As Thanksgiving is just around the corner, retail stores are bombarding consumers with Black Friday ads. The ads show glittery, appealing products at low-prices. But, what the ads do not show--crowded parking lots, irritated customers, and stampedes-- you must watch out for. To minimize your risk of injury, here is some physics advice if you are one of the bold buyers who battles Black Friday crowds.

1) Attempt to maximize your power (force dotted with velocity) beforehand. A balance of force and velocity is necessary. Do not bulk up, because your velocity will suffer, and you will be at the back of the crowd. However, if you are relatively mass-less, but fast, you will also be at the back of the crowd.

2) Bring along a friend! With a friend to help carry your purchases, more work can be done. As work is force dotted with displacement, lifting heavy boxes, pushing televisions, etc. will be much easier with the help of an assistant.

3) Avoid stores where a wide waiting area slims down to a narrow entry. Why? Conservation of flow rate. Flow rate= Area of space for people x velocity of the crowd. Therefore, when people head toward the doors, the velocity of the crowd must increase as the Area of the space decreases, to conserve flow rate. This means that as you approach the door of the store, the speed at which people are "flowing" increases. This is how many stampedes occur.

All in all, if you do venture outside in the wee hours of the morning, fuel up! Eat healthy foods beforehand to give your body the necessary potential for success.:eagerness: