Effective crowd control methods

one thing i always like to avoid i.e "crowd". i hate crowded places like shopping malls , theaters.When we think of crowd control, most times we'd be thinking of unruliness or a negative picture of some sort. It need not be.there are various effective methods are now available now a days for "crowd control".
Crowd control products help people stay in lines at the bank, for instance, for concerts, political events, at the supermarket, at an airport tarmac, and anywhere someone needs an orderly line. without these the crowd behave in unorganized way and sometimes situations are out of control.
previously I thought that only barricades are the only methods available for crowd control . when i asked my brother about the methods he knows for the crowd control his reply was" water gun" :) , i told him that i am asking for crowd control not riot control :)
now i know , various methods available for crowd control are stanchions, velvet ropes, barricades. although i seen stanchions in a bank and velvet ropes in hotel Taj in New Delhi about 3 years back, now they are seen everywhere in shops, show-rooms wherever you have crowds. barricades can be seen everywhere in India and across the world. it is the second most common thing you will found on roads , first one is traffic :) they are used to divert the traffic.they are mostly used by police or other security personals to control the crowd during any protest, these are the oldest method used for crowd control , if you know any other method then do let me know ......