I enjoyed this, so I'm sharing it. That's just the kind of guy I am.
Bill Hammack reveals how "queueing theory" - developed by engineers to route phone calls - can be used to find the most efficient arrangement of cashiers and check out lines. He reports on the work of Agner Erlang, a Danish engineer who, at the opening of the 20th century, helped the Copenhagen Telephone Company provide the best level of service at the lowest price.
I wish we'd switch to a combined queue in our grocery stores.
