Scientific Study Finds People Who Put Feet Up on Buses Have Lower IQs
6/11/2025
A new study published in the Journal of Public Transport Neuroscience has found that individuals who place their feet on bus seats consistently perform lower on IQ tests.
The study followed over 1,500 passengers across the UK, examining travel behaviour and mental acuity. Researchers divided the passengers into two main groups: those who put their feet up on seats and those who did not.
The feet-up group frequently performed worse on reading comprehension tests, such as understanding the posted sign reading “No Feet on Seats.” Some struggled with basic cognitive tasks, even attempting to pay for their journey using crisp packets or trying to exit the bus through the driver’s window.
This group also scored significantly lower than their non-feet-up counterparts on basic mathematical tests. Most participants couldn’t count past 13, with several insisting that “13” was the highest number they’d ever heard of.
Interestingly, participants who played loud music through their phones without headphones performed even worse on the IQ tests, though researchers noted significant overlap between these groups.
The team concluded that further research is needed to determine whether putting feet up on bus seats is a learned behaviour or hereditary.
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