Ups and Downs

I just read this article in the New Yorker that is all about Elevators. Sweet, right? Everything from history to disasters. I’d like to take a second and highlight one of the most disturbing and mindblowing facts in the entire article:

“In most elevators, at least in any built or installed since the early nineties, the door-close button doesn’t work. It is there mainly to make you think it works. (It does work if, say, a fireman needs to take control. But you need a key, and a fire, to do that.) Once you know this, it can be illuminating to watch people compulsively press the door-close button. That the door eventually closes reinforces their belief in the button’s power. It’s a little like prayer. Elevator design is rooted in deception—to disguise not only the bare fact of the box hanging by ropes but also the tethering of tenants to a system over which they have no command.”

I..uh…what? Me being the inquisitive toddler I am, tested this for myself in the LCN Elevator. 10 seconds for the door to close, whether or not the button was pushed. Shock and awe.

Full Article at the New Yorker

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