question for bay area folks... what is with honking in tunnels?

[salin]

for six months I commuted across the golden gate bridge - and through the tunnel on the Marin side. Almost every time in the evening commute, random cars would honk in the tunnel.

Given that I am not from this part of the country... Is it something to do in all tunnels? Just that tunnel? Whats that all about?

[Robb]

1. In a hurry

....out of the WAY, people! :D

[salin]

2. heh

but usually was done with people laughing and or waving and or trying to get other folks to honk.

[GOPisEvil]

3. I think some people like the echo.

:shrug:

[salin]

4. ...people like the echo... like the echo... the echo... echo....

:D

could be... given that the area doesn't get much natural echo phenom - like one gets in a thunderstorm when one lives with hills. In my five + years out there recall some big rain storms - but only one instance with thunder. ??

[GOPisEvil]

5. I think we're on to something here.

I love people who are easily amused, as I am. :D

[ScreamingMeemie]

7. Then we were meant to be friends...

:) I am a diehard tunnel/cow honker at-er. :hi:

[GOPisEvil]

8. You honk at cows?

Awesome! I "moo" at them. :D

:hi:

[ScreamingMeemie]

9. Yes! I honk at them, and will "moo" if I am on a bike!

;) :hug: MrG gets mad at me for "disturbing" them. How can one disturb a cow??? The road is already noisy.

[GOPisEvil]

10. I wonder if the cows get mad at us for butchering their language.

Yikes - probably shouldn't have used "butchering" in reference to cows. :yoiks:

[ScreamingMeemie]

11. !

:spray: :rofl: I never thought of that. :rofl:

[GOPisEvil]

13. Honestly, it just hit me.

:rofl:

[salin]

14. I used to randomly bark

at dogs. Til one mean one looked back at me, bared fangs and let out a ferocious sound. Sorta cured me of that form of self-amusement.

[GOPisEvil]

18. "What did you say about my mama?"

:rofl: You have no idea WHAT you said to that dog!

[ScreamingMeemie]

20. You're on a roll this AM...

:rofl:

[GOPisEvil]

22. Like buttah...

;)

:hi:

[salin]

23. saturday morning...

GOPreallyisEvil time :D

[salin]

21. I should have taken that course on 'cross-species-cultural communication'

rats.

[GOPisEvil]

24. Sounds like hippie-liebrul learnin' ta me.

;)

[ScreamingMeemie]

25. Yes, which you never bothered to take, and are thus offending cows

all along the Eastern Seaboard...:eyes:

:D

[GOPisEvil]

26. Eastern seaboard?

I'm offending Texas cows; I'm taking my life in my hands with every drive to the country. :D

[ScreamingMeemie]

29. Texan cows are easily offended....Cows along the Eastern seaboard

are of a higher standard.

**my father used to say "along the eastern seaboard in the way that people would say "west of the Mississippi"...I thought more people than just us did that. What a moran I am.

[GOPisEvil]

31. OOOOOOOOHHHHHHH!!!

I get it now. You dad sounds like a real pill. Kinda like my dad.

OK - I really do have to get moving today. :hi:

[ScreamingMeemie]

34. he's a laugh a minute...

Me too. I'll race you...:hi:

[salin]

33. just south of ya folks didn't moo at cows

but many a hoosier college youth went out on at least one cow-tipping excursion.

[ScreamingMeemie]

35. Fer shame! Wisconsin youth "never" tipped cows.

It's just not nice. :rofl:

[salin]

Here is a regional question...

did wisconsin youth ever go "corning" or is that just a hoosier thing?

[ScreamingMeemie]

39. One time we did and then ran like all heck when the guy stopped

his car and got out looking for us. We stuck strictly to worm flinging after that. :scared:

[salin]

40. as a kid it was a halloween prank

run around with socks full of kernals - throw a handful at windows (making a ticking sound)... as if it was spooky and the folks in the house wouldn't know what it was :eyes: Usually ended up with rival groups of kids throwing corn at each other.

[blondeatlast]

45. I'm a moo-er too; comes from my Kansas childhood.

Not much else to do on long car rides through KS...

[ScreamingMeemie]

6. My dad always honks in tunnels...If you come to Michigan and

use the Detroit/Windsor Tunnel to Canada you will hear the same phenomenon. :hi:

I also honk at cows. My daddy taught me that.

[salin]

16. Only did that tunnel a couple of times.

Wasn't aware of the phenom - so if I heard honking (don't recall) probably wrote it off to a traffic thingy. Never went through any other tunnel during my years in Michigan - so didn't know I have lived in two places where this is common :D :hi:

[DS1]

12. And what's with those assholes throwing a bucket of superballs out

of their car in a tunnel?

Oh wait, that was me

:hide:

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

15. try it on a skate path sometime

way more return on investment :evilgrin:

[salin]

19. just don't try it at the dog park

:D

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

28. Hehe....my dog would make you go get them yourself

He looks at me like "you fetch it!"

[salin]

30. and make you go into the line of retaliatory fire

you have always spoken of what a smart dog he is...

[salin]

17. DId you drive highways in the bay area in the 90s?

I was hit by a paintball on 280 near Palo Alto... was that you???

[DS1]

27. No, I wouldn't shoot someone with a paintball on the highway

that's just idiotic

and I was not in the bay area at any time :-)

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

32. weak alibi

[salin]

36. Have to admit it sorta stunned me

but at least it was a paintball prankster rather than the drop stuff off of the overpass sort. :shrug:

I'll believe ya per the Bay Area avowal... until such time I have other evidence ;-)

[ScreamingMeemie]

37. I had somebody drop a lit firecracker out of their truck right next to my

open window on I-94 once. It's like there is a breed of people out there who don't realize they can kill a person with a stupid prank. :hi: I thought I would lose hearing in that ear for good.

[salin]

38. I drove I94 between A2 and Detroit for three years...

that was a scary commute. Trucks doing eighty in the snow. No one ever using blinkers to cross lanes. And all sorts of crazy folks doing crazy traffic things. Topped anything I saw in DC, the Bay Area - or even down here in INdiana.

[Bitter Betty]

41. Because it's fun & infectious

I've lived in the bay area my entire life so I was never sure whether it was a local phenomenon or not. There are specific rules: I always honk on my way into the city, but only when traffic is stopped, and of course, the intent is to get everyone else to honk as well. I never honk on my way out of the city, but perhaps that's because the traffic is always flowing. And as someone else pointed out the echo is part of the fun.

[salin]

42. That is EXACTLY it....

I almost always drove when traffic was stop and go - or crawling. Never heard it on my commute out of the city (I did the opposite rush hour commute to Marin in the am, towards and past the city in the pm.)

Picked up on the sense that there was a 'come on... honk, too!' sense about it - but being clueless at first I didn't get it... then I was sometimes amused, and occaisionally a wee bit annoyed. Now that I see the "rules" it makes more sense. Sorta the hype and fun of "going into the city" tone. Thanks for the explanation. :hi:

With that have to head off for a much less scenic commute back here in the midwest.

[Bitter Betty]

43. Because the city is way much more fun than the 'burbs

I once tried honking when the traffic was moving quickly (an unusual occurence) & it did not catch on... and the only time I've ever been annoyed was one time when I had the top down. It was a sunny day (another unusual occurence) & traffic was going nowhere. Man it was loud! No one has gone postal yet though. :crazy:

[Shine]

44. I wouldn't necessarily assume it's just in our area.

It's been something I was raised with, as a sort of fun little thing to do when passing through a tunnel.

Just a few little beeps...usually in the pattern of 5 quick beeps and then see if anyone else beeps, in reply with two beeps.

We do it with the kids and they love it. :hi:

[salin]

46. I think I must have often travelled at the time

when the mostly grown up kids from families like yours were driving - usually seemed like college age kids ... and always like they were having fun! :-D