Speed, Creativity and Efficiency!!!

Remember I posted previously about the creativity in Singapore... More than just paintings on windows, this creativity affect the speed and efficiency of many things in the lives of Singaporeans.

Let me begin with the coffee cup. Earlier this week, I saw my professor walking and holding a coffee by a plastic cord. I thought to myself : this is very innovative but I did not understand how efficient it was until I was holding a coffee cup in a bus.
Wednesday was a hectic day. I was running late and was trying to make it to class on time. When I got on the bus, I was holding a case study in one hand (reading to prepare for class), sitting uncomfortably on a seat because of my heavy backpack, and holding both coffee and toast in my right hand. As the bus drove to the business school and going up and down Raised Zebra Crossing, I was terrified that my coffee would spill on my business skirt. If that had happened it would have completely ruined my day (we were scheduled to go on a company visit that afternoon). Surprisingly enough, not once did the coffee spilled on my hand or my skirt. Why? because the plastic holder enables the cup to move with the bus. Pretty smart and efficient!!!! That plastic holder spared me from using my Tide-To-Go!!!

On my first weekend here in Singapore, I thought that there was never traffic in Singapore. However, when we took a taxi on monday, I was immediately proved wrong. Traffic jams can be pretty bad in Singapore. Imagine if all these cars had to pay tolls during rush hour!!! Well the transportation department understood that!!! That is why in Singapore, all cars have a little machine attached to the front window with a card (like a debit card) inserted in it at all times. So whenever a car is going underneath a toll (see the picture), money is automatically taken from the card, without the cars having to slow down or stop. Thus, the traffic is faster. How efficient!!!