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Friday Fun Thread for October 16, 2026

Be advised: this thread is not for serious in-depth discussion of weighty topics (we have a link for that), this thread is not for anything Culture War related. This thread is for Fun. You got jokes? Share 'em. You got silly questions? Ask 'em.

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You can eliminate delays are current levels of traffic with current infrastructure.

People are willing to spend a roughly constant amount of time driving to things. If you're willing to drive 30 minutes to a fancy restaurant for a night out in a congested (10 km/hr) city, you can choose from the nearest 10 places, and the averages say it'll be about 7 km away. If you're making the same decision in a fast (50 km/hr) city, you can choose from the nearest 250 places, and the averages say it'll be about 35 km away.

The second city draws five times as much traffic from you going to dinner, and the trip durations are identical. The improved traffic flow shows up in your restaurant choice instead of the time you spend driving.

(There's probably a limit to this somewhere, but we haven't seen it much).