Having worked in China for a fair amount of time, I will say the most annoying thing is, nobody bothers lining up. Any time there are a number people waiting to do something, at a concession stand, getting on a bus, eating at a restaurant, or just buying subway tickets, there's always room for mobbing. Usually, I'll just wait a few seconds longer as these guys jump in front of me, hand money to the cashier, and get their item. Sometimes, if I'm in a hurry, I'll play some Chinese Pinball. What is Chinese Pinball, you ask? Why, since I am taller and stronger, I use this maneuver to politely shove the interloper out of the way. I used to use such phrases as "excuse me", or "learn how to line up", but now I just stay silent. Am I becoming more Chinese? Perhaps. If the iPhone ever makes it to China, people will get trampled to death.

I dared to venture to an amusement park in Egypt, a country that definitely does not believe in the concept of the queue. I was quite excited to see that the park management had taken proper precautions to prevent this ungracious behavior. To discourage line jumping, the waist-high rails used to organize the masses into a line prior to a ride were fortified by seven-foot high chain link fences. Much to my dismay however, these did little to deter my fellow park-goers, who deftly climbed over the barriers to cut to front of the five-person queue, far beyond my hand's reach. Which was ready to politely tap their shoulders in tandem with a frown of displeasure, of course. I guess the point of the story is that I had to wait 30 minutes for some dumb whirly ride.