Would people choose to climb rather than take an escalator if the stairs were more fun? While this may sound like a no-brainer to kids, it is not as clear-cut with adults. Hence the folks at car company Volkswagen, decided to try this fun stunt and the results, as most kids would say - were quite predictable.
The experiment was conducted at the Odenplan station in Stockholm, Sweden's capital city, where workers toiled all night to transform the staid subway stairs into a magical working piano keyboard.
Now by simply walking up the stairs, everybody could make amazing music. They soon noticed that commuters who normally headed straight for the escalator, paused for a minute, intrigued by the new stairs and then actually climbed them, some even jumping from one stair to the other. A two-day observation of the commuter's behavior revealed a sixty six percent increase in usage of the stairs - A no-brainer as most kids would say.
The company calls the phenomenon, 'fun theory' - using fun to change people's behavior for the better', and plans to conduct many more similar experiments, which they will post on a soon-to-be-launched website called 'fun theory.com'. We for one can't wait to see what they come up with next!
sources: dailymail.co.uk,senselost.com