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Pipe Dreams: Subway Metrocard Swiping For Lefties
By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 9, 2012
Modified Apr 9, 2012
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By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 9, 2012
Modified Apr 9, 2012
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Inspired by an April Fool's Day post about left-handed subway turnstiles, NY Magazine wondered whether it was "such a crazy idea after all." Any crazier than the MTA actually settling its negotiations with the TWU?
One left-hander admits, "The first few times I took the subway, I tried switching my MetroCard to my right hand... But I couldn’t hold it steady enough, so I always got the ‘Please swipe again’ message. I have to use my dominant hand, even though that means doing this weird cross-body stretch," and a New School psychology professor Daniel Cassanto adds, “Some scientists even consider left-handedness a mild birth defect, since it may be caused in the womb when a mother feels distressed, or when oxygen is cut off during the birth process."
About 10% of the population is left-handed, including Mayor Bloomberg, and Cassanto says that the MTA could earn the good will of those riders if there were left-handed turnstiles. But what about those high-entrance and exit turnstiles (HEET, aka the "baby back ribs of death")—would we need separate left-handed HEETs? It's bad enough that people are confused about which way to go in those!
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left-handed
metrocard
pipe dreams
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Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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