- Written by Amanda Clark
37 billion hours—the amount of time experts estimate that Americans wait in lines every year. If you’re like me, when I read that, it evokes all types of feelings and none of them are good. Overall, I’d say, I dislike waiting. I think my kids would probably even say they hate to wait. An M.I.T. line expert named Richard Larson has concluded that occupied time feels shorter than unoccupied time. I say, “Yep,” to Mr. Larson and wonder how much he was paid for his findings. Because we can all attest that when we are busy, time seems to fly by and as our hands slow down, so do the hands on the clock.