Holy altruism, Batman! A new study suggests that when someone dressed as the Dark Knight enters the monotony of our day-to-day lives, we start acting better toward the people around us.

Researchers in Milan recently conducted an experiment on the city’s subway, tracking 138 rides. In a control scenario, a visibly pregnant woman boarded a busy carriage with an observer, and the team noted whether passengers offered her a seat. They then performed the same scenario with a superhero twist, adding a man dressed as Batman who entered from another door. The difference was dramatic: when Batman was present, about 67.21% of passengers offered a seat, but without him, only around 37.66% did.

Interestingly, nearly half (44%) of the people who gave up their seat in the Batman scenario later said

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