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The Nuttonbutton

The truth has finally been revealed. You know those pedestrian crosswalk buttons, the ones that supposedly activate the traffic light to allow you across a busy street? Today's NY Times reveals that the vast majority (in NYC, at least) don't work.

Millions of dutiful city residents and tourists have pushed them over the years, thinking it would help speed them in their journeys. Many trusting souls might have believed they actually worked...By the late 1980's, most of the buttons had been deactivated, their steel exteriors masking the lie within. But city officials say they do not remember ever publishing an obituary, and the white and black signs stayed up, many of them looking as new and official as ever.

Is this some kind of sophisticated conspiracy to sooth and placate the pedestrian rabble? Is it a plot by auto-makers and oil companies to favor auto traffic in the downtown of major cities? The city claims that they are saving money by leaving the buttons in place, removing them only during major reconstruction projects. Either way, this revelation adds a whole new dimension to one's street crossing decision making process. Is it really worth the effort to push that button?