Like a deli counter...
So I went to the doctor's office today to get blood draw for some routine tests. I walked in and there was one other person sitting in the waiting room. The receptionist looks at me and says "take a number and have a seat." I look over and there is one of those machines that gives out numbers like the ones at the deli counter at a supermarket. Just above it was an electronic sign that read "72" in red lights. I was number 75. After a few minutes of sitting there, the receptionist looks up at the number, presses a button to change the number, and calls out "73." She looked around at me and the other woman sitting there, who clearly was not 73 either, and then said "what number are you?" That woman was 74. Apparently 73 got sick of waiting and went away. I found the whole thing entertaining, since, including me, there were a total of two people in the waiting room. Yet, for some reason, the receptionist needed to keep to the numbers. When she finally called my number, she actually checked to make sure I had the number she had called. By that time, I WAS THE ONLY ONE IN THE ROOM!!! I got a good laugh at the whole thing. She said that the place is usually mobbed and there have been fights in the waiting room. I'll take her word on that.