Ever wonder why the other line always moves faster? This book has the answer

'Why Does the Other Line Always Move Faster: The Myths and Misery, Secrets and Psychology of Waiting in Line,' by David Andrews.

Why does the other line move faster than yours? This is a question explored, and answered in a new book which used science and history to study standing in line.

In "Why Does the Other Line Always Move Faster: The Myths and Misery, Secrets and Psychology of Waiting in Line," by David Andrews, the science of why people queue up is studied.

The author, David Andrews, 33, notes that people did not always politely stand in line in the United States. In fact, standing in line is more of an urban tradition, one taught in America from early childhood on.

Lines may have their roots in the French Revolution, a period in the late 18th century when the masses became obsessed with equality. There is perhaps no ore fair way to distribute a good or a service than by having people line up, and those who are willing to invest the earliest, receive the first reward.

This patriotic trend, to see all people as equals and to queue up, spread to both England and the United States in the early 19th century.

As cities developed in America and became home to large urban populations, lines were efficient and effective ways to manage crowds and maintain order, while keeping foot and horse traffic flowing. Schools began to teach the discipline and soon every generation learned about waiting its turn and being patient.

Of course, this orderly way of doing things is often been bemoaned, because it imposes a form of industrial order to human activity, yet we see that activity as essential to fairness and politeness. Few Americans today could stomach the chaos they would feel as a result of being in a crowd, with each person striving for himself.

Lines of course, have taken modern twists. At busy restaurants, pagers hold diners' places in line and the internet metes out tickets to those who arrive first. At Disneyland and other theme parks, virtual placeholders can be used to allow some people to cut into line unobtrusively.

Lines are associated with civilization and order, and Andrews talks about how they have been used in China and elsewhere to enforce discipline and order. Indeed, the modern world owes much of its efficiency to the line, from the assembly line to the line for the theme park, and perhaps, as the book suggests, we are better off for it.