A new fun way to conceive of the hell that is the London Underground at rush hour is as a clotting artery about to burst and kill the entire. Oliver O'Brien, a researcher at UCL, took data from TfL to find which parts of the day see the most people stuffed into tiny carriages, barely able to breath, and made it into a weirdly calming visualisation he has called the Tube Heartbeat.
The city's 'pulse' is most active from 8:15-8:30 and 17:00-17:15, but you can find the specific times for each individual station - ideal if you've ever wanted to know if you were better off leaving earlier or later for work - or if you're someone that loves being elbowed in the head and feel you were down on your quota for the month.
Like watching rain from the window of public transport, there's a relaxing element to seeing the graphic ebb and flow. Get yourself a comfy seat, fire up O'Brien's website and think about all the poor, stressed commuters wedged against one another, furiously avoiding eye contact and inhaling each other's putrid stench. Bliss.
