The Orange Cone Theory

An automobile weighs in at 2,000-3,000+ pounds, with some coming in at two tons or more.

And the orange cone? Probably no more than 5-10 pounds.

Yet the lowly orange cone holds complete dominance over us and our behemoths. Allow me to illustrate:

You're driving around the crowded mall parking lot, looking for that elusive open parking spot. Turning the corner on yet another row full of cars you see an open spot...and it is right by the entrance! Anxiously, you speed up to get there before someone else grabs it ahead of you. You're almost there, there's definitely no car parked there when you see....

...the dreaded orange cone! Right in the middle of the coveted parking spot. No construction going on, no open man-hole, no freshly painted lines in the open spot. No evidence of any kind for the need to block this particular spot. Yet, there it sits, the orange cone.

And what do you do? Pull into the parking spot with your 3,000 pound automobile, crushing the orange cone? Of course not. Even with no consequences, no fine or threat to have your car towed, you accept the power that the orange cone exerts over you and your conveyance. Having surrendered to it you drive away, meekly continuing your frustrating search for an open parking spot.

Thus, the theory of the orange cone.

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