I don't understand the point of straddling...

[mikesh]

I just played my first time in a B&M casino, 1/2 NL $200 max buy-in, and I couldn't believe how many people liked to straddle. For the life of me, I can't figure out why they are doing this. Is there some sort of strategic advantage to betting blind in a poor position that I'm simply not seeing? The table was anything but tight (the standard pre-flop raise was about 10-12 times the BB. Is this the norm for live games as well?) so it's not like the straddle was there to get some action going. Any insight would be appreciated.