The Ikea cafeteria (part 2)

I eat at fast food restaurants a lot. Usually, when I'm finished, I'll throw the remnants of my meal in the garbage and stack my tray neatly on top of the garbage can to be collected.

Why do I do this? It would be easier to me to leave my tray on the table for an employee to clean up — it is someone's job, after all. I think I do it for two reasons. First, it's a social norm. Other people do it, so I feel like I should do it. Second, I feel bad for the fast-food employees because they do a tough job for a tiny wage, and I feel a little better about myself if I help them out (although by this logic, I'd start tipping the guy who gives me fries, so maybe my motivation is more due to social norms than outright altruism).

Big things, small places

One thing I noticed on my cross-continent drive was a tendency for small towns to build really big things to attract tourists. This was especially the case in North Dakota, where there was very little sign of civilization aside from Fargo and Bismarck, the two largest towns.

I spent one night in Jamestown, North Dakota, which claims to be home to the world's largest buffalo sculpture.