The behavior of crowds

An interesting piece from the Economist summarizes recent research on the behavior of crowds.

One of my more vivid memories from my youth concerns our family visit to Disneyland on July 4, 1968. We got trapped near the Matterhorn in a crowd that was too thick to move. My parents sort of formed an enclosure around me to keep me from getting crushed. It really scared my dad, and he was not prone to departures from calm.  After that we went to Disneyland when it was less busy.