London - It’s not just holidays that fly by. The trip home often seems extra quick – even though it is exactly the same length as the journey out.
Now scientists have confirmed the phenomenon known as the return trip effect.
They asked 20 men to view two films the same length. They had been recorded by Japanese researchers as they walked set routes. Half the men watched two outward journeys. The others saw one outward and one return trip.
Those who had watched the return trip thought it was shorter, the journal PLOS ONE reports. Curiously, they didn’t feel time pass more quickly while watching.
It was only when asked to compare the two films at the end of the experiment that the “return trip effect” kicked in, according to the University of Kyoto researchers.
Daily Mail