

The Lives of Elevators (2008) - pepys
http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2008/04/21/up-and-then-down

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nate
> Still, he now sees that it wasn’t so much the elevator that changed him as
> his reaction to it.

It's crazy how our interpretation of the events around us is even more potent
than the event itself. Some people could have gone through this and it would
have been a funny anecdote at office holiday parties, for others, complete
life upheaval. (Not to diminish how terrible this must have been for Nick.)

But I'm reminded of this constantly now with a 5 month old baby. I'm
exhausted. So much sleep deprivation. And the things that happen around me
take a much different "color". I have to constantly keep asking: is this event
occuring like I think it is, or is it simply my exhausted interpretation of
it. And more often than not, it's the interpretation. When I finally get a nap
in, things go back to looking just great.

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teddyh
> _In most elevators, at least in any built or installed since the early
> nineties, the door-close button doesn’t work._

This sounds likely, but also sounds too cute to be true, i.e. a perfect
candidate for an urban legend.

It’s of course possible that this is the result of the manufacturers having to
serve _some_ markets where a functioning door-close button is needed/wanted,
and simply disable the button where customers do not want or need the
functionality - i.e. a similar reason as the reason there are braille dots on
the drive-through ATM.

~~~
hudibras
In all seriousness, that's one of my favorite things about Japan: those
buttons always work.

And the braille on the drive-through ATMs is for blind people in taxis.

~~~
sophacles
I always thought the braille on drive-through ATMs was for scales of economy -
it's easier and cheaper to have N molds than to have 2N molds (in this case N
molds for "everything has the braille and 2N for the case where there is and
is not braille).

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alexggordon
This reminds me of an excellent talk on elevator hacking [0] given by Deviant
Ollam and Howard Payne at [HOPE X] a little while ago.

It changed my entire view of elevators and if you haven't seen it, I would
highly recommend you watch. it

[0]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOzrJjdZDRQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOzrJjdZDRQ)

~~~
kator
Long video but it was worth the watch thanks for sharing! I'd suggest others
watch if they think they know anything about elevators...

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hudibras
Here's the link to the video mentioned in the article.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_bMhNI_TY8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_bMhNI_TY8)

Warning: Watching the section between 1:20 and 1:45 will cause your blood
pressure to rise to unhealthy levels.

~~~
michael_h
"Let's see...29, 31, 32. Seems like we're missing something here, but I can't
put my finger on it...hey, you see the Braves give the Mets a pounding? What a
bunch of lazy bums. Well, see you tomorrow!"

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gambiting
>>The Bronx family-court system, for example, was in a shambles last year
because the elevators at its courthouse kept breaking down. ((The stairs are
closed, owing to security concerns.)

Anyone has any idea why the stairs would be closed, and what are those
"security concerns"?

~~~
ShonM
It could be that floor access is governed by key cards. The elevator having a
key card reader, but the doors in the stairwell not, maybe because they hadn't
yet been retrofitted.

