I'm never sure exactly why, but this question irritates me. And it shouldn't. Granted, based on the visual evidence the woman had access to, it was pretty clear that it was the line. But I can appreciate that she wanted to confirm she was in the right place, so that she wasn't wasting her time.
However, I feel that this question implies the following: "Hey. You're clearly all a bunch of idiots. I'm way smarter than you, so I'm going to locate the real line, not the fake line you're standing in." I'm probably the only person on earth who thinks this way, but there you have it.
In July I was in line for the infamous Rain Room at the MoMA. I got up at 6am, and was in line by 7am. Around 7:30am, a woman approached me and asked where the end of the line was. So I turned around and pointed past the six or seven people behind me toward the end of the line.
"That's the end of the line?" she asked.
Because I had got up at 6am, I was a little grouchy. So I said, "Yes, keep walking until you don't see any more people. That's the end of the line."
She paused for a moment to absorb and process the fact that I'd just been rude. Then she said, "Oh, okay, that's how it's going to be."
Then she walked to the end of the line and spent the next few minutes confirming with the people in front of her that she was, in fact, standing at the end of the line.
Given that the Rain Room line was really long, and given the fact that there were two lines (members and non-members), I understand the need to verify. When I arrived at 7am I confirmed that I was in the member's line. But I managed to find the end of the line on my own, without any problems. Either that means I'm really smart, or really stupid. I haven't decided which yet.
