We voted early in the last Presidential election — at the county court house in Charles Town. We stood in line for a long time to vote…. I’d say the line was two or three blocks long.
Well, that got me to wondering — when did people first start standing in line for things?
I did some extensive research and found one study that indicated that the average person will spend 10 years in line over their lifetime. That sounds a little high to me, but a number of sources say Americans spend a staggering 37 billion hours waiting in line every year.
Usually when I think of lines, the DMV immediately comes to mind — seems like there’s always a line there. One pretty much has to stand in line at the DMV, but I guess some lines people stand in voluntarily. I’ve seen lines of people waiting to get into restaurants, concerts and to buy the latest iPhones. I think basically human beings hate standing in lines, but in some lines, people seem to love being in front of them.
It seems like the modern concept of lines, or queues, started in revolutionary France and made its way to English shores around 1837. The first written description of people standing in line is found in The French Revolution: A History by Thomas Carlyle. Along with descriptions of the head chopping by guillotine and street mobs, Carlyle described the queues in Paris —at bakery shops, in a time of massive famine and bread shortages among the peasants. The book also discussed the political aspect of queues. The slogan of the French Revolution was “Liberty, Equality, fraternity,” so to patiently wait one’s turn was to hold everyone as equals. In America, we believe that all are created equal, so we, too, stand in line.
The British have long had a reputation for embracing queueing. The idea that the British are willing, patient and even eager to stand in line dates to World War II propaganda during a time of shortages and rationing — and is a myth. In fact, queues were often tense and politically charged that had to be policed in case of riots.
One theory has it that “queuing” came about because leaders decided they had to deal with the disorderliness of their urban centers. Simply stated, they wanted to tame the crowd. They created straight, well-organized streets. Sidewalks were built to separate pedestrians from traffic and encourage them to walk in a straight line. Police forces were told to “keep people in line.” Also, over the years, schools have played a role — kids are taught not to cut in line, and mind the rules.
Interestingly, there have been a number of studies that focused on lines. The studies all revealed a social system in miniature — complete with competition and cliques. The studies found that querers at the front formed alliances, creating rules that allowed people to leave while others protected their spots. People talked more to each other the closer to the front of a line they were. They cooperated and established disciplinary rules, shared interests, played games, prepared food, told stories and did favors for each other. When they fought, they resolved disputes, sought leadership and conferred authority.
I found a long article about the 2008 Olympic Games held in Beijing. For a year prior to the start of the games, the Chinese government’s Office of Capital Ethics Development ran a campaign explaining that public spitting and littering were discouraged and thousands of pamphlets were handed out educating the citizens about proper “street etiquette.”
The Chinese character for the numeral 11 resembles two people standing in line. The ethics office put up signs that read in Chinese: “I wait in line and am cultured. I display courtesy and am happy.” and “It’s civilized to queue, it’s glorious to be polite.”
So people have been, and will continue, standing in line for a very long time. I don’t consider myself an especially impatient person, but standing in a slow-moving line is one of those small, maddening aspects of life that drives me crazy. Maybe since my extensive research has given be more insight to lines, I’ll be more patient.
Nah — the older I get, fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.
— 30 —