# What was the first thing people stood in line for days for? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 9, 2019, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-thing-people-stood-in-line-for-days-for/844608 "2019-12-09T19:11:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2019, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-thing-people-stood-in-line-for-days-for/844608/41 "2019-12-18T17:41:16Z")
nm, the board acted up ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-thing-people-stood-in-line-for-days-for/844608/42 "2019-12-19T20:48:30Z")
“For days” kind of limits things. I don’t recall hearing stories of people camping out for things before the _Star Wars_ sequels. It wouldn’t surprise me to find out that fans of the Greek Olympics would get there fairly early to get the best seats. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2019, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-thing-people-stood-in-line-for-days-for/844608/43 "2019-12-19T20:55:30Z")
[Here](https://archives.rpi.edu/blog/2009/09/08/at-the-beginning-of-the-hockey-line/)’s an article about the line for season hockey tickets at my alma mater. In 1972, people lined up about 12 hours in advance, while the following year, people lined up a few days in advance. (The record, by the way, is 170 days.) ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-thing-people-stood-in-line-for-days-for/844608/44 "2019-12-20T00:51:10Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > That’s what 2+ holers were for. IIRC the town was Kings Landing NB. The St John’s river was dammed around there and historic buildings from the vicinity rescued from rising waters. A house belonging to a provincial chief justice featured a 7-holer out back. The entire Supreme Court could adjudicate cases whilst pooping in comradeship. No waiting on judicial delays, hey? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-thing-people-stood-in-line-for-days-for/844608/45 "2019-12-20T02:07:58Z")
Ben Franklin’s funeral was America’s first big public mourning. [20,000 people showed up](https://www.ushistory.org/franklin/philadelphia/grave.htm). I’m guessing there had to be a line at some point. Abraham Lincoln’s funeral train made stops in multiple cities, where the coffin was put on public display. [There were reports of lines as long as five hours in some cities.](https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/president-lincolns-funeral-train) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-thing-people-stood-in-line-for-days-for/844608/46 "2019-12-20T04:53:32Z")
The qualifying clause “for days” makes this a modern phenomena. The first case may have occurred less than 100 years ago. Before that there was no one to enforce the rules of waiting in line for that long. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-thing-people-stood-in-line-for-days-for/844608/47 "2019-12-20T05:25:33Z")
> [@ZonexandScout](#): > > I’m surprised that nobody has mentioned the Oklahoma Land Rush in 1889. In a similar vein and near identical time, the Klondike Gold Rush 1897-1899 featured people queuing for all manner of things to get there, get licenced, get provisions etc ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Wayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4bbf92/32.png) [@Charlie\_Wayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Wayne)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2019, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-thing-people-stood-in-line-for-days-for/844608/48 "2019-12-20T08:22:40Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Really? If bread was in short supply, why didn’t they just eat cake?😕 When bread is in short supply, people can skip the step in the baking process where they add yeast and wait for it to kick in until the bread rises. That shortens the time required to bake the bread so people can bake more of it in a given amount of time. Unfortunately, the bread winds up tasting crummy that way. P.S. By “crummy” I don’t mean it makes a lot of crumbs. I mean it is less appetizing. ---
**Author:** ![nelliebly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nelliebly/32/5422_2.png) [@nelliebly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nelliebly)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-thing-people-stood-in-line-for-days-for/844608/49 "2019-12-21T06:53:56Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > But even then, you didn’t go to the phone company to get one. You went to a payphone and called the phone company business office and scheduled an appointment to have an installer come out and install a new phone (or remove your old phone). The current modular jack that you can simply plug and unplug a cord to/from began to be deployed in the Bell System starting in the 1970s. Before then, they had to send an installer with a screwdriver, wire strippers, and wires out to attach or detach a phone. > > Before what is commonly called the “RJ11” jack came into use, there was a brief period when a 4-prong connector that looked like a wall wart was available, but it didn’t get much use in residential installations. And let me add that the princess phone didn’t debut until 1959, and the slim-line phone after that. I don’t know how old the OP is, but my parents didn’t have either choice for quite awhile after they set up housekeeping. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2019, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-thing-people-stood-in-line-for-days-for/844608/50 "2019-12-21T07:10:10Z")
> [@EinsteinsHund](#): > > I could imagine that already before Star Wars, people had been standing in lines for concert tickets for very popular bands for days. Sorry, no cite, just a hunch. > ETA: I dimly remember a scene from a documentary of David Bowies “Ziggy Stardust” tour with fans camping out in sleeping backs in front the ticket office. That must have been in 1972. There was a classic wirephoto (that I have never been able to find online) of a box office full of people buying tickets for a Grand Funk Railroad concert. They were packed in so tight that after people bought their tickets, they were passed out of the box office over the heads of the people who were waiting. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-the-first-thing-people-stood-in-line-for-days-for/844608.md?page=2)