A formal study of the psychology of clowns and comedians found that most felt it was their duty to make light of terrible situations, thus shielding humanity from the bad of the universe (though they said it a bit differently). Interestingly, this is exactly the role of the earliest court jesters, who were thought to magically intercede on a ruler’s behalf against potentially malignant forces of all kinds. If the food taster was a shield against physical poison, the jester was a shield against psychological poison.
Psy-Op: Moving Walkway
Beware the moving walkway that isn’t moving. Because you’ve been on moving walkways before, your body’s learned to quickly and automatically adjust its baseline for the acceleration of stepping aboard. If you come across a stopped walkway—even if you consciously recognize that it’s stopped—it’s difficult to force your neurons not to adjust for the expected acceleration. And so you trip over your toes.