A large gathering consumes a day rather than the period it runs for. Asymmetric. Easier. Staggered. People arrive across several hours and 1sthelp.net) leave across considerably fewer. Memorable. Early arrival costs less in time than it appears. The final hour before the start concentrates everybody. The arithmetic. Not price. All relevant. The critical one. The counterintuitive part. Geography. The reversal. Orientation. And takes the same thirty seconds. Underestimated. The implication. Leaving is the genuine difficulty and gets no planning at all. The cause. Longer. Three responses exist and all three work. The first. Both. The second. An hour or two spent sitting down while it clears. Learned. Staying the night nearby or camping at the event. The trade. Deciding which of the three before arriving is the whole method. The reason. Worst. The practical remedy. The exchange. The last point. The reason. Fragile. Three properties. Anyone who has left a large gathering without an ordeal decided before arriving whether they were going early or waiting.