Why do people stand in line? Or is it “on line”? Of course it isn’t. But the question remains. We talk with Dave Fagundes, scholar of, among many other things, roller derby, who has written the cutting edge article on why we form lines even without laws requiring them. Discussion ranges from cronuts to rock bands to carpool lanes to phone apps.

This show’s links:


Dave Fagundes’s faculty profile and writing
The decision in Armstrong v. Exceptional Child Center and Steve Vladeck’s reaction, Steve’s having discussed this case in episode 38
David Fagundes, Waiting in Line: Norms, Markets, and the Law
Episodes 31 and 32, in which there are links and discussion concerning the “knee defender” controversy and airline seat reclining
David Fagundes, Talk Derby to Me: Intellectual Property Norms Governing Roller Derby Pseudonyms
A stachexchange thread about standing “in line” vs. “on line”
The word “spendy” dates from 1911 at the latest
How Y’all, Youse and You Guys Talk, a quiz to see your personal dialect map
Hella Blitzgeral, roller derbyist
Lisa Bernstein, Opting out of the Legal System: Extralegal Contractual Relations in the Diamond Industry
Robert Ellickson, Of Coase and Cattle: Dispute Resolution Among Neighbors in Shasta County (and more in his book, Order Without Law)
Philosophy Bites: Lisa Bortolotti on Irrationality
Louis Kaplow and Steven Shavell, Fairness versus Welfare: Notes on the Pareto Principle, Preferences, and Distributive Justice
Leon Mann, Queue Culture: The Waiting Line as a Social System
About cronuts
Carol Rose, Possession as the Origin of Property
Thomas Merrill and Henry Smith, Optimal Standardization in the Law of Property: The Numerus Clausus Principle
An example of a “queuing app”
About the “tit for tat” strategy and its connection to human nature in Robert Axelrod, The Evolution of Cooperation
An excerpt on social norms from Dan Ariely’s Predictably Irrational
The excerpt on videphones from David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest; see also Infinite Summer
Michael Sandel, What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets (his Tanner Lecture)
Lior Strahilevitz, How Changes in Property Regimes Influence Social Norms: Commodifying California's Carpool Lanes
David Fagundes, The Pink’s Paradox: Excessively Long Food Lines as Overly Strong Signals of Quality, referring to Pink’s Hot Dogs; see also Sally’s Apizza
The set of policies for “Krzyzewskiville,” the grassy lawn at Duke where students line up for days to get basketball tickets
Catherine Eade, Diplomatic (Snow) Storm Erupts After American Ambassador to Switzerland Criticises Its Ski Lift Queues
About power distance index
John Wiseman, Aspects of Social Organisation in a Nigerian Petrol Queue
Lior Strahilevitz, Charismatic Code, Social Norms, and the Emergence of Cooperation on the File-Swapping Networks (discussing reciprocity cascades)
Dan Kahan, The Logic of Reciprocity: Trust, Collective Action, and Law
Felix Oberholzer-Gee, A Market for Time: Fairness and Efficiency in Waiting Lines
Stanley Milgram, Response to Intrusion into Waiting Lines
Special Guest: Dave Fagundes.