6 curiosities you might not know

  1. Elisha Otis‘ invention of safety parachutes on March 23, 1857, transformed a service elevator into a mode of public transportation, giving rise to the first lift. The initial models used furniture and chandeliers to replicate real spaces. At a speed of 12 meters per minute, comfort became essential. In the early systems, the lift was moved by a human “driver” or manoeuvreman, who was signaled with a simple whistle.
  2. They provided access to the higher floors for the nobility, who let the servants use of the stairs. Noble families started to favor the top floors once they were born because they liked the view from above, which is how penthouses got their name.
  3. Some lifts, like the one at Taipei 101, may travel up to 60.6 km/h even though the usual speed is 1 m/s. The 89 floors of Taiwan’s skyscrapers may be reached in 40 seconds. To keep passengers’ ears from becoming uncomfortable at such high speeds, an interior air pressure adjustment system, similar to that of an aircraft, has been installed.
  4. Unfortunately, many people who have fears like claustrophobia still find it to be a terrifying place. Potential passengers start to feel uneasy and start to sweat when they think of being cooped up in a small space with strangers or, worse, by themselves.
  5. It’s shocking, but true, the elevator can turn into a private space for intercourse once the cabin doors are closed. As long as the cabin remains unglazed, this has been recognized by the Court of Cassation in principle (Cass. 10060/2001).
  6. Generally speaking, being in a small place can lead to an awkward silence that is typically broken by the so-called “elevator pitch” or lift speech. This corporate term is used to describe brief but impactful presentations that convey one’s thoughts throughout the brief duration of a lift trip.
6 curiosità