# What would happen if we took a trip and only made left turns? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 7, 2006, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-took-a-trip-and-only-made-left-turns/355718 "2006-05-07T01:37:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-took-a-trip-and-only-made-left-turns/355718/1 "2006-05-07T01:37:58Z")
You’d go in a circle dumbass! The best you could hope for would be a funky spiral. I hate commercial. ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-took-a-trip-and-only-made-left-turns/355718/2 "2006-05-07T01:38:59Z")
I hate _that_ commercial… ---
**Author:** ![tiny\_ham](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@tiny\_ham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tiny_ham)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-took-a-trip-and-only-made-left-turns/355718/3 "2006-05-07T01:41:07Z")
I thought this too, until I realized that they didn’t say “EVERY LEFT TURN” They were picking and choosing left turns at will. And I’ve taken some roadtrips in my day, but I’ve never encountered a heard of buffalo AND an automotive stonehenge in one day. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-took-a-trip-and-only-made-left-turns/355718/4 "2006-05-07T01:47:19Z")
Well, not necessarily. As has been pointed out, you don’t have to take **every** left turn. So you could theoretically get pretty much anywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-took-a-trip-and-only-made-left-turns/355718/5 "2006-05-07T01:52:31Z")
_I_ think you’d end up in Cafe Society. (If you’d like to take another left and go to MPSIMS, let me know.) ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-took-a-trip-and-only-made-left-turns/355718/6 "2006-05-07T01:53:47Z")
Sounds annoying, but this thread is taking a sharp left turn into **Cafe Society**. It could go several places: ranting in the **Pit** , most-hated commercials poll in **IMHO** , general discussion in **Cafe Society** or **MPSIMS** … I’m moving it into **Cafe Society** because of the television aspect. Besides, it’ll make a refreshing change from comic book characters and Star Trek. Veb ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-took-a-trip-and-only-made-left-turns/355718/7 "2006-05-07T01:56:32Z")
_That_ was one of the eerie examples of a simul-move. Thought I was hallucinating when the redirect led me right to where I intended to send it. Damn that hyper Giraffe anyway. What’s he angling for, another mug? grumble, grumble, grumble. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-took-a-trip-and-only-made-left-turns/355718/8 "2006-05-07T02:10:01Z")
> [@TVeblen](#): > > Damn that hyper Giraffe anyway. What’s he angling for, another mug? grumble, grumble, grumble. 😃 You think they might give me another mug if I move enough threads? Two mugs would mean twice the prestige. ---
**Author:** ![rayh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@rayh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayh)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-took-a-trip-and-only-made-left-turns/355718/9 "2006-05-07T02:35:44Z")
> [@TVeblen](#): > > _That_ was one of the eerie examples of a simul-move. Thought I was hallucinating when the redirect led me right to where I intended to send it. > > Damn that hyper Giraffe anyway. What’s he angling for, another mug? grumble, grumble, grumble. Whatever you do, don’t tell **KGS** about this. It’s proof I tell you, PROOF!!! ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-took-a-trip-and-only-made-left-turns/355718/10 "2006-05-07T03:13:49Z")
Out of curiosity… what was the commercial for? I don’t think I’ve seen it. And - this reminds me of an odd ‘cop car and criminal’ game I remember, that you can play with a few counters on grid paper. The cop car travels faster than the pedestrian criminal, but can only go straight ahead or turn left, while the criminal can move in any direction he pleases. There are a bunch of different starting positions, some of which the criminal can always evade the car from, normally by dodging just far enough to the right of the cop car’s current line of travel that it would need to circle around, giving the criminal once again time to come up with an escape plan. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-took-a-trip-and-only-made-left-turns/355718/11 "2006-05-07T03:25:53Z")
> [@Giraffe](#): > > I think you’d end up in Cafe Society. (If you’d like to take another left and go to MPSIMS, let me know.) > [@TVeblen](#): > > I’m moving it into **Cafe Society** because of the television aspect. Besides, it’ll make a refreshing change from comic book characters and Star Trek. I’d welcome any mod (and teeming millions) feedback to [post=7357118]this post[/post]. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-took-a-trip-and-only-made-left-turns/355718/12 "2006-05-07T04:08:38Z")
> [@rayh](#): > > Whatever you do, don’t tell **KGS** about this. It’s proof I tell you, PROOF!!! Knew I’d find you here. 😛 I don’t think it would be that hard, at least in heavily populated metro areas. If I had to get to my grandmother’s house, the only tricky part would be getting on the freeway – it’s a right turn cloverleaf, and while there’s another entrance on the left, no turn is allowed there (can we disobey NO LEFT TURN signs?) After that, I’d just have to take one exit late, followed by a roundabout route that reaches her street from the north, not the south. I’m assuming, you’re allowed to make a right turn, if that’s your only choice? How would you handle U-turns? ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-took-a-trip-and-only-made-left-turns/355718/13 "2006-05-07T04:17:38Z")
> [@Ellis Dee](#): > > I’d welcome any mod (and teeming millions) feedback to [post=7357118]this post[/post]. What additional comment do you want, **Ellis Dee**? I already noted that the thread could fit several places. This seemed like the most likely location, to two different mods, based on how the thread was moseying along. If it takes a turn (left, undoubtedly), then it can always be whisked elsewhere as appropriate. Thread placement is not The End Of The World As We Know It. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-took-a-trip-and-only-made-left-turns/355718/14 "2006-05-07T04:31:41Z")
> [@TVeblen](#): > > Thread placement is not The End Of The World As We Know It. However, if we wanted to discuss The End Of The World As We Know It, it would be difficult to determine which forum to post it in. Do we want to ask about it as a GQ (“Is the world ending? Cites?”), argue a GD (“It’s the end of the world as we know it!!!”), muse about R.E.M. in Cafe Society, go to IMHO for opinions on just _when and why_ the world is going to end, or Pit it (The Goddamn World Is Ending, and I STILL can’t get a latte for less than $3.50!)? Surely it wouldn’t be MPSIMS, because it’s not pointless, unless you’re a nihilist, and it’s not mundane… wait a second: > [@Merriam-Webster's](#): > > Main Entry: mun·dane > Pronunciation: “m&n-'dAn, 'm&n-” > Function: adjective > > 1 : of, relating to, or characteristic of the world Ah man, I’m so confused. ---
**Author:** ![Mesquite-oh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@Mesquite-oh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mesquite-oh)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-took-a-trip-and-only-made-left-turns/355718/15 "2006-05-07T05:23:54Z")
> [@CynicalGabe](#): > > You’d go in a circle dumbass! > The best you could hope for would be a funky spiral. > > I hate commercial. I’ve never seen this commercial, but I did see a documentary about how a late night talk show is developed (Maybe Jimmy Kimmel?) and one of the writers claimed he never took a left turn. If he came out of an office door and wanted to go to his left, he would simply turn right in a small circle until he was facing the “left” direction. It was weird to watch him navigate around his building. ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-took-a-trip-and-only-made-left-turns/355718/16 "2006-05-07T05:52:19Z")
Well, I don’t know about anyone else, but seeing as I live in the back of a condo complex with one-way driving lanes, and have to turn _right_ to follow the driving lane through the parking lot to the street, I’d end up crashed into the fence when I tried to either turn left or go straight at the turn… ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-took-a-trip-and-only-made-left-turns/355718/17 "2006-05-07T06:55:38Z")
> [@TVeblen](#): > > What additional comment do you want, **Ellis Dee**? Nothing in this thread; I agree this thread belonged here and was moved appropriately. I was hoping for comments in the thread I linked. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-took-a-trip-and-only-made-left-turns/355718/18 "2006-05-07T11:38:41Z")
Just remember: Two wrongs don’t make a right… … but three lefts do. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-took-a-trip-and-only-made-left-turns/355718/19 "2006-05-07T13:10:49Z")
> [@Turek](#): > > Just remember: > > Two wrongs don’t make a right… > > … but three lefts do. > > 😃 [pedantic]Only if the combined angles exceed 180 degrees[/pedantic] ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2006, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-took-a-trip-and-only-made-left-turns/355718/20 "2006-05-07T19:14:36Z")
> [@tiny ham](#): > > And I’ve taken some roadtrips in my day, but I’ve never encountered a heard of buffalo AND an automotive stonehenge in one day. Lessee…[Carhenge](http://www.carhenge.com/) is in Nebraska, and I have no idea where buffalo are…Wyoming, probably. > [@Turek](#): > > Just remember: > > Two wrongs don’t make a right… > > … but three lefts do. Two wrongs don’t make a right, but two Wrights make an airplane! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-we-took-a-trip-and-only-made-left-turns/355718.md?page=2)