Walmart carts have magnetic wheel locks and when you go to take them off the lot, they seize at least 1 of the front wheels, it can only be unlocked by a special magnet key
Because of this locking mechanism, the carts can be tipped forward onto the bottom rack, and the locked wheel won't let it roll and set the back down.
I remember playing with these as a teenager and we'd shove them real hard over that line and they'd end up like this fairly frequently
If you ever find yourself in a Walmart parking lot, they now have yellow lines painted around the perimeter where the deactivator is buried, with a Ghostbusters symbol over a shopping cart to warn you not to take it over that line
I live in Europe and our system is a bit low tech. The carts are chained together and you need to insert a coin (or plastic token) to unlock one. When you return it, you get your coin or token back.
I've seen these, they've started to make their way into the US as well, but I'm totally okay with this system.
In the US, we have a problem with homelessness, and they often use shopping carts to carry and transport their stuff. Our Shopping carts are rather durable and are great for this purpose.
But they also cost several hundred dollars each, so Walmart, and other store, use this magnet system so that once it leaves the lot, you can't really take it anywhere and it's significantly less useful even if you can
So then they just send the cart pushers out to the edge of the lot with the magnet key and they gather the carts and bring them back
I’ve seen this over here also, but on a much smaller scale than in the US I guess. Homelessness is a problem here too, but there’s also more of a safety net for people who need help. Supermarkets put the coin/token system in place because people would make mischief with the carts, not because hordes of homeless folk were stealing them. Some major stores have recently stopped chain locking the carts, so it must no longer be a big problem.
Yeah. This isn't weird. Nothing really to do with walmart people either. but if you mention walmart you get more engagement cause everyone gets to jump in and say shit about Walmart people.
There are three Walmarts where I live, but everyone knows you only hang out at one of them at night if you're up to some shit. Everyone else stays away.
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u/AKchaos49 1d ago
The time of day has no impact on the weirdness of Walmart people. They're always weird.