My initial observation was clockwise, but I do see her switching directions some. I guess that means I’m more right-brained. I guess science isn’t really what I should be good at after all….

Today she’s going clockwise. I discovered last time I played with this that if I think about knitting or knit, she goes one way, and if I read a paper about or concentrate on cell signaling she goes the other way. (My husband can make her change directions at will…)

That’s funny – the last time I saw that picture it only turned clockwise. Today it’s switching back and forth. Very interesting.

She switches apparently at random for me. On the page you linked, I had one going in each direction for awhile and then they both switched.. was kind of neat!

Hmm, started counterclockwise, but now is going clockwise. How odd…

If I look directly at it, she always goes counter clockwise, but if its in my peripheral vision she flips back and forth to the point where it sometimes just looks like she’s shimmying in front of me. hehe I had the same experience as Teej with the link page. The little gray lines didn’t change anything for me, they both flipped back and forth and sometimes they’d be going in opposite directions

June, I am a speeder. I would go 70 the whole way to work if traffic allowed. But I also drive a 15-year-old vehicle that gets, last I checked, 18 mpg. So when I stopped the speeding and kept it at 60 as a maximum, within TWO DAYS I noticed a difference in my gas savings. It was that immediate. Also, slowing down and being happy to cruise along in the middle or right lane has made for a saner Angela, as opposed to the person who wanted to be the fastest person on the road (or close to it).

Huh. When I first saw this, she switched randomly, but this time she’s all clockwise. Maybe it’s got something to do with the temperature, since I don’t remember her being so nipply before. ;)

Off to read the explanatory linky…

I was driving back during the Carter administration in the 70′s when the speed limit went down to 55. I tend to drive 60 or under most of the time (yes, in the right aka “slow” lane). I usually have more time than $$, so that works for me. :)

I see her switching, and was convinced it was a trick. The computer hung up just slightly at several switches. So Mr. E looked at her, and we both said “switch” when she did. And we each were saying it at different times. Intriguing! I guess my brain interpreted cpu work as a change in program.

I only see her going clockwise, and even when I go into the explanation page, the one going counterclockwise seems “wrong” to me somehow. Can’t explain it.

About the gas mileage — I’m one that needs to slow down. I can’t seem to make myself drive less than 74 or 75 mph. When the speed limit was 55, I always drove 64 or 65. Just enough to “not get stopped.”

I really wish I could see that curve for individual cars, because I’m sure it must be different for different cars.

And at certain points on the graph, how much difference does my gear make? For instance, my car is comfortable in 3rd or 4th gear at 30 mph. The engine is revving hiring when in third gear, but does that how much of a mileage difference does that make? I really wish I knew.

Very cool optical illusion (I primarily see it going counter clockwise, then switch, then switch back).
yep, that speed thing…once when I was driving home from grad school, I drove over 1000 miles in 14 hours. uhm. and I got a $279 speeding ticket (sigh). I don’t drive that fast anymore.

clockwise

Wow, I never saw it switch directions the last time I saw this thing. This time it randomly did. Also I could sometimes MAKE it switch by scrolling up so just her feet showed and then scrolling down.

That is a really interesting graph. I agree: I’m now more motivated to keep it to 60 mph.

I really wish I could see that curve for individual cars, because I’m sure it must be different for different cars.

It is. It’s relatively easy to get data for your car too. Shockingly, 2 seemingly identical cars will not get identical gas mileage. Some drivers are also much better than others about driving economically.

Keep track of your distance traveled per tank of gas. Keep track of exactly how much gas added. Calculate your MPG. On long trips (say 70% or more of the tank was highway miles), you will see the difference in gas mileage you get from various speeds. Since you’re tracking MPG over all driving, you can also see the effect of other gas saving habits.

Many of the cars my parents owned got their best gas mileage at 65 mph. The dropoff at 70 mph was slight, with 75 mph being steeper for no real time benefit. Often, 35 mph would produce terrible gas mileage, with 45 mph being notably better. Other cars are different.

Torrilin–

I’m sure I could construct the graph myself. In fact, I track my mpg for each tank of gas. It’s a bit hard for me to get accurate data though, since every trip of mine involves a mix of highway and city driving and a mix of speeds.

Even given the variance that different people have in their mileage, it seems like I should get an approximate graph from the car company when I purchase my car. This is something they probably know and understand well, even if they have to label it with various warnings like “Affected by tire pressure, lead feet, age of car and other factors.”

Some hybrid cards tell me my instantaneous MPG. If all cars did that, it would be really cool. No need for pre-published curves in my auto manual.

-alain