March 23: Lifts/elevators

On March 23 1857 the first passenger elevator was installed at 488 Broadway in New York City. 10 facts about elevators (or lifts if you're in UK, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand, India, South Africa or Nigeria).

1. Lifts were around before 1857, however. The earliest known elevator was built by Archimedes in 236 BC. There were a couple of references to lifts in the ancient Roman Colosseum which were manually operated by over 200 slaves; and Louis XV of France had a so-called 'flying chair' built for one of his mistresses at the Chateau de Versailles in 1743.
2. There isn't a fancy name for a fear of elevators. However, they are triggers for agoraphobia or claustrophobia. Lifts plummeting because the cables break, or getting stuck in a lift are common scenarios in horror films. In the early days, people feared they would get travel sick from using a lift.
3. In fact, elevators are the safest means of travel. They are 20 times safer than Escalators, and compared to motor vehicles - statistics show that an average of 26 people will die in an elevator each year where as 26 people die in car crashes every five hours. Most of the people who die in lift related accidents are elevator technicians. In 1998, it was estimated that only eight millionths of one percent (1 in 12 million) of elevator rides result in an anomaly – usually doors failing to open. In fact, aside from September 11, there has only been one known occurrence of an elevator car free falling due to a snapped cable, in 1945 when a B25 Bomber crashed into the Empire State Building, severing the cables of two elevators. There was a woman in one of the lifts, but she survived, because the coils of fallen cable at the bottom of the shaft lessened the impact.
4. They may be safe, but there's a certain amount of discomfort in using them, due to the lack of personal space which may occur in a fully loaded lift. The area required for personal space is 2.3 feet. The average amount in elevators is only 2 feet. In the early days of the lift, gentlemen were supposed to remove their hats if there was a lady in the room, so some awkwardness ensued if a woman joined them in the lift. Did it actually count as a room? Should they take their hats off?
5. Ever wondered why there is often Music playing in lifts and why there are often mirrors? Those things were introduced to calm nervous passengers and keep them occupied. Mirrors made the lift look bigger so people were less likely to freak out from claustrophobia; plus they gave the illusion that the lift was moving faster than it actually was. The Door Close button was another feature designed to make people think they had control. It doesn't usually work at all, except in emergencies when they can be enabled centrally.
6. Over the course of three days, the world's elevators will carry the equivalent of the world's population, some 7.4 billion people.
7. Lifts changed the way multi-story buildings were arranged. Before lifts, rich people lived on the lower floors while poor people and servants were expected to climb several flights of stairs to their accommodation. Once there were elevators, the rich people could get to the top of the building in comfort and decided they liked the view from up there – so the penthouse was born.
8. There are many different kinds of lifts and elevators for moving people and their stuff. I'll mention two here. The paternoster lift consists of a chain of open compartments which move slowly in a loop up and down inside a building without stopping. Passengers can step on or off at any floor they like. The name paternoster ("Our Father", the first two words of the Lord's Prayer in Latin), comes from the fact that the elevator is in the form of a loop and is similar to rosary beads used as an aid in reciting prayers. However, the health and safety people have banned them and there are very few still in operation. There is also what is termed a "Sabbath elevator", common where there is a high population of observant Jews. The lift can be placed in a mode whereby it automatically stops on every floor so the people using it don't violate the prohibition against operating electrical devices on the Sabbath.
9. The busiest lift in the world is in Brazil and acts as go-between Uptown and Downtown. Every month, the elevator transports 900,000 passengers. The fastest is in the Shanghai Tower where the lifts travel at 73.8 km/h (45.9 mph).
10. There is even a monthly magazine for elevator nerds. It's called Elevator World.

New!

Closing the Circle

A stable wormhole has been established between Earth and Infinitus. Power Blaster and his friends can finally go home.

Desi Troyes is still at large on Earth - Power Blaster has vowed to bring him to justice. His wedding to Shanna is under threat as the Desperadoes launch an attempt to rescue their leader. 

Someone from Power Blaster's past plays an unexpected and significant role in capturing Troyes.

The return home brings its own challenges. Not everyone can return to the life they left behind, and for some, there is unfinished business to be dealt with before they can start anew.

Ben Cole in particular cannot resume his old life as a surgeon because technology no longer works around him. He plans a new life in Classica, away from technology. Shanna hears there could be a way to reverse his condition and sets out to find it, putting herself in great danger. She doesn't know she is about to uncover the secret of Power Blaster's mysterious past.

Available from:

Amazon (Paperback)

Amazon Kindle

Completes The Raiders Trilogy. 

Other books in the series:

Book One

Book Two