But not this week in Stockholm’s Odenplan subway station. Not since they installed special piano stairs that make noise as you step on them. Given the choice between going up the escalator or walking up the musical stairs, 66 percent more people than normal chose the piano stairs. Watch this video to see it in action. Of course, it's possible that the numbers might go down once the novelty wears off, but maybe not. As everyone knows, it’s always been fun to make music on a weight-sensing piano.
And fun is exactly the point. It’s all part of an initiative by the German company Volkswagen. The purpose is to encourage healthy living, exercise, environmental awareness, and anything that makes the world a better place, just by making it fun to do so. And fun it is. Volkswagen has launched a new website, thefuntheory.com, which has the video of the piano stairs in Stockholm plus another video of the so-called deepest garbage bin in the world, which encourages people to throw their trash away. Because it’s fun.
I can easily see these types of things catching on in other cities around the world. Perhaps it won’t be long until the world's population is healthier, the environment is clean, and we’re all having more fun than we could possibly imagine.
