding to my suggestions literally and completely ignoring the obvious implication of my post as a whole is definitely the right way to go. > > And I agree with you about The Man: no one likes The Man. Have you forgotten that YOU ARE THE MAN, MAN? I think this might be a related rant - when you reach a door at the same time as someone coming in so you hold the door open for them, and then a stream of 20 people all come in, all expecting you to hold the door for them, too. Jerks. What I like to do is start another door at sporting events. There is a whole bank of doors (probably eight or so), and people only going one way, but people will only use one door because no one wants to make the effort (:rolleyes:) to pull open another one. Once you open another door, people will start using it then because people are, indeed, sheep. ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-two-doors-for-a-reason-dont-use-the-left-door/570933/46 "2011-02-11T18:28:01Z")
> [@Smeghead](#): > > You could try not being a pussy. Cat fight, mrow! ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-two-doors-for-a-reason-dont-use-the-left-door/570933/47 "2011-02-11T18:52:03Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > Have you forgotten that YOU ARE THE MAN, MAN? > > I think this might be a related rant - when you reach a door at the same time as someone coming in so you hold the door open for them, and then a stream of 20 people all come in, all expecting you to hold the door for them, too. Jerks. > > What I like to do is start another door at sporting events. There is a whole bank of doors (probably eight or so), and people only going one way, but people will only use one door because no one wants to make the effort (:rolleyes:) to pull open another one. Once you open another door, people will start using it then because people are, indeed, sheep. It’s not that they won’t make the effort but that they’re afraid that the door they try might be locked and everyone will see them make a _futile_ effort. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-two-doors-for-a-reason-dont-use-the-left-door/570933/48 "2011-02-11T19:02:30Z")
This is offtopic, but I wanted to tell **Giraffe** that he was right, and I was wrong. If not the thread where he admitted to trolling, but that one where he actually obviously understood you has convinced me. On topic: I don’t care which door you use, as long as you allow room for people going the opposite direction to go in. I’ve never seen a place where there were so many people coming and going that a specific rule was necessary, any more than I’ve been somewhere where someone was walking on the left side when traffic was actually high. ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-two-doors-for-a-reason-dont-use-the-left-door/570933/49 "2011-02-11T19:18:47Z")
I admitted to trolling once, but most of my topics are genuine ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-two-doors-for-a-reason-dont-use-the-left-door/570933/50 "2011-02-11T19:52:57Z")
The fun is in guessing which ones? ---
**Author:** ![TravisFromOR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cc9497/32.png) [@TravisFromOR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TravisFromOR)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-two-doors-for-a-reason-dont-use-the-left-door/570933/51 "2011-02-11T19:59:58Z")
> [@EvilTOJ](#): > > I used to fuck with people that way in high school. If I got to class early but the teacher wasn’t inside, I’d just stand outside the door instead of waiting in the classroom. People would always just stand around in a group outside, and rarely would someone else check the door. You, sir, are my hero. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-two-doors-for-a-reason-dont-use-the-left-door/570933/52 "2011-02-11T20:56:09Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > What do you think of people who walk on the left side of the hallway A, and then take a left into adjoining hallway B, so that people who are walking on the right side of hallway B are suddenly and unexpectedly confronted with a person coming around the corner at a rapid pace? It doesn’t much matter which side they walk on in the straight part of the hallway; the problem arises when they cut to the inside during a left turn. And it pisses me off. I work in a lab, where people are often carrying equipment around that is expensive, heavy, delicate, or all three. And then these other idiots come stomping around blind corners at a brisk walk, and then get surprised when they nearly mow somebody down. Cripes, we even have mirrors mounted near the ceiling so you can get an idea of what’s coming around the corner. Too bad we can’t make people use them. ---
**Author:** ![TravisFromOR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cc9497/32.png) [@TravisFromOR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TravisFromOR)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2011, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-two-doors-for-a-reason-dont-use-the-left-door/570933/53 "2011-02-11T21:02:44Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > It doesn’t much matter which side they walk on in the straight part of the hallway; the problem arises when they cut to the inside during a left turn. > > And it pisses me off. I work in a lab, where people are often carrying equipment around that is expensive, heavy, delicate, or all three. And then these other idiots come stomping around blind corners at a brisk walk, and then get surprised when they nearly mow somebody down. Cripes, we even have mirrors mounted near the ceiling so you can get an idea of what’s coming around the corner. Too bad we can’t make people use them. That would mean making people aware of their surroundings. If people are aware of their surrounding inside, they might apply it when they’re outside as well–then the muggers and pickpockets would starve to death. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-two-doors-for-a-reason-dont-use-the-left-door/570933/54 "2011-02-14T01:31:13Z")
OTOH, if you can clearly see that no one is approaching the opposite door, why not use both? ---
**Author:** ![xoferew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/e9a140/32.png) [@xoferew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xoferew)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-two-doors-for-a-reason-dont-use-the-left-door/570933/55 "2011-02-14T01:36:51Z")
This is like when there are two identical bathrooms, one for women, and one for men, and each contains one toilet and sink and locking door, and there is a long line for the women’s bathroom and the men’s bathroom stands empty. Or… maybe it’s not like that at all. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-two-doors-for-a-reason-dont-use-the-left-door/570933/56 "2011-02-14T02:32:36Z")
I’ve thought about making a similar thread for a while. Where I work, there’s a blind corner coming out of an elevator bank. I’ll walk on the right, as God intended, and at least every other day go around the corner and almost bump into some oblivious asshole who is walking on the left. Later on, there are two sets of stairs next to one another, separated by a large railing in the middle. I go up the right side, as God intended, but there will always be some asshole going down that side who gets in my way, or some jackass going up the left bumping into the people who are doing it right. It’s not that difficult, people. Really. Stick to your right. ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-two-doors-for-a-reason-dont-use-the-left-door/570933/57 "2011-02-14T16:07:05Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > It’s not that difficult, people. Really. Stick to your right. Bloody Yanks. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2011, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-two-doors-for-a-reason-dont-use-the-left-door/570933/58 "2011-02-14T16:35:53Z")
This weekend I went to a different Walmart than I usually go to and the enter door was on the right and the exit on the left ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2011, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-two-doors-for-a-reason-dont-use-the-left-door/570933/59 "2011-02-18T14:38:21Z")
> [@Rumor\_Watkins](#): > > I’m pretty sure they stand on the right, pass on the left, at least on the Tube. Which is doubly fucked up for them. This is true. It comes from road safety. We’re taught not to have our back to traffic so we walk down a road on the right hand side so as to face oncoming traffic and have the rear stuff pass us safely by. And of course, by letting you colonials kick us out we are kind of the blame for Everything. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2011, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-two-doors-for-a-reason-dont-use-the-left-door/570933/60 "2011-02-19T01:15:53Z")
Don’t be a dick to **PSXer** , he’s totally in the right in this case. People who don’t know enough to stay to the right ought to have the fuck beaten out of them until they wise up. Exceptions are made for foreigners who shouldn’t be expected to know better (at least not immediately), but most of the offenders have lived in this country since birth. If you notice that most everyone else seems to be able to walk down a hallway without people “getting in their way” on a regular basis, consider that they’re not the ones darting about at random like brain damaged squirrels contemplating scurrying out into traffic. I don’t know if the 1% of you who act this way were home-schooled or simply missed a lot of school while in grades K-2 so you missed out on teachers trying to teach you how to walk properly, but you’d think that you’d have figured it out by the time someone allowed you out in public alone. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/there-are-two-doors-for-a-reason-dont-use-the-left-door/570933.md?page=2)