For the love of zigzagging

Here's a study for people with nothing better to do...

Scientists have found that while a straight line is the most direct route between two points, when it comes to creating paths, the zigzag is a better model to get people up hills.

Um, duh?

American and British researchers have apparently created a mathematical model to prove this.

According to a story on RedOrbit:

“I think zigzagging is something people do intuitively,” said Marcos Llobera, a University of Washington assistant professor of anthropology who is a landscape archaeologist. “People recognize that zigzagging, or switchbacks, help but they don’t realize why they came about.”

But wait - there's more:

“You get a different pattern if people are going up or down and this may lead to the emergence of shortcuts," he said in the story. "Walking downhill generally takes less energy except for braking. We would expect to see different paths going up and down, but what we end up with is a compromise and shortcuts aren’t as apparent.”

Thank god we finally have the truth.

Next time I drink too much, I'm going to use this as an excuse when I'm zigzagging down the street. :P

Here's the full story:

Straight Line Not Always the Best Route

Cheers,
-SueVo