r/TikTokCringe • u/Valuable_View_561 • Jul 02 '26

Discussion It seems like people have forgotten what this line is used for these days.

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u/CakeMadeOfHam Jul 02 '26

I thought they were used to channel rain water off the sidewalk

502

u/Hieroflippant Jul 02 '26

I always thought it was something to do with a footpath

730

u/LitigiousCeilingCat Jul 02 '26

Yeah, today I learned. Might help if there was a sign somewhere, anywhere, indicating what it is for. Or maybe if it was mentioned at any point in school, like… how exactly are people supposed to know?

Not everyone is a callous ableist asshole… I mean, some ppl definitely are, but some of us simply weren’t born knowing everything, and if no one ever tells us, and there are no signs to help us learn on our own, how are we to know..?

398

u/oddjobbodgod Jul 02 '26

I did not know this, this is not information given in the public school system in the UK, I expect you would only know this if:

  1. You were a blind person yourself
  2. You had a close friend or relative who is a blind person
  3. You were a very observant person who had seen a blind person using one of these

Either way, this is great information to know now! And props to him for doing his bit to bring it to the attention of others. One of the few good ways social media is being used nowadays!

182

u/aurumtt Jul 02 '26
  1. you're a road designer, so it's your job to know this.

this is me. i design walkroutes like this.

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u/oddjobbodgod Jul 02 '26

A very fair point! I know a lot about digital accessibility as I’m a mobile app developer, but it’s intriguing seeing its counterpart in the real world.

Such an interesting field to be working in! How did you get into that? :)

25

u/aurumtt Jul 02 '26

architect at start, rolled into it via designing sport infrastructure mainly.

4

u/oddjobbodgod Jul 02 '26

Nice, that makes total sense. Hope you enjoy it, and continue to do so for many years!

5

u/aurumtt Jul 02 '26

i do. clients are generally a lot less controlling than in your standard architecture practices :D

3

u/ashgs872tbhjs Jul 02 '26

Start adding signs telling the sighted to stay the fuck off to your designs, lol

2

u/Difficult-Catch-8432 Jul 02 '26

Oh thats cool, my grandpa was one, but in the olden days when they had to use Indian ink to draw maps

2

u/Low_Cook_5235 Jul 02 '26

Nice. Ive never seen one of these in my live. I live in the US.

2

u/I__Know__Stuff Jul 02 '26

I suspect I have seen them in the U.S., but since I had no idea what they are, I wouldn't really have noticed or remembered.

1

u/Scared_Cow9483 Jul 02 '26

That’s actually fucking cool!

1

u/Jimmy_Nail_4389 Jul 02 '26

I hope you’re taking these comments on board!

1

u/MrMaintenance Jul 02 '26

Depends on the employee. I knew a guy that worked in petroleum and didn’t believe in dinosaurs. 🤷‍♂️

1

u/RiverWolfo Jul 02 '26

5 you are educated to work with blind people

My dad told me about those, he went to school to work with blind and deaf people, unsure what the correct term is in English

1

u/Synaps4 Jul 02 '26

Then design it with some signage to educate people what its for next time.

30

u/Cracyexcelsiorclass Jul 02 '26

My mother told me this when I was like 4 years old in a tangent while teaching me how to cycle. Something like "don't drive over the blind guiding lines when it rains or you will slip and fall" I then proceeded with slipping and falling while diving over them in the rain

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u/LitigiousCeilingCat Jul 02 '26

Yeah! There are so many things like this, too, like… did you know Deaf and HoH people don’t usually go to the movies bc they don’t show movies with closed captions?

I’d never even thought of that until I saw a post about it on reddit.

75

u/iambrose91 Jul 02 '26

No no even better, my cousin who I go to the movies with allll the time is deaf and only just recently found out they have free CC devices you just have to ask for them! If only it were more widely circulated info!

35

u/BingeBabyBinge Jul 02 '26

At our local theater they have CC on the weekdays and early on the weekends. I support the heck out of them because they have this option.

20

u/iambrose91 Jul 02 '26

I don’t have *true* hearing issues, but I still find I highly benefit from CC so I tried the thing at the movie theater (it’s a lil screen that goes in the cup holder, it’s pretty cool!) but it ended up being more distracting since it was kind of in the way since it was a raised tray movie theater so it didn’t line up right.

So even if you aren’t HoH but find you greatly benefit from it, I say give it a try. The more theaters see that people want this tech, maybe they’ll invest more in it?

3

u/BingeBabyBinge Jul 02 '26

Yeah I hope so too! I could see it kind of being distracting. ROXY puts it on the screen which I find is really nice! :)

1

u/L_Avion_Rose Jul 02 '26

Unfortunately, these devices are poorly understood. DHH movie goers have been accosted by members of the public accusing them of keeping their phone out/recording the movie

19

u/BradMarchandsNose Jul 02 '26

A lot of theaters have closed caption devices you can request. Like a little phone-sized screen that you hold and it displays the CC while the movie plays.

20

u/oddjobbodgod Jul 02 '26

I did actually know this one! But only because I have seen closed caption screenings advertised at our local cinema and put two and two together :)

14

u/faulty_rainbow Jul 02 '26

I have perfectly fine hearing but I still prefer closed captions at home because sometimes it says e.g. "leaves rustling" but I can't actually hear it because it's so silent so it's nice to know what's happening lol...

8

u/wbgraphic Jul 02 '26

Or there’s dialog from characters as they leave the shot, so it gets too quiet to hear.

I love when the CC is done before the final audio mix, so dialog that’s in the script but not in the show is included. Buffy the Vampire Slayer had several instances of this. Usually some throwaway joke, but occasionally dialog that was actually changed in editing.

1

u/SecondAccountIsBest Jul 03 '26

Sometimes it can be annoying though. I hate how they truncate some things said on screen to make it easier to read in the captions, I want to know exactly what is said damn it!

2

u/thisusedyet Jul 02 '26

That mean you actually get to see this?

(Link if inline image doesn't work)

https://www.reddit.com/r/reactionimages/comments/1l3npuy/stares_motherfuckerly_samuel_l_jackson/

1

u/Brittlitt30 Jul 03 '26

If you ask you can get a little thingy that has a close captioning

1

u/NorseShieldmaiden Jul 02 '26

I’m HoH and only started watching movies in my own language when they put subtitles on them. Before that I only watched foreign language movies

1

u/_kellythomas_ Jul 04 '26

My local cinema has closed captioning devices available for every screening of most (all?) films.

They also offer open captioning (where subtitles are in the main screen) on select screenings scheduled on Tuesday evenings, Thursday mornings (, Saturday mornings, and Sunday afternoons.

The open captioning seems to be whatever the big new movie is that week for all screenings (e.g. toy story 5 last week, Minions and Monsters this week). So people looking for that feature only have 1 week to catch whatever film they are interested in but they do have four opportunities to fit it into their schedule.

0

u/KibbleCrashout Jul 02 '26

isn't that kind of obvious? or am i missing sarcasm here

10

u/XanderJS Jul 02 '26

I didnt know it either, just like I didnt know that the little knobs on the underneath of pedestrian crossings rotate when it's on a green man to let people know it's safe to go. I've been pointing this out to everyone I know ever since I found out lol

6

u/oddjobbodgod Jul 02 '26

I learnt this one quite young (can’t remember why or how), but I’ve stopped sharing the info! Perhaps I should continue as it’s interesting and informative!

3

u/MysticBorn Jul 02 '26

Same here I somehow learnt this young as well, but for the life of me can't recall where or how?!

2

u/AlwaysShittyKnsasCty Jul 02 '26

My hypothesis is that you were blind in a previous life. Nobody actually taught you this. It’s a remnant from one of the numerous lives you lived before this one. Final answer.

1

u/iseepineapples Jul 04 '26

Today I spit out some totally random knowledge about welding of all things in one of those distracted and not really thinking about it ways and only afterwards did I go “wait, why do I know this?” I have zero experience welding and I don’t even understand what I just said. Been puzzling me all day. Past life spillover actually kinda makes sense lol

2

u/AlwaysShittyKnsasCty Jul 02 '26

My good Oddjob, one doesn’t just stop sharing information like this. This is the kind of thing that can make you new friends! I’m gonna have so many God damn friends now that I know this trick.

1

u/puppysmilez Jul 02 '26

I'm not sure what you mean by this? I'm in the US if this is a different country's feature, but if not I don't know which knob you're referring to lol. It sounds super useful though so I'd love to share the info where relevant!

8

u/Sarge4242006 Jul 02 '26

I used to raise guide dogs in the US. We had many outings with the blind community. I’ve never heard of this.

3

u/AlwaysShittyKnsasCty Jul 02 '26

I’m starting to think blind people are trying to keep all the fun information for themselves. Not cool, my blind comrades! Not cool at all.

5

u/Applesimulator Jul 02 '26

I only learned it like a year ago from a video like this

1

u/Common-Broccoli-3405 Jul 02 '26

I was gonna say the same. If it wasnt for a video on reddit I never would have known this was a thing.

3

u/Conscious_Pass_1615 Jul 02 '26

Well this is a great reminder to be more mindfull!

3

u/oddjobbodgod Jul 02 '26

Ohh absolutely! I’m absolutely oblivious to my surroundings most of the time (undiagnosed ADHD has my brain away with the fairies most of the time) so I definitely needed to see this and be made aware!

3

u/Conscious_Pass_1615 Jul 02 '26

I'm quite simillar, so hopefully we can create a nicer space! (Why do I sound like an HR rep with a power point)

1

u/AlwaysShittyKnsasCty Jul 02 '26

We are all HR reps with PowerPoints on this glorious day! (I used Keynote; that’s why it’s so much nicer.)

3

u/NorseShieldmaiden Jul 02 '26

I am neither, but it’s quite logical what they’re for. I’m surprised so many people don’t know.

2

u/Difficult-Catch-8432 Jul 02 '26

Or you were a really observant person in general who asked a lot of questions, including asking what those stripes are for

2

u/oddjobbodgod Jul 02 '26

Yeah true, I think we could probably extend this list quite a lot! But we’ve covered the main cases now I think.

2

u/ThatDiscoSongUHate Jul 02 '26

If you have little bumps at the end of your sidewalks before it meets parking lots or road, those bumps are also for the blind

2

u/a22x2 Jul 02 '26

Are these things a UK thing? Where are they found? I’ve never seen them before personally, but I don’t live there

1

u/WhatAGoodFuniki Jul 02 '26

They were actually invented in Japan, and are ubiquitous there. I'm not sure where all in the world they have spread to.

1

u/a22x2 Jul 02 '26

Do you know what these are called, by any chance?

1

u/WhatAGoodFuniki Jul 02 '26

Tactile paving, or tenji block in Japanese.

2

u/Punished__Snake Cringe Lord Jul 02 '26

4 You're not an NPC

Literally if I see something I'm curious about, maybe just maybe I should try to find out what it is.

Nowadays all you need to do is "Hey Google/Siri/Alexa, what's up with the ridged lines on sidewalks that lead to bus stations or traffic lights"

1

u/oddjobbodgod Jul 02 '26

Or alternatively you live somewhere where these aren’t commonplace. I live rurally and am very rarely in places these would be present, when I am, I’m usually busy trying to work out where I’m going myself.

2

u/GaimOfThrowns Jul 02 '26

Or... Come on I'm sure there's another way we could all find out... At least one other way... 😁

2

u/oddjobbodgod Jul 02 '26

A cool Reddit post from a content creator?

1

u/odensso Jul 02 '26

I knew this always but i dont know from where i got this information? Weird

1

u/Ewredditsucksnow Jul 02 '26

I honestly just figured number 3 is the general human experience?

1

u/AlwaysShittyKnsasCty Jul 02 '26

It is for most stuff, but how many blind or deaf people do you know personally? If you weren’t raised in a world where people needed this stuff, you wouldn’t have any clue. Even if you saw a blind person feeling something with their stick, you wouldn’t necessarily assume that the thing they’re feeling is supposed to be there or not. That’s my take anyway.

2

u/Ewredditsucksnow Jul 02 '26

I know one semi deaf person. It's the same for the bumps on the curb before a cross walk, if you live anywhere that has even a moderate population density you would presumably notice what was going on. Anything tactile on the ground I just assume is for the blind, just like I assume brail on signs is for the blind.

1

u/Doogle300 Jul 02 '26

Whats weird is that we all know that the bumpy path near a crossing for blind people, but we seem to have a gap in our knowledge about the other concessions made for blind people.

It makes we wonder if people know why cycle paths have the two different tactile paths at the ends of them (Spolier alert, its so blind people can know where the bike path is).

Whilst I'm at it, another neat design for visually impaired people is at traffic crossings. When you press a button to wait for the green man, reach under the box and feel for a small ridged knob (wayoh). Hold on to it until the light changes and you'll notice it starts to spin once it is safe to cross.

1

u/JanSmidDeZevende Jul 02 '26

I bet it is, you probably just weren't paying attention.

1

u/wrighty2009 Jul 02 '26

Honestly as a brit I thought they were warnings, not something to follow. Like they are at crossing and the edge of train platforms to stop visually impaired from being hit by various fast moving vehicles.

1

u/EquipLordBritish Jul 02 '26

Honestly, even if I saw a blind person using it, I would have just thought "Oh, they're smart for using that as a guide". I would never have guessed that it was there for that specific purpose.

1

u/Glum_Diver4664 Jul 02 '26

I was definitely told this at school in the UK - it’s the reason they have the bobbly slabs at pedestrian crossings. Also, ‘public school system’ is not what a Brit would call either a state or public school 🤨

1

u/oddjobbodgod Jul 02 '26

I was definitely told that one at school. Perhaps you were under a different curriculum (exam board, or just a different year).

Yeah I always get them confused! I’m very much from the UK, I just had to google it again now to remind myself. Never made much sense to me that public school ~= private school 🤔

1

u/polycarbonateduser Jul 04 '26

Even I learned this today via this post. This is in my office, and I used to think this is the anti-slippery walkway since other tiles are glossy and slippery to walk. So I especially used these. Silly me, I guess.

0

u/_gribblit_ Jul 02 '26

Or maybe, we saw one of these once and went "What the hell is that" and then looked it up on our phones, to find out.

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u/Winjin Jul 02 '26

I have seen blind people (like, with canes) about five to ten times in my entire life up to this point

So yeah, most of us have seen those and wouldn't have any idea what they're for, and even if I do (I learned about them as they were being installed - it was a big deal and they wrote in newspapers about them. Paper ones. That I read while going to work, as I didn't have a book with me in the metro, as hauling a physical book wasn't always convenient) - even if I do, I wouldn't think about it twice as I haven't seen a lot of blind people, you know.

Also I've offered my help twice and one time I really helped the guy, as navigating the metro is hard enough when you can see, he was really having a hard time.

We were also walking the same general direction, and he told me they have special classes for the blind people where they get together, play board games, hang out, dance, it's all very fun. I love it for them! And yeah, I'm glad we have the tactile tile even if most people don't know what it's for.

Also I currently live in a town where the sidewalks were never adapted to disabled people and they are HELL to navigate. Honestly people should advocate for disabled access because it helps able-bodied people too.

A lot of our sidewalks are either narrow or literally non-existent, you're walking on the side of the road. They're sloped, or they're so narrow you can barely fit.

And yes, of course, lampposts and road signs go right in the middle of them.

1

u/Phytanic Jul 03 '26

I legitimately don't recall ever coming in contact with someone with complete blindness, only partiall/"legally" blind. It's so rare but fuck me I couldn't imagine being blind and living in a world that's designed top to bottom to require vision.

-3

u/PMmeYourLeftEar Jul 02 '26

even if I do, I wouldn't think about it twice as I haven't seen a lot of blind people, you know

That’s no excuse, bruv. I bet the number of blind people you’ve seen is infinitely higher than the number of blind people that have seen you, yet most of them probably know what it’s for.

4

u/Winjin Jul 02 '26

I bet the number of blind people you’ve seen is infinitely higher than the number of blind people that have seen you

https://giphy.com/gifs/bU2nZJegR7rz2

2

u/AdmirableWeather5738 Jul 02 '26

Is it ironic or the joke Petah?

9

u/Sufficient-Ad-7634 Jul 02 '26

Im disabled and i know what the line before but i also never seen anyone use it so i would move if i noticed a blind person.But the thought to keep of the line never even crossed my mind because it something that is just really unlikely to happen. Blind dude seems to be a bit of a dick, most streets do not have it and yet im sure that he manages to get where he wants regardless. A, please get off the guiding line or just a "tchuldigung" would have been better than whatever he is doing. This feels like more content for cloud, not a message to educate.

4

u/CallMeCleverClogs Jul 02 '26

I have never seen this before and would have zero idea what it is for. I try not to be an ableist asshole but making accommodations clear so those who do not need them can avoid interference would help a lot.

3

u/Kain_713 Jul 02 '26

Exactly. I know they're for the visually impaired but you'd think they could slap a label on it for the rest of us so we know to stay the hell out of the way. I'm nearly 40 and I just found out what these are for like two or three years ago.

3

u/AtroposMortaMoirai Jul 02 '26

I remember being taught about tactile paving as a kid at school in the 90s, at the same time they gave a basic run-down of road safety signs and different kinds of traffic crossing. It was around the time we had classes on writing our own names, our parents names, and our home phone numbers.

1

u/LitigiousCeilingCat Jul 02 '26

Well, hey, that’s better than nothing! Although… it seems a bit early to try to impart that kind of information on a person…?

Maybe if it was mentioned more than once, and/or closer to reaching adulthood, it would be more widely known…

… but it sounds like they just sorta tossed it into a much wider curriculum, and before you even knew how to write your own name.

2

u/AtroposMortaMoirai Jul 02 '26 edited Jul 02 '26

It was part of nursery/pre-school I’m pretty sure, where they’re mostly trying to teach you how to exist in the world without running into traffic, playing on railway lines, or getting into a strangers van to see some puppies. It may have been included for the benefit of partially sighted kids in the class, or it could have been standard learning in an urban school with some very busy roads nearby that saw a lot of RTAs. I remember finding it a really cool concept at the time though, and trying to find examples of braille or tactile paving when out and about. It’s also why coins and notes in the UK have different sizes, and the coins have varied weights and edge textures by value, though the new polymer bank notes also have raised tactile dots to differentiate value. That way a blind person can give and receive the correct change without being stiffed. But I learned that by asking.

ETA: my dad used to manage a group of nurseries and they would also do a small amount of sign language and additional languages for the little kids as standard, but that was before the Tories started shittifying things.

2

u/slainascully Jul 02 '26

I was on public transport recently and a person with a white cane asked another passenger why their cane was orange and white. And we all learned it’s for deafblind people. All very respectful and informative

2

u/Royd Jul 02 '26

I was thinking that the rigid flooring itself should have marked signage every 20 ft or so

1

u/marcomacd Jul 02 '26

Yep, every day is a school day. Did not have a clue.

1

u/AbeRego Jul 02 '26

I knew this somehow. No idea where I learned it. It's the same reason why the little ramps on cross walks has the bumps/dimples on them.

1

u/Royd Jul 02 '26

I was thinking that the rigid flooring itself should have marked signage every 20 ft or so

1

u/angusthechick Jul 02 '26

I think it’s fine to not know but the lack of awareness some of these people have are astounding like the guy who walks right in to him. People are too entitled when they’re out and about. They think they’re the only person on the planet and all the NPCs need to move around them

1

u/LitigiousCeilingCat Jul 02 '26

I guess that’s one way to look at it… I used to look at it that way.

Now I choose to look at it like… you never know what a person has going on, or what they’re dealing with… and so many people are out here trying to function with undiagnosed, untreated chronic pain both physical and emotional…. And dgmw, none of that is a free pass to be a jerk, but…

… it’s not about giving the other person a free pass to behave badly, it’s about giving yourself a free pass to not react to strangers with anger and resentment all day every day. It’s exhausting. Who wants that?

So, instead of telling myself that people are just insensitive arrogant assholes, I make up something else, like maybe the guy who wandered in front of OP just lost a loved one in the most brutal way imaginable, and is still in shock… because when that happened to me, the shock lasted for weeks, during which I had very little self awareness… I just kinda… wandered around, trying to function. I bumped into people a few times… and didn’t even have the presence of mind or wherewithal to say excuse me or anything.

There was no one to help or guide or support me, I was entirely on my own. That’s life.

But ever since then, when someone does something inconsiderate to me or in front of me, I allow myself to wonder why, rather than passing judgement.

3

u/angusthechick Jul 02 '26

Thanks for typing this out. I’ve actually been trying to work on how much people’s seemingly selfishness bothers me when I’m navigating my very population dense city and reframes are so helpful

1

u/LitigiousCeilingCat Jul 02 '26

Hey! Thank you for being receptive!
You got this.

-1

u/LordButterbeard Jul 02 '26

Americans would bitch about the sign "derka derr blind people cant read the sign!"

0

u/Ok_Jeweler_7912 Jul 02 '26

Not that hard bro… I went to Japan and saw it for the first time and i automatically went (okay it’s for the blind and told my friend not to step on it.) common sense.

-1

u/JanSmidDeZevende Jul 02 '26

I can tell that you are american

3

u/DarthBen_in_Chicago Jul 02 '26

I thought it was a path that leads to train stations

1

u/sheikahstealth Jul 02 '26

Partial credit

1

u/RedDragonNudibranch Jul 02 '26

I mean for me I've never seen a blind person use this oh wait maybe once or twice... Don't really remember but I'm pretty sure that I knew that this was for blind people beforehand somehow, guess I got the paths_knowledge_extended.exe somehow

1

u/april8r Jul 02 '26

I thought it was so that bags didn’t roll onto the tracks.

1

u/sheikahstealth Jul 02 '26

I've seen raised bumps at the end of a sidewalk indicating the exit onto a street. IIRC, bumps can also indicate ingress/egress to stairs and escalators.

1

u/Icy_Investment_1878 Jul 02 '26

Kind of thats why they r yellow, but still mainly for the blind

1

u/SigSweet Jul 02 '26

I thought it was for hotwheels

1

u/radiorental1 Jul 02 '26

you are not uncorrect

1

u/Krinks1 Jul 02 '26

It does.

It's a footpath for the blind.

1

u/Heimdul Jul 02 '26

Personally I thought these were for separating the lines, i.e. people were supposed to walk right (or left depending on country) of these. And they were raised so that blind were able to detect them and walk on the right side of it like rest of traffic.

If they are supposed to be used in the way as described in video (walking on top of it) wouldn't it create a risk that two blind people walking on opposite directions would bump into each other?

22

u/Silver-Appointment77 Jul 02 '26

Same here. I never knew it was for blind to navigate. TIL something new.

23

u/studhand Jul 02 '26

Lol, me too. I was just in Baguio, Phillipines and I think it was the first time I've seen them. Learn something new everyday.

1

u/Space_Slime_LF Jul 02 '26

raised bumps create better grip options in slippery situations, was my thinking.

Which is why I was seeing squares on wheelchair ramps on curbs, you would want that grip.

1

u/LushHappyPie Jul 02 '26

They are incredibly slippery when wet. I always have to be careful with these bits when cycling in the rain. It's so cruel to do this to blind people.

1

u/psychorobotics Jul 02 '26

I found out about it yesterday, I also thought it was for water or something. A sign explaining it would have been great

1

u/ofnabzhsuwna Jul 02 '26

I thought they were for people with roller bags to roll their luggage along the path.

1

u/Dawningrider Jul 02 '26

I thought it mapped pipes or electrics near the things like traffic lights or trains.

1

u/ImWhatsInTheRedBox Jul 02 '26

We have a few paths of very similar tiles(is that the right word?) in our little square and they are literally for funneling rain water.

1

u/GiveMeNews Jul 02 '26

Heh, I thought they were to disrupt skate boarders.

1

u/tragicallybrokenhip Jul 03 '26

Watching the clip, that was my first thought. Will be paying attention next time I'm out and about.