Head down 9th Street NW south of the convention center, and there's those damn dedicated bus lanes. I'm all for supporting public transit and such, but riddle me this: How are you supposed to make a right turn from a street on which there's a bus lane on the right?
If the lane's lines are dashed, [...]
Why is the new Metro lady's spiel so wordy? By the time she gets done telling us “Step back to allow the doors to close” the doors could have closed, and we could have been at the next station.
Verbosity equals authoritativeness, at least according to Metro spokesperson Taryn McNeil.
While the old announcements were direct and [...]
Why are D.C.'s fire hydrants green? Doesn't it make harder for firefighters to find them? It certainly makes it harder for me to notice them when I'm trying to find a parking spot.
The majority of the District's fire hydrants have been the same shade of green for more than 100 years, according to Louis Jarvis, [...]
A few weeks ago I was transferring from the Green Line to the Red Line at Gallery Place. The sign on the train said its final destination was Silver Spring, but when I got on the operator said the next stop was Metro Center. Sure enough, the next stop was Judiciary Square. Why doesn't [...]
The other day I was following directions that directed me to take Argonne Street NW to Harvard Street NW. The only problem was that when I got to the end of Argonne I found myself at the intersection of Harvard Street NW and Harvard Street NW. What gives? How can a street intersect with itself?
According [...]
Why do D.C. police cruisers have “running” flashing lights? Doesn't that just give them away? And why are they white in the front and blue and red in the back?
A few years ago, D.C. Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey visited Israel. After he landed, one of the first things he noticed was that the Israeli [...]
Whenever I watch a Nats game it's hard not to notice that the entire outfield wall is covered in what appear to be fans that are not powered, but spin whenever there's a breeze—what the hell are those and why are they there?
The fans lackadaisically spinning behind Nats outfielder Alfonso Soriano’s back are a [...]
Why is the Iwo Jima Memorial in Virginia? And why is there a copyright at the bottom of the statue? If copyrights are necessary for memorials, why don't they all have them?
The “monumental” view of the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument and U.S. Capitol is why the National Parks Service decided on the Virginia location for [...]
Posted by Zak Stambor
How does Metro calculate train arrival times? It's definitely not accurate—I've timed it!
Metro knows their passenger information display system monitors (PIDS) don't match the actual train arrival times. Rather, the signs show Metro's train schedule.
As long as Metro trains remain on automatic control (i.e., the driver doesn't actually take over the controls) [...]
I was watching TV over the weekend, early morning, when all the channels went black with white lettering. They do this routine weekly test thing with a horn honking, but this wasn't that. The horn honked, but then I read the screen and it was an Amber-alert-type deal. It told the areas that were on [...]
I've heard that the District's traffic circles aren't roundabouts—what's the difference? And what's the biggest circle in the city? And the smallest?
D.C.'s circular intersections are considered traffic circles since they feature stop signs or signals and give priority to entering vehicles. Roundabouts force vehicles entering the intersection to yield. They also use both pavement markings [...]
Why is it so hard to figure out how much a trip on a Metro train will cost, while buses are a flat rate? Why don't trains either have a set rate—like those in Chicago and New York—or a simple zone system—like in London?
Subway fares correspond to the distances that passengers travel. Despite being confusing, [...]
Why, oh, why is D.C. such a bicycle-unfriendly city? It's small, bikeable, traffic is congested, etc., yet every time I ride my bike outside the paths in Rock Creek Park, I feel as though I must have a death wish! There are a few bike lanes here and there, but they're mostly unheeded (with cars [...]
What exactly do the “drug-free zone” signs mean? Aren't illegal drugs illegal everywhere? Who puts them up and why?
It's true; there's no place to legally buy, sell, or use drugs in the District. But “drug-free zones”—a police designation that lasts up to five days—are especially bad places to take part in drug-related activities since they [...]
Most of the District is a no-fly zone, with the exception of military aircraft, right? So how do hospital-to-hospital emergency transport helicopters fit in? They must have to fly over the Mall and major federal buildings all the time. Do they have to take a circuitous route to miss those buildings? Are they a potential [...]
