This was actually really interesting to read, thanks for sharing. I'm now curious as to why so many stop lights have been given modern crosswalk buttons with little red censors that beep when you put a finger over it. Seems like a waste of money.
[quote="BlainO"]OH, don't mind Austin, we let him greet the guests, and then tie him up out back. :lol:[/quote]
I think those ones may have been installed purely to trigger the special appliances in place for the blind, etc.
A placebo button, also called an idiot button, is a push-button with apparent functionality that actually has no effect when pressed, analogous to a placebo. In other cases, a control like a thermostat may not be connected.