Push-button start has been, until recently, considered a luxury feature. That’s no surprise — starting your car with the press of a button feels like the height of convenience.

Push buttons at St. John’s crosswalks were turned off during the pandemic. Now, 10 have reverted back to manual, meaning pedestrians have to hit a button to trigger a walk signal.

'For walk signal push button,' the all-caps signs read, on some intersections on Franklin Avenue in downtown Yellowknife. In fact, pushing the buttons do nothing.

Push-button starters are actually nothing new. Starter buttons predominated until after the Second World War before being supplanted by all-in-one systems where a twist of the ignition key ...