1 00:00:03,279 --> 00:00:06,200 Speaker 1: Welcome to Part Time Genius, the production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:14,160 Speaker 1: I Guess what Will? What's that Mango? So I heard 3 00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:16,080 Speaker 1: this fact yesterday that a lot of buildings in New 4 00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:19,520 Speaker 1: York lie about how tall they are. The buildings are 5 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:23,280 Speaker 1: lying about how tall they are. Well, maybe it's the builders, 6 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:26,119 Speaker 1: but they exaggerate about their buildings. So you know how 7 00:00:26,239 --> 00:00:28,520 Speaker 1: guys have this reputation for lying about their height. Right 8 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:30,880 Speaker 1: of course, so in New York City builders will lie 9 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:34,160 Speaker 1: about how tall their buildings are to attract a certain clientele, 10 00:00:34,479 --> 00:00:36,760 Speaker 1: which is weird to me, and people just buy it. 11 00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:39,600 Speaker 1: I guess they do because the way they trick people 12 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:42,040 Speaker 1: is with the elevators. Unless you're gonna count each and 13 00:00:42,080 --> 00:00:44,239 Speaker 1: every floor, the only way you're going to interact with 14 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:46,919 Speaker 1: all the floors is through the buttons on the elevators. Right, 15 00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:49,800 Speaker 1: Some of this tends to be innocent. Some builders skipped 16 00:00:49,800 --> 00:00:52,520 Speaker 1: the thirteenth floor because they're superstitious, so you get someone 17 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:54,840 Speaker 1: talking about like a fifteen story building when it's only 18 00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:58,880 Speaker 1: fourteen stories. But other builders love the grandeur. The first 19 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:01,160 Speaker 1: example that comes up when you google this phenomena is 20 00:01:01,200 --> 00:01:04,520 Speaker 1: Trump Tower, though the owner and his family supposed to 21 00:01:04,600 --> 00:01:07,680 Speaker 1: live on the sixty six through floor. The building is 22 00:01:07,680 --> 00:01:11,320 Speaker 1: actually ten floors shorter than that. It's only fifty eight stories. 23 00:01:11,520 --> 00:01:13,280 Speaker 1: You know. I feel like I've seen this in other 24 00:01:13,319 --> 00:01:16,240 Speaker 1: places to like when you walk past first class in 25 00:01:16,280 --> 00:01:18,679 Speaker 1: a plane and you're like, those are rows one through four, 26 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:20,520 Speaker 1: and then you go back to where we're trying to 27 00:01:20,560 --> 00:01:24,240 Speaker 1: sit and it's immediately like the tent throw. Yeah, exactly, 28 00:01:24,240 --> 00:01:26,840 Speaker 1: it's so weird. But I'm curious in terms of the buildings, 29 00:01:26,880 --> 00:01:30,040 Speaker 1: like how do they hide the ten floors? It's very similar. 30 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:33,200 Speaker 1: So the building has a huge, beautiful atrium with the 31 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:36,720 Speaker 1: tall ceiling, but the elevators start counting from floors thirty 32 00:01:36,840 --> 00:01:39,399 Speaker 1: instead of twenty, which is the actual height. Trump Tower 33 00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:41,440 Speaker 1: also does this where it's supposed to be ninety floors, 34 00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:43,400 Speaker 1: but if you stand at the top, it's only seventy 35 00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:46,360 Speaker 1: two stories high. It's like really common phenomena. And the 36 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:49,000 Speaker 1: way the buildings trick you is through the elevators. You know. 37 00:01:49,080 --> 00:01:51,760 Speaker 1: Elevators are an interesting topic, and I think there's a 38 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:53,960 Speaker 1: lot to talk about here, from why it's so awkward 39 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:57,280 Speaker 1: to ride an elevator with strangers, to whether the closed 40 00:01:57,280 --> 00:02:01,200 Speaker 1: door button actually does anything to most hortantly why are 41 00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:04,720 Speaker 1: all elevators named otis? This has always puzzled me. So 42 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:19,160 Speaker 1: we've got a lot to cover. Let's dive in. Yeah, 43 00:02:28,520 --> 00:02:31,040 Speaker 1: he their podcast listeners, Welcome to Part Time Genius. I'm 44 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:33,160 Speaker 1: Will Pearson and as always I'm joined by my good 45 00:02:33,160 --> 00:02:35,600 Speaker 1: friend Mangesh Ticketer and on the other side of that 46 00:02:35,639 --> 00:02:39,800 Speaker 1: soundproof glass dress like a lift operator from the nineteen fifties, 47 00:02:40,120 --> 00:02:43,400 Speaker 1: and he's adjusting his desk chair up and down. I mean, 48 00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:46,680 Speaker 1: it's really impressive. He's actually hinted that he was looking 49 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:48,680 Speaker 1: forward to this and he has really lived up to 50 00:02:48,720 --> 00:02:51,480 Speaker 1: the challenge here. That's our good pal and producer. Loll lull. 51 00:02:51,600 --> 00:02:55,680 Speaker 1: You are looking good. So Mango, what is our first 52 00:02:55,720 --> 00:02:59,119 Speaker 1: stop on this elevator tour? So actually, before we kick off, 53 00:02:59,160 --> 00:03:00,800 Speaker 1: I've got a little bit of house key thing to 54 00:03:00,840 --> 00:03:03,760 Speaker 1: tie up. In our last episode on Nine Comic Book Heroes, 55 00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:07,240 Speaker 1: we talked about this terrible character, the Red Bee, and 56 00:03:07,320 --> 00:03:11,320 Speaker 1: his secret weapon, this ridiculous train being named Michael who 57 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:13,280 Speaker 1: you know, if you'll remember, he'd keep him in his 58 00:03:13,320 --> 00:03:16,200 Speaker 1: belt then unleash him on villains. But one of our 59 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:19,360 Speaker 1: listeners on Twitter, Charles Poor, pointed out that male bees 60 00:03:19,480 --> 00:03:23,400 Speaker 1: don't sting. That's a very good point. Yeah, yeah, it 61 00:03:23,560 --> 00:03:28,080 Speaker 1: only makes Michael seem more useless. It's true. That just 62 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:30,880 Speaker 1: makes it that much better though. So thank you so much, Charles. 63 00:03:30,919 --> 00:03:32,760 Speaker 1: If you d m me your address, I'll send you 64 00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:34,600 Speaker 1: a small package of honey as a thank you. But 65 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:37,040 Speaker 1: back to elevators, and I want to go back to 66 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:40,640 Speaker 1: a time when elevators were a little more dangerous. Yeah, so, 67 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:43,400 Speaker 1: I know modern elevators started to take shape. I guess 68 00:03:43,440 --> 00:03:45,520 Speaker 1: it was, you know, as early as the eighteen fifties. 69 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:48,960 Speaker 1: But were they around long before that? Like when exactly 70 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:51,720 Speaker 1: was the first elevator made. So it kind of depends 71 00:03:51,720 --> 00:03:53,880 Speaker 1: on your definition. But if you take just the basic 72 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:56,960 Speaker 1: concept of an elevator, like a machine that can lift 73 00:03:56,960 --> 00:03:59,720 Speaker 1: things vertically, then you're probably talking about a few thousand 74 00:03:59,800 --> 00:04:03,119 Speaker 1: years ago. For instance, it's possible that the Egyptians used 75 00:04:03,200 --> 00:04:07,120 Speaker 1: vertical lifts to build their pyramids, but that's still speculation. 76 00:04:07,280 --> 00:04:10,480 Speaker 1: Like the first recorded use of vertical lift that comes 77 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:12,880 Speaker 1: from the third century b C. And this is when 78 00:04:12,880 --> 00:04:15,920 Speaker 1: the mathematician our communities built a platform that could be 79 00:04:15,920 --> 00:04:19,120 Speaker 1: hoisted up and down using ropes and pulleys. Now, these 80 00:04:19,160 --> 00:04:22,440 Speaker 1: early lifts obviously didn't run on electricity. Instead, they were 81 00:04:22,440 --> 00:04:26,200 Speaker 1: powered by people, animals, in some cases even water. They 82 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:29,040 Speaker 1: also weren't used as people movers. Instead, the hoists were 83 00:04:29,040 --> 00:04:32,240 Speaker 1: mostly used to lift building materials or water jugs. And 84 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:34,799 Speaker 1: it wasn't until a few centuries later that primitive elevators 85 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:37,719 Speaker 1: were finally used to transport living creatures. This was in 86 00:04:37,720 --> 00:04:41,520 Speaker 1: the first century CE, when Roman gladiators and wild animals 87 00:04:41,520 --> 00:04:43,640 Speaker 1: would ride the lifts from the lower levels up to 88 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:45,720 Speaker 1: the floor of the colisseum. Right, So even then, most 89 00:04:45,760 --> 00:04:48,960 Speaker 1: people probably wouldn't have trusted their lives to an elevator, 90 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:51,280 Speaker 1: I would assume at least at that point. And they 91 00:04:51,279 --> 00:04:54,640 Speaker 1: were considered safe enough though for enslaved combatants and lions 92 00:04:54,760 --> 00:04:58,200 Speaker 1: or whatever. But the average citizen would have probably chosen 93 00:04:58,200 --> 00:05:00,919 Speaker 1: the stairs still, definitely, and and there was just still 94 00:05:00,960 --> 00:05:03,360 Speaker 1: too much room for error when you had, you know, 95 00:05:03,520 --> 00:05:06,640 Speaker 1: people or donkeys pulling the ropes. People didn't really start 96 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:10,040 Speaker 1: using elevators by choice until more reliable systems were developed. 97 00:05:10,040 --> 00:05:13,240 Speaker 1: For instance, in UH seventeen forty three, King Louis the 98 00:05:13,279 --> 00:05:15,920 Speaker 1: fifteenth had one of the earliest passenger elevators installed in 99 00:05:15,960 --> 00:05:18,760 Speaker 1: the palace at Versailles. He was a ladies man and 100 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:21,640 Speaker 1: the private elevator was an easy way for his mistress 101 00:05:21,680 --> 00:05:23,960 Speaker 1: to visit him in secret, and he referred to it 102 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:26,440 Speaker 1: as a flying chair. Basically, all you have to do 103 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:28,400 Speaker 1: to operate it was to pull a cord connected to 104 00:05:28,440 --> 00:05:31,240 Speaker 1: a police system and from their gravity and a series 105 00:05:31,279 --> 00:05:34,800 Speaker 1: of counterweights would do the rest. Pretty clever, I guess, yeah. 106 00:05:34,839 --> 00:05:38,360 Speaker 1: And and in the early eighteen hundred, steam actually gets incorporated, 107 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:41,160 Speaker 1: and this ends up being super helpful because steam powered 108 00:05:41,160 --> 00:05:43,720 Speaker 1: lifts were able to move much heavier loads. You're thinking 109 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:46,720 Speaker 1: about things like cold or lumber and steel um and 110 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:49,120 Speaker 1: suddenly this could all be raised hundreds of feet in 111 00:05:49,160 --> 00:05:52,239 Speaker 1: a matter of seconds. This new capacity led to major 112 00:05:52,279 --> 00:05:55,080 Speaker 1: booms and construction and mining and and it's actually a 113 00:05:55,080 --> 00:05:58,960 Speaker 1: big part of what made the Industrial revolution so transformative. 114 00:05:59,480 --> 00:06:03,200 Speaker 1: But steam powered elevator still had one major flaw. They 115 00:06:03,200 --> 00:06:06,960 Speaker 1: were really dangerous, like super dangerous, and and if a 116 00:06:07,080 --> 00:06:10,599 Speaker 1: rope snap, the lift would just plummet. And unfortunately, that 117 00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:12,880 Speaker 1: happened pretty often all through the first half of the 118 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:16,000 Speaker 1: nineteenth century, right And it's around that halfway point that 119 00:06:16,080 --> 00:06:19,880 Speaker 1: an entrepreneur, an inventor named elisha Otis enters the picture. 120 00:06:19,960 --> 00:06:22,240 Speaker 1: We mentioned that name earlier, and he got into the 121 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:25,520 Speaker 1: elevator game in eighteen fifty two while working on a 122 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:28,400 Speaker 1: project for a company that made bed frames. So the 123 00:06:28,480 --> 00:06:31,560 Speaker 1: client needed a way to move heavy manufacturing equipment to 124 00:06:31,600 --> 00:06:34,640 Speaker 1: the second floor of its factory. There was only one problem, though, 125 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:36,600 Speaker 1: and that was that the equipment they were moving was 126 00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:39,719 Speaker 1: so heavy that the lifting cables couldn't bear the weight 127 00:06:39,760 --> 00:06:42,560 Speaker 1: for all that long. So there was this constant risk 128 00:06:42,640 --> 00:06:45,159 Speaker 1: that the cables were going to snap, and if that happened, 129 00:06:45,200 --> 00:06:47,680 Speaker 1: there would be nothing to stop the elevator from plunging 130 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:51,159 Speaker 1: straight to the ground floor. So Otis's solution to the 131 00:06:51,200 --> 00:06:54,920 Speaker 1: problem was to develop the world's first safety device for elevators. 132 00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:58,280 Speaker 1: It was basically like a brake system that functioned as 133 00:06:58,279 --> 00:07:01,000 Speaker 1: a fail safe for the lift. So if the cable 134 00:07:01,040 --> 00:07:03,679 Speaker 1: should break, the loss of tension would trigger the release 135 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:06,360 Speaker 1: of these levers on either side of the elevator car, 136 00:07:06,760 --> 00:07:09,200 Speaker 1: and then these levers would lock and do these series 137 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:12,040 Speaker 1: of grooves that were along the vertical rails of the elevator, 138 00:07:12,520 --> 00:07:14,960 Speaker 1: and that would sort of arrest the fall and and 139 00:07:15,080 --> 00:07:17,280 Speaker 1: lock the car in place. So it's pretty innovative. That's 140 00:07:17,280 --> 00:07:19,000 Speaker 1: pretty amazing. So so I just want to make sure 141 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:21,640 Speaker 1: I have this straight. Like, the vertical rails were already 142 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:24,400 Speaker 1: part of the elevator design, right, Like, they just didn't 143 00:07:24,440 --> 00:07:26,960 Speaker 1: have that like locking system built into them until Otis 144 00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:28,840 Speaker 1: came along. Yeah, that's right. I mean all of the 145 00:07:28,840 --> 00:07:31,920 Speaker 1: elevators of the era were braced on either side by 146 00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:34,640 Speaker 1: these vertical rails that helped keep the car steady as 147 00:07:34,640 --> 00:07:37,080 Speaker 1: it was going up or down. And so those rails 148 00:07:37,080 --> 00:07:40,600 Speaker 1: were completely smooth, though, so if a cable broke, the 149 00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:43,320 Speaker 1: car would just slide right down the rails and free fall, 150 00:07:43,320 --> 00:07:46,800 Speaker 1: which would obviously be dangerous and terrifying. And so Otis's 151 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:49,760 Speaker 1: breakthrough was to carve grooves into the rails and create 152 00:07:50,160 --> 00:07:53,600 Speaker 1: kind of a saw toothed ratchet system that would act 153 00:07:53,640 --> 00:07:57,640 Speaker 1: as these brakes. Industrial companies recognized the merits of the 154 00:07:57,680 --> 00:08:00,880 Speaker 1: new breaking system right away, and Otis quickly set to 155 00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:04,600 Speaker 1: work on, you know, filing orders for freight elevators. But 156 00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:08,000 Speaker 1: the public was still unconvinced. Was understandably because it is, 157 00:08:08,040 --> 00:08:11,280 Speaker 1: you know, such a different invention and everything, but most 158 00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:14,840 Speaker 1: people viewed elevators as these death traps, and they were 159 00:08:14,920 --> 00:08:18,320 Speaker 1: unlikely to be swayed from this opinion by these confusing 160 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:22,000 Speaker 1: diagrams they were singing and all these technical explanations. So 161 00:08:22,040 --> 00:08:24,320 Speaker 1: in order to really trust such a system, people would 162 00:08:24,440 --> 00:08:26,840 Speaker 1: need to see it for themselves. And so at the 163 00:08:26,880 --> 00:08:30,880 Speaker 1: World's Fair in eighteen fifty four, Elisha Otis allowed them 164 00:08:30,880 --> 00:08:34,760 Speaker 1: to do just that. So you're saying that, like fair 165 00:08:34,800 --> 00:08:36,960 Speaker 1: goers were actually willing to get into these elevators and 166 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:40,199 Speaker 1: test the brake systems. No, still not at this point. 167 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:42,800 Speaker 1: But Otis thought about that, I mean, he anticipated that, 168 00:08:42,880 --> 00:08:45,640 Speaker 1: and so he arranged a stunt that would instead put 169 00:08:45,679 --> 00:08:49,240 Speaker 1: only one person's life on the line, and that, of course, 170 00:08:49,440 --> 00:08:51,800 Speaker 1: was his own. And so here's what happened. That You're 171 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:55,560 Speaker 1: at the Crystal Palace Exposition Hall, and Otis constructed this 172 00:08:55,679 --> 00:08:59,240 Speaker 1: fifty foot wooden elevator. Then, with some help from none 173 00:08:59,240 --> 00:09:02,679 Speaker 1: other than P. T. Barnum himself, Otis gathered this crowd 174 00:09:02,760 --> 00:09:06,360 Speaker 1: and promised them this death defying stunt unlike any they 175 00:09:06,400 --> 00:09:09,640 Speaker 1: had ever seen. So the crowd is, you know, hyped 176 00:09:09,720 --> 00:09:12,920 Speaker 1: up and everything. And Otis then dramatically rides the elevator 177 00:09:12,960 --> 00:09:15,600 Speaker 1: to the very top, where he then ordered an axe 178 00:09:15,640 --> 00:09:19,439 Speaker 1: wielding assistant to cut the rope that held up the elevator. 179 00:09:20,160 --> 00:09:23,520 Speaker 1: The onlookers were stunned and sort of braced themselves for 180 00:09:23,559 --> 00:09:27,720 Speaker 1: this tragic scene, but thankfully it never came. And that's because, 181 00:09:28,080 --> 00:09:30,320 Speaker 1: you know, of course, to their surprise and great relief, 182 00:09:30,320 --> 00:09:33,320 Speaker 1: the platform dropped just a few inches and then came 183 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:37,000 Speaker 1: to a complete stop. The crowd was blown away by this, 184 00:09:37,080 --> 00:09:40,160 Speaker 1: but they were also skeptical of how reliable the system 185 00:09:40,240 --> 00:09:42,880 Speaker 1: really was. And you know, they thought, maybe Otis just 186 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:45,960 Speaker 1: got insanely lucky, and there was no guarantee that the 187 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:49,440 Speaker 1: brakes would work a second time. So Otis performed the 188 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:52,920 Speaker 1: stunt again and again and again. Every hour of the 189 00:09:53,000 --> 00:09:56,320 Speaker 1: day that the fair was open. He performed this stunt, 190 00:09:56,360 --> 00:09:59,560 Speaker 1: and in this way, little by little, one crowd at 191 00:09:59,559 --> 00:10:02,480 Speaker 1: a time, him Otis won over the public and convinced 192 00:10:02,520 --> 00:10:05,760 Speaker 1: them that elevators were at long last safe to ride. 193 00:10:06,080 --> 00:10:08,560 Speaker 1: That is such an amazing stunt, Like, it's such an 194 00:10:08,760 --> 00:10:11,360 Speaker 1: amazing pr thing that all you're basically doing is riding 195 00:10:11,360 --> 00:10:17,160 Speaker 1: an elevator. Pretty amazing. But you know, I'm guessing this 196 00:10:17,280 --> 00:10:19,599 Speaker 1: was a turning point for Otis, Like I read that 197 00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:21,880 Speaker 1: the first passenger elevator to use his brake system was 198 00:10:21,920 --> 00:10:25,280 Speaker 1: installed in New York in eighteen fifty seven, so it 199 00:10:25,360 --> 00:10:27,440 Speaker 1: was still about three years after the fair. But but 200 00:10:27,520 --> 00:10:31,199 Speaker 1: then the floodgates really open, and within sixteen years more 201 00:10:31,200 --> 00:10:35,280 Speaker 1: than two thousand passenger elevators were operating all across the country. Yeah, 202 00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:37,760 Speaker 1: there was definitely a snowball effect to all of this. 203 00:10:37,840 --> 00:10:40,600 Speaker 1: And you know, sadly Otis actually didn't live long enough 204 00:10:40,640 --> 00:10:44,440 Speaker 1: to see just how widely embraced his invention became. He 205 00:10:44,520 --> 00:10:47,920 Speaker 1: passed away in eighteen sixty one, just a few years 206 00:10:47,960 --> 00:10:51,120 Speaker 1: after his first elevator was installed in New York. But 207 00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:54,920 Speaker 1: his sons did carry on the family business, along with others, 208 00:10:55,000 --> 00:10:57,200 Speaker 1: and and and they worked to make improvements on that 209 00:10:57,280 --> 00:11:02,199 Speaker 1: original design, including the switch to hydraulic power and eventually, 210 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:05,640 Speaker 1: of course, to electricity. Now, all of this innovation helps 211 00:11:05,679 --> 00:11:08,000 Speaker 1: secure the elevator's place as one of the most highly 212 00:11:08,080 --> 00:11:12,559 Speaker 1: traffic transport systems in the world. And that's not an exaggeration. 213 00:11:12,600 --> 00:11:15,480 Speaker 1: According to the l A Times, the world's elevators now 214 00:11:15,520 --> 00:11:19,960 Speaker 1: move the equivalent of the Earth's population every seventy two hours. 215 00:11:20,200 --> 00:11:23,200 Speaker 1: If you think about that, every three days, over seven 216 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:26,640 Speaker 1: and a half billion people take a ride on an elevator. 217 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:30,520 Speaker 1: That is not something I'd even comprehended. That's pretty remarkable. Yeah, 218 00:11:30,559 --> 00:11:33,560 Speaker 1: it's it's it's really crazy. And it's especially true of 219 00:11:33,640 --> 00:11:37,520 Speaker 1: Otis elevators, which are still going strong today. For example, 220 00:11:37,559 --> 00:11:40,280 Speaker 1: the elevators in the Eiffel Tower road to selevators, so 221 00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:42,920 Speaker 1: are the ones in the Empire, State Building, the White House, 222 00:11:42,920 --> 00:11:45,640 Speaker 1: the Vatican, the Kremlin. I mean, the list goes on 223 00:11:45,720 --> 00:11:47,840 Speaker 1: and on, and the company is now one of the 224 00:11:47,880 --> 00:11:51,600 Speaker 1: two largest elevator manufacturers in the world. And that's why 225 00:11:51,600 --> 00:11:54,559 Speaker 1: if you step into an elevator today, the chances are 226 00:11:54,640 --> 00:11:57,240 Speaker 1: you will find that Otis name inscribed on the walls there, 227 00:11:57,320 --> 00:12:00,000 Speaker 1: which makes a lot more sense than all the elevator 228 00:12:00,040 --> 00:12:03,360 Speaker 1: is in the world being nicknamed Otis. But uh I, 229 00:12:03,360 --> 00:12:05,360 Speaker 1: I think we should talk some more about the rapid 230 00:12:05,360 --> 00:12:07,560 Speaker 1: growth phase that elevators went through near the turn of 231 00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:10,520 Speaker 1: the twentieth century. You actually mentioned that there are a 232 00:12:10,640 --> 00:12:14,080 Speaker 1: couple thousands spread across the country by the early eighteen seventies, 233 00:12:14,440 --> 00:12:16,960 Speaker 1: but the majority of those were still being used in 234 00:12:16,960 --> 00:12:20,760 Speaker 1: industrial settings, and and you'd find the safety elevators in 235 00:12:20,760 --> 00:12:23,680 Speaker 1: in coal mines or construction sites, but it was still 236 00:12:23,679 --> 00:12:25,960 Speaker 1: pretty rare to see one in an office building or 237 00:12:26,120 --> 00:12:29,440 Speaker 1: apartment complex. Yeah, the average person didn't come into contact 238 00:12:29,440 --> 00:12:33,040 Speaker 1: with elevators all that often. And that finally starts to 239 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:36,240 Speaker 1: change in the eighteen seventies, though, is business owners begin 240 00:12:36,280 --> 00:12:39,800 Speaker 1: adding elevators to their office buildings and and that's really 241 00:12:39,840 --> 00:12:43,120 Speaker 1: what launched the invention into its next phase, where you 242 00:12:43,160 --> 00:12:46,680 Speaker 1: start to see all the architectural and cultural impacts that 243 00:12:46,720 --> 00:12:49,480 Speaker 1: elevators have had. Yeah, I mean, it's wild to think 244 00:12:49,480 --> 00:12:51,800 Speaker 1: about how different the cities we know would look if 245 00:12:51,840 --> 00:12:55,520 Speaker 1: it weren't for elevators, Like, no skyscrapers, high rise apartments, 246 00:12:55,640 --> 00:12:58,559 Speaker 1: like all the buildings would just be a few stories tall. 247 00:12:58,840 --> 00:13:01,320 Speaker 1: It's funny when you look back and realized that higher 248 00:13:01,360 --> 00:13:03,959 Speaker 1: floors would you know, they used to be the least 249 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:07,320 Speaker 1: desirable spaces in a building. Like today we connect higher 250 00:13:07,360 --> 00:13:10,160 Speaker 1: floors with a sense of luxury. They're more private, farther 251 00:13:10,240 --> 00:13:12,520 Speaker 1: removed from the noise of the streets, you know, not 252 00:13:12,600 --> 00:13:15,440 Speaker 1: to mention those birds eye view of the skyline. But 253 00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:19,120 Speaker 1: before elevators made them more accessible, those top floors were 254 00:13:19,160 --> 00:13:22,480 Speaker 1: seen as inconvenient like In fact, they were typically set 255 00:13:22,520 --> 00:13:25,400 Speaker 1: aside for either low rent tenants or like the in 256 00:13:25,559 --> 00:13:28,559 Speaker 1: house janitor, So how many stairs you had to climb 257 00:13:28,640 --> 00:13:31,000 Speaker 1: to get to your apartment was really kind of a 258 00:13:31,120 --> 00:13:35,079 Speaker 1: status signifier, like the fewer obviously the better, exactly, and 259 00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:37,160 Speaker 1: and and so when elevators came along, not only did 260 00:13:37,160 --> 00:13:40,520 Speaker 1: those higher floors get much more appealing and much more valuable, 261 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:44,040 Speaker 1: they also got much higher. So thanks to the advent 262 00:13:44,200 --> 00:13:47,400 Speaker 1: of steel frame construction, and of course thanks to elevators, 263 00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:50,920 Speaker 1: buildings could suddenly be built much taller than before. This 264 00:13:51,000 --> 00:13:53,600 Speaker 1: basically meant that anyone who owned a building no longer 265 00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:56,400 Speaker 1: need to fight for new land to develop on, like 266 00:13:56,559 --> 00:13:59,959 Speaker 1: that's something that's always in short supply and cities. Instead 267 00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:04,120 Speaker 1: they can simply build upwards new offices, hotel rooms, retail 268 00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:07,240 Speaker 1: space like there's nothing but air above. So in a way, 269 00:14:07,280 --> 00:14:10,280 Speaker 1: elevators literally shaped the cities we know today. I actually 270 00:14:10,280 --> 00:14:13,600 Speaker 1: found this great quote from this guy named Patrick Karajat, 271 00:14:14,040 --> 00:14:17,080 Speaker 1: and he's the founder of the Elevator Museum in New York. 272 00:14:17,120 --> 00:14:20,280 Speaker 1: And according to him quote, if we didn't have elevators, 273 00:14:20,480 --> 00:14:24,400 Speaker 1: we would have a megalopolis, one continuous city stretching from 274 00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:27,920 Speaker 1: Philadelphia to Boston, because everything would be five or six 275 00:14:27,960 --> 00:14:30,680 Speaker 1: stories tall. It's interesting to think about as this choice 276 00:14:30,720 --> 00:14:35,200 Speaker 1: between a sprawling, horizontal city or is more densely clustered, 277 00:14:35,320 --> 00:14:38,040 Speaker 1: vertical one. And it reminds me this cool Boston Globe 278 00:14:38,080 --> 00:14:41,600 Speaker 1: article that talked about a kind of invisible war between 279 00:14:41,680 --> 00:14:44,600 Speaker 1: elevators and cars that's been going on for the past 280 00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:47,160 Speaker 1: century or so. So the ideas that you have these 281 00:14:47,200 --> 00:14:50,720 Speaker 1: two new technologies that we're basically pushing us in two 282 00:14:50,760 --> 00:14:53,880 Speaker 1: different directions. On the one side, you had cars, which 283 00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:57,600 Speaker 1: allowed people to travel horizontally, and the other you had elevators, 284 00:14:57,600 --> 00:15:00,840 Speaker 1: which of course move people vertically. And city planners had 285 00:15:00,880 --> 00:15:03,760 Speaker 1: to choose which of these new technologies they were going 286 00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:06,200 Speaker 1: to get behind, which you know, which one they were 287 00:15:06,200 --> 00:15:08,960 Speaker 1: going to focus on developing their cities around. And if 288 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:12,040 Speaker 1: you looked up an American city during the last hundred years, 289 00:15:12,400 --> 00:15:15,480 Speaker 1: it's pretty obvious you know which one they picked, definitely. 290 00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:17,360 Speaker 1: But it's not like cars were left by the wayside 291 00:15:17,440 --> 00:15:19,320 Speaker 1: or any thing. Like elevators may have won the battle 292 00:15:19,360 --> 00:15:22,280 Speaker 1: to shape cities, but cars are still the you know, 293 00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:25,640 Speaker 1: transportation of choice, and suburbs where the sprawl is is 294 00:15:25,720 --> 00:15:27,560 Speaker 1: much less of an issue. Yeah, I guess in the 295 00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:29,600 Speaker 1: end it's it's sort of been a draw in that 296 00:15:29,640 --> 00:15:32,080 Speaker 1: sense between those two. But all right, so We've seen 297 00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:34,960 Speaker 1: how elevators have evolved over the years, and I feel 298 00:15:35,000 --> 00:15:36,640 Speaker 1: like we should check out a few things about them 299 00:15:36,640 --> 00:15:39,800 Speaker 1: that have actually stayed the same. Before we get to that, 300 00:15:39,920 --> 00:15:55,600 Speaker 1: let's take a quick break. You're listening to Part Time 301 00:15:55,640 --> 00:15:59,920 Speaker 1: Genius and we're talking about the eccentricities of elevator etiquette. Right, Magoes, 302 00:16:00,080 --> 00:16:03,480 Speaker 1: we talked about the elevator's effect on our architecture and 303 00:16:03,600 --> 00:16:07,280 Speaker 1: daily routines. Now let's talk about how elevators affected the 304 00:16:07,280 --> 00:16:09,640 Speaker 1: people who rode them, Because when you think about it, 305 00:16:09,680 --> 00:16:13,640 Speaker 1: passenger elevators really created a new kind of social situation, 306 00:16:13,760 --> 00:16:17,840 Speaker 1: like one that's strangely intimate yet impersonal at the same time. 307 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:19,680 Speaker 1: It's always a little bit weird to be in an 308 00:16:19,680 --> 00:16:22,000 Speaker 1: elevator full of people, or even more weird to be 309 00:16:22,040 --> 00:16:25,360 Speaker 1: with one person. But you know, this new dynamic raised 310 00:16:25,400 --> 00:16:29,040 Speaker 1: all kinds of questions about what was proper behavior when 311 00:16:29,160 --> 00:16:32,680 Speaker 1: riding an elevator. The one hot debate, for example, was 312 00:16:33,040 --> 00:16:35,600 Speaker 1: whether a man should remove his hat while riding in 313 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:37,920 Speaker 1: an elevator with a woman. You know, I'm sure you 314 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:40,440 Speaker 1: think about this all the time and really worried about, like, 315 00:16:40,760 --> 00:16:42,400 Speaker 1: should he take his hat off as he would in 316 00:16:42,440 --> 00:16:44,640 Speaker 1: a restaurant or leave it on as he would, you know, 317 00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:46,240 Speaker 1: on a train or a bus. I mean, it's a 318 00:16:46,240 --> 00:16:48,280 Speaker 1: lot to think about. I don't think I even realize 319 00:16:48,280 --> 00:16:50,320 Speaker 1: you're supposed to leave your hat on on a bus, 320 00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:54,680 Speaker 1: but yeah, leave it on. But it's interesting because restaurants 321 00:16:54,680 --> 00:16:57,520 Speaker 1: and busses are both examples of public spaces, right, So 322 00:16:57,840 --> 00:17:00,240 Speaker 1: for elevators, it was really more about whether they were 323 00:17:00,280 --> 00:17:03,480 Speaker 1: a mode of transportation or just another room in the building, 324 00:17:03,680 --> 00:17:06,320 Speaker 1: albeit a moving room. So it's kind of a tough 325 00:17:06,359 --> 00:17:10,040 Speaker 1: call because both descriptions are technically a fit for that. Yeah, 326 00:17:10,080 --> 00:17:13,080 Speaker 1: it's true, and I think that was really what through people, 327 00:17:13,119 --> 00:17:16,840 Speaker 1: Like the elevator was a mode of transportation inside a building, 328 00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:20,200 Speaker 1: So which set of rules do you follow now? Unlike 329 00:17:20,280 --> 00:17:23,679 Speaker 1: riding a bus, riding an elevator brought unclear expectations for 330 00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:27,879 Speaker 1: social interaction, Like even if you don't know the other passengers, 331 00:17:28,359 --> 00:17:30,480 Speaker 1: you know that they live or work in the same 332 00:17:30,520 --> 00:17:32,520 Speaker 1: building as you, and so there's this sense that you 333 00:17:32,520 --> 00:17:35,520 Speaker 1: should at least acknowledge that in some way, whether by 334 00:17:35,560 --> 00:17:39,400 Speaker 1: nodding or smiling or making small talk or whatever. Right, 335 00:17:39,440 --> 00:17:41,280 Speaker 1: But we never want to be the person to make 336 00:17:41,320 --> 00:17:43,080 Speaker 1: that call, right, like everyone wants to wait for the 337 00:17:43,119 --> 00:17:45,240 Speaker 1: other person to make the first move in those situations, 338 00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:48,119 Speaker 1: so it always creates this I don't know, like anxiety 339 00:17:48,200 --> 00:17:50,399 Speaker 1: or tension or something. No, I don't know. I usually 340 00:17:50,480 --> 00:17:52,000 Speaker 1: just go ahead and get in and get everybody a 341 00:17:52,119 --> 00:17:55,760 Speaker 1: hub and just get that out of the way exactly. 342 00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:58,280 Speaker 1: And it feels like, now, more than a hundred and 343 00:17:58,320 --> 00:18:01,680 Speaker 1: fifty years after their invention, we still haven't gotten over 344 00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:05,280 Speaker 1: those feelings of of discomfort. It's like, despite all the 345 00:18:05,320 --> 00:18:08,840 Speaker 1: advances in elevator design, the one thing we can't seem 346 00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:12,119 Speaker 1: to resolve is is this inherent awkwardness of taking this 347 00:18:12,320 --> 00:18:16,200 Speaker 1: short ride with other strangers. So I am curious if 348 00:18:16,240 --> 00:18:18,840 Speaker 1: you know what causes that, like, like what makes it 349 00:18:18,880 --> 00:18:21,520 Speaker 1: feel so awkward? Yeah, I was definitely curious about this. 350 00:18:21,520 --> 00:18:23,159 Speaker 1: This was actually one of the first things we were 351 00:18:23,200 --> 00:18:25,680 Speaker 1: looking into this week, and it turns out there are 352 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:29,160 Speaker 1: a few reasons. So one deals with something that international 353 00:18:29,200 --> 00:18:32,080 Speaker 1: tourists here a lot, which is that we Americans love 354 00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:35,640 Speaker 1: our personal space. So typically we like to keep at 355 00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:39,000 Speaker 1: least in arm's length of distance between us and other people, 356 00:18:39,560 --> 00:18:41,680 Speaker 1: and the elevator is one of the rare places where 357 00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:44,359 Speaker 1: that's not always possible, and so that's you know, what 358 00:18:44,480 --> 00:18:47,560 Speaker 1: brings on some of that awkwardness. Now, the other thing 359 00:18:47,560 --> 00:18:49,919 Speaker 1: that was is a bit more universal, and that's that 360 00:18:50,040 --> 00:18:52,360 Speaker 1: most of us are at least a little bit anxious 361 00:18:52,400 --> 00:18:56,720 Speaker 1: of being trapped in a steel box, which may sound obvious, 362 00:18:56,760 --> 00:18:59,040 Speaker 1: and and not only that you're dangling from the roof 363 00:18:59,160 --> 00:19:02,320 Speaker 1: by by this cable. And that's despite the fact that 364 00:19:02,359 --> 00:19:05,959 Speaker 1: elevators are actually super safe. In fact, they are one 365 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:09,959 Speaker 1: of the safest ways to travel period. So for example, 366 00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:13,800 Speaker 1: about people die taking the stairs each year, which is 367 00:19:13,840 --> 00:19:17,560 Speaker 1: just a really bizarre fact. But according to Consumer Watch, 368 00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:21,240 Speaker 1: there are only about twenty seven elevator related deaths per 369 00:19:21,320 --> 00:19:24,320 Speaker 1: year worldwide. Not gonna be honest, I wouldn't even know 370 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:27,160 Speaker 1: it was it was that much. And considering that elevators 371 00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:30,800 Speaker 1: make roughly eighteen billion trips each year according to the 372 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:34,320 Speaker 1: l A Times, that works out to an exceptionally low 373 00:19:34,440 --> 00:19:39,040 Speaker 1: fatality rate. It's about a point zero zero zero zero 374 00:19:39,160 --> 00:19:43,159 Speaker 1: zero zero one five per trip. So you know, the 375 00:19:43,240 --> 00:19:46,119 Speaker 1: awkwardness you feel in an elevator is very real, but 376 00:19:46,640 --> 00:19:50,240 Speaker 1: the sense of danger not so much. Well, I mean 377 00:19:50,400 --> 00:19:52,440 Speaker 1: that definitely tracts with what I learned this week about 378 00:19:52,480 --> 00:19:55,600 Speaker 1: the origin of elevator music. So I I always assumed 379 00:19:55,600 --> 00:19:57,800 Speaker 1: that the music was there to calm people's nerves and 380 00:19:58,119 --> 00:20:01,200 Speaker 1: make them less worried about going, you know, something going wrong. 381 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:04,600 Speaker 1: But according to elevator historians, of which there are actually 382 00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:07,600 Speaker 1: a great many, I found out this week elevator music 383 00:20:07,720 --> 00:20:10,840 Speaker 1: was really invented to help alleviate boredom and to fill 384 00:20:10,920 --> 00:20:13,919 Speaker 1: that awkward silence that comes from riding a lift with strangers. 385 00:20:14,240 --> 00:20:16,960 Speaker 1: I do kind of like the awkward silence. Was just assume, like, 386 00:20:17,040 --> 00:20:19,639 Speaker 1: of course people will choose that over small talk with 387 00:20:19,680 --> 00:20:22,119 Speaker 1: a stranger, you know, I know, and I guess building 388 00:20:22,119 --> 00:20:24,120 Speaker 1: owners were like, we know, you aren't going to talk 389 00:20:24,160 --> 00:20:25,920 Speaker 1: to each other. So here's some music to fill that 390 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:28,320 Speaker 1: void where where I guess the human interaction is supposed 391 00:20:28,359 --> 00:20:30,480 Speaker 1: to go. It's too bad it doesn't doesn't really work. 392 00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:34,000 Speaker 1: I mean reality, there is no escaping the awkward, or 393 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:36,200 Speaker 1: at least not until you hit the closed door button 394 00:20:36,240 --> 00:20:38,240 Speaker 1: really quickly when you see a stranger coming, just to 395 00:20:38,359 --> 00:20:41,600 Speaker 1: avoid the whole situation entirely. So here's the thing I 396 00:20:41,680 --> 00:20:44,040 Speaker 1: learned about that. You know, it turns out that closing 397 00:20:44,080 --> 00:20:47,040 Speaker 1: the elevator door on a stranger doesn't really work, and 398 00:20:47,160 --> 00:20:49,879 Speaker 1: that's because the closed door button and most American elevators 399 00:20:50,119 --> 00:20:53,200 Speaker 1: is ineffective. It actually, I guess, sort of makes sense. 400 00:20:53,240 --> 00:20:56,159 Speaker 1: I always suspected that was the case. But is this 401 00:20:56,200 --> 00:20:58,800 Speaker 1: by design or did the buttons just malfunction a lot, 402 00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:01,560 Speaker 1: or like, what what's happening? It is by design, so 403 00:21:01,680 --> 00:21:04,920 Speaker 1: the reason why is pretty interesting. Apparently, when the Americans 404 00:21:04,960 --> 00:21:08,800 Speaker 1: with Disabilities Act was first passed, it included a list 405 00:21:08,800 --> 00:21:12,320 Speaker 1: of requirements for elevators, and these are things like raised buttons, 406 00:21:12,440 --> 00:21:15,439 Speaker 1: braille signs, and another requirement was that elevator doors had 407 00:21:15,440 --> 00:21:18,040 Speaker 1: to remain open for at least three seconds, and that 408 00:21:18,080 --> 00:21:20,159 Speaker 1: way someone with the disability would have enough time to 409 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:23,879 Speaker 1: get inside before the doors closed. Some manufacturers complied with 410 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:26,320 Speaker 1: the law by ensuring that the closed door buttons don't 411 00:21:26,320 --> 00:21:28,880 Speaker 1: cut that time short, but others just want to step 412 00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:32,760 Speaker 1: further and deactivated the button entirely just to cover their bases. Still, 413 00:21:32,840 --> 00:21:35,359 Speaker 1: there are some exceptions to this. New York City has 414 00:21:35,359 --> 00:21:37,760 Speaker 1: a law that requires that all elevators have to have 415 00:21:37,800 --> 00:21:41,040 Speaker 1: a working closed door button, but the buttons are on 416 00:21:41,080 --> 00:21:43,680 Speaker 1: a delay, so it kind of defeats the purpose. And 417 00:21:43,800 --> 00:21:46,240 Speaker 1: of course other countries have their own laws about closed 418 00:21:46,240 --> 00:21:48,760 Speaker 1: door buttons, so like all the ones in England are 419 00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:51,520 Speaker 1: fully functional. For instance, it makes you wonder why our 420 00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:54,960 Speaker 1: elevators even have these if they're all deactivated, Well why 421 00:21:55,040 --> 00:21:57,600 Speaker 1: why bother with having them? Anyway, I think part of 422 00:21:57,600 --> 00:22:00,359 Speaker 1: it is like a placebo effect, like how a button 423 00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:02,000 Speaker 1: to mass just makes us feel a little bit more 424 00:22:02,000 --> 00:22:04,600 Speaker 1: in control of the situation, especially where when we're in 425 00:22:04,600 --> 00:22:07,280 Speaker 1: a rush or like, you know whatever. But you know, 426 00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:09,560 Speaker 1: elevators aren't the only place that we see this kind 427 00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:12,040 Speaker 1: of thing. So according to mental floss, uh and this 428 00:22:12,080 --> 00:22:15,159 Speaker 1: is what they wrote, quote, buttons place that city crosswalks 429 00:22:15,160 --> 00:22:18,359 Speaker 1: are often disabled, and the thermostats and many office buildings 430 00:22:18,400 --> 00:22:21,200 Speaker 1: are rigged so that the temperatures can't be altered even 431 00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:23,760 Speaker 1: if the numbers appeared to change. And it's a little annoying, 432 00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:26,959 Speaker 1: but I can also, you know, see the logic. They're like, 433 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:29,960 Speaker 1: people can be pretty impatient and having this button to 434 00:22:30,040 --> 00:22:32,359 Speaker 1: push does help pass the time, I guess, even if 435 00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:35,000 Speaker 1: it's not actually doing anything. Yeah, I mean, who doesn't 436 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:37,440 Speaker 1: like pushing buttons? Well, there's at least one other good 437 00:22:37,480 --> 00:22:39,639 Speaker 1: thing about elevator rides that I did want to mention, 438 00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:43,119 Speaker 1: and strangely enough, it stems from that social awkwardness that 439 00:22:43,160 --> 00:22:45,320 Speaker 1: we've been talking about. But before we get to that, 440 00:22:45,400 --> 00:23:01,480 Speaker 1: let's take one last quick break. Welcome back to part 441 00:23:01,480 --> 00:23:03,840 Speaker 1: time Genius. So okay, well, so, so you piqued my 442 00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:06,199 Speaker 1: interest before the break, and you've got to tell me 443 00:23:06,320 --> 00:23:10,000 Speaker 1: what's the upside to an awkward encounter in an elevator. Well, 444 00:23:10,040 --> 00:23:13,119 Speaker 1: in a word, the upside is serendipity. I mean that 445 00:23:13,200 --> 00:23:16,840 Speaker 1: the nature of the experience encourages these these sort of 446 00:23:16,920 --> 00:23:20,320 Speaker 1: chance developments, and sometimes they turn out to be really 447 00:23:20,320 --> 00:23:23,479 Speaker 1: good ones. And you never quite know what will happen 448 00:23:23,640 --> 00:23:26,359 Speaker 1: in an elevator. And so by being squeezed into this 449 00:23:26,440 --> 00:23:29,240 Speaker 1: small space with a stranger, even for a brief moment, 450 00:23:29,640 --> 00:23:33,440 Speaker 1: we're forced to think about and respond to somebody else's existence, 451 00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:36,040 Speaker 1: and that's something we don't have to do very often 452 00:23:36,119 --> 00:23:38,560 Speaker 1: outside of the elevator. Is that true, because it feels 453 00:23:38,600 --> 00:23:41,240 Speaker 1: like I interact with strangers in public spaces all the time, 454 00:23:41,320 --> 00:23:43,640 Speaker 1: like if I go to a restaurant or if I'm 455 00:23:43,640 --> 00:23:46,560 Speaker 1: in a checkoutline. Well, that's true, but in those cases, 456 00:23:46,560 --> 00:23:49,919 Speaker 1: the interactions are are pretty predetermined. If you think about it, 457 00:23:49,960 --> 00:23:52,000 Speaker 1: like you know that you'll be interacting with a waiter 458 00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:54,919 Speaker 1: or a cashier or whoever it may be, and you 459 00:23:54,960 --> 00:23:57,040 Speaker 1: know what to expect when you do, Like you'll talk 460 00:23:57,040 --> 00:24:00,560 Speaker 1: about food options or how much something caused. But apart 461 00:24:00,600 --> 00:24:04,400 Speaker 1: from small, intentional encounters like that, most of us are 462 00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:08,280 Speaker 1: actually pretty isolated in public spaces. You know, we're we're 463 00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:10,960 Speaker 1: either in our cars or at our desk, or maybe 464 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:13,359 Speaker 1: you're out and about and you know, and you see people, 465 00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:16,159 Speaker 1: but our eyes are sort of glued to our phone 466 00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:19,440 Speaker 1: screens and all of that acts as a barrier between 467 00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:24,080 Speaker 1: us and these unprescribed interactions. But in an elevator, all 468 00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:26,280 Speaker 1: bets are off, Like you never know who's going to 469 00:24:26,320 --> 00:24:28,960 Speaker 1: step in that box with you or what they might 470 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:31,000 Speaker 1: say or do when they're in there. And so that's 471 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:33,440 Speaker 1: a good thing, I mean, at least in theory that 472 00:24:33,440 --> 00:24:35,760 Speaker 1: that uncertainty is probably where a good deal of the 473 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:39,160 Speaker 1: awkwardness stems from. But it's also the catalyst for some 474 00:24:39,280 --> 00:24:42,480 Speaker 1: lucky breaks. So think about how many romantic comedies you've 475 00:24:42,520 --> 00:24:45,960 Speaker 1: seen where somebody stumbles into their soul made in an elevator, 476 00:24:46,160 --> 00:24:48,960 Speaker 1: or how many success stories started with an elevator pitch 477 00:24:49,080 --> 00:24:51,479 Speaker 1: to a CEO who couldn't get away because it right 478 00:24:51,520 --> 00:24:54,560 Speaker 1: there in this box with you, and it's called elevator exactly. 479 00:24:54,600 --> 00:24:56,879 Speaker 1: And you know, if that still doesn't convince you that 480 00:24:56,920 --> 00:25:00,520 Speaker 1: the potential awkwardness is worth it, take it from science. 481 00:25:00,880 --> 00:25:03,840 Speaker 1: So researchers have long looked to elevators for insight into 482 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:07,760 Speaker 1: all kinds of social behavior, like how smiling improves our 483 00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:11,040 Speaker 1: willingness to stand near strangers, or how standing in the 484 00:25:11,080 --> 00:25:13,320 Speaker 1: back is a power play because it lets you observe 485 00:25:13,359 --> 00:25:17,600 Speaker 1: all the other passengers. So elevators or this fertile environment 486 00:25:17,680 --> 00:25:21,720 Speaker 1: for experimentation, and that's exactly because they force us out 487 00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:24,480 Speaker 1: of our comfort zones. That's really interesting. I have thought 488 00:25:24,520 --> 00:25:26,800 Speaker 1: about like elevator experiments and like you know, the one 489 00:25:26,840 --> 00:25:29,080 Speaker 1: where you're facing the opposite way or whatever, but I 490 00:25:29,080 --> 00:25:31,800 Speaker 1: didn't realize that there's such a smart place to like, 491 00:25:32,320 --> 00:25:35,560 Speaker 1: you know, investigate interactions. It does make me think, though, 492 00:25:35,640 --> 00:25:38,640 Speaker 1: like you know, they're these new fangled elevators that with 493 00:25:38,760 --> 00:25:41,600 Speaker 1: these new inventions, and and it makes you wonder about 494 00:25:41,680 --> 00:25:44,359 Speaker 1: how society will interact after that. And why do you 495 00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:47,320 Speaker 1: say that, Well, I don't know if you well, I'm 496 00:25:47,320 --> 00:25:51,119 Speaker 1: sure you've seen these. Actually there's this thing called destination dispatch, 497 00:25:51,359 --> 00:25:54,280 Speaker 1: and it's basically a way to group together passengers who 498 00:25:54,320 --> 00:25:57,280 Speaker 1: have similar destinations. It's not like the current system where 499 00:25:57,280 --> 00:25:59,280 Speaker 1: you step into an elevator and then request the floor 500 00:25:59,320 --> 00:26:02,119 Speaker 1: you want from inside the elevator. Instead, you select the 501 00:26:02,160 --> 00:26:05,199 Speaker 1: floor outside from this touchscreen in the lobby, and then 502 00:26:05,240 --> 00:26:08,640 Speaker 1: you're directed to an elevator car that's headed in your direction. Yeah, 503 00:26:08,680 --> 00:26:10,480 Speaker 1: I feel like we've seen these, you know, and and 504 00:26:10,520 --> 00:26:13,479 Speaker 1: a lot of the sort of newer, fancier office buildings 505 00:26:13,520 --> 00:26:15,720 Speaker 1: in New York these days. Yeah, cut Conny NaSTA is 506 00:26:15,760 --> 00:26:18,680 Speaker 1: one example. But you know, the system is obviously meant 507 00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:21,880 Speaker 1: to cut down on wasted time and energy, but from 508 00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:24,000 Speaker 1: what you've been saying, like it sounds like it might 509 00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:27,240 Speaker 1: cut down on that serendipity as well. If everyone is 510 00:26:27,240 --> 00:26:29,560 Speaker 1: bound for the same floor, it's it's a lot less 511 00:26:29,600 --> 00:26:31,959 Speaker 1: likely that a mail room clerk has that opportunity to 512 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:35,240 Speaker 1: bump into the executive who who you know, might implement 513 00:26:35,359 --> 00:26:37,320 Speaker 1: or be influenced by their idea. I mean that is 514 00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:39,560 Speaker 1: kind of a bummer, unless, of course, you're someone who 515 00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:42,440 Speaker 1: is just tired of being accosted by mail clerks. I mean, 516 00:26:42,520 --> 00:26:45,159 Speaker 1: it's a it's a big problem these days, Mega, But 517 00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:47,760 Speaker 1: I don't want to give the impression that the elevator's 518 00:26:47,800 --> 00:26:50,239 Speaker 1: best days are behind, and in fact, there are some 519 00:26:50,280 --> 00:26:53,440 Speaker 1: new advancements that I'm actually looking forward to checking out myself, 520 00:26:53,800 --> 00:26:56,600 Speaker 1: which feels strange to say about elevators, but but it's true. 521 00:26:56,640 --> 00:26:59,560 Speaker 1: So just to think about some examples here. You know, 522 00:26:59,600 --> 00:27:01,560 Speaker 1: a company in Germany has been working on a new 523 00:27:01,640 --> 00:27:04,159 Speaker 1: kind of elevator that moves up and down the rails 524 00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:08,840 Speaker 1: using this magnetic levitation system instead of cables. And so 525 00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:12,280 Speaker 1: not only would this improve efficiency by allowing multiple cars 526 00:27:12,320 --> 00:27:15,080 Speaker 1: to operate in the same shaft, since you know, they 527 00:27:15,119 --> 00:27:18,240 Speaker 1: no longer need their own cables, it would also greatly 528 00:27:18,280 --> 00:27:21,520 Speaker 1: reduce the amount of energy it takes to run them. 529 00:27:21,560 --> 00:27:23,600 Speaker 1: And if none of that is a hook enough for you, 530 00:27:23,640 --> 00:27:27,320 Speaker 1: consider this. A traditional elevator can only move up and 531 00:27:27,400 --> 00:27:30,680 Speaker 1: down along the axis of its cable, but a mag 532 00:27:30,760 --> 00:27:33,960 Speaker 1: lev elevator isn't restricted by cables, which means it can 533 00:27:34,080 --> 00:27:37,760 Speaker 1: also move horizontally as well as vertically. So you could 534 00:27:37,840 --> 00:27:41,000 Speaker 1: build this complete loop inside of building and even have 535 00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:44,479 Speaker 1: elevators moved between shafts in order to find like the 536 00:27:44,520 --> 00:27:47,359 Speaker 1: fastest route to where they needed to be that's fascinating. 537 00:27:47,359 --> 00:27:51,280 Speaker 1: So it's basically like real world wonkovators. Yeah, pretty much, 538 00:27:51,280 --> 00:27:53,479 Speaker 1: And it might still be a while before we can 539 00:27:53,520 --> 00:27:56,600 Speaker 1: travel like Willy Wonka, but scientists are hard at work 540 00:27:56,640 --> 00:27:59,119 Speaker 1: on it. I'm pretty sure of this. Well, I'm definitely 541 00:27:59,119 --> 00:28:01,160 Speaker 1: looking forward to that one. But before we head out, 542 00:28:01,320 --> 00:28:12,679 Speaker 1: why don't we do the fact off? So, did you 543 00:28:12,720 --> 00:28:16,159 Speaker 1: know it's illegal to p and an elevator in Singapore? 544 00:28:16,560 --> 00:28:18,879 Speaker 1: I mean, I assume it's illegal to pe in an 545 00:28:18,920 --> 00:28:22,040 Speaker 1: elevator in in Singapore. Yeah, okay, well you're you're pretty smart, 546 00:28:22,080 --> 00:28:23,920 Speaker 1: I know, but everybody might not know that. But there's 547 00:28:23,960 --> 00:28:26,719 Speaker 1: more to it. So elevators there come equipped with a 548 00:28:26,920 --> 00:28:30,280 Speaker 1: urine detection device, so they're taking this to another level. 549 00:28:30,320 --> 00:28:32,920 Speaker 1: So no pun intended there. So if you do p, 550 00:28:33,600 --> 00:28:36,879 Speaker 1: it sets off an alarm and the doors slam shut 551 00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:39,280 Speaker 1: and then you just have to wait there and shame 552 00:28:39,840 --> 00:28:42,560 Speaker 1: until the police arrive to ticket you. I've got to 553 00:28:42,600 --> 00:28:44,920 Speaker 1: be honest, like, I know they go overboard with a 554 00:28:44,920 --> 00:28:46,880 Speaker 1: lot of things, but I do actually kind of find 555 00:28:46,880 --> 00:28:49,320 Speaker 1: this amazing. I really hope they come up with a 556 00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:51,680 Speaker 1: contraption to do that at their pools too, Like all 557 00:28:51,680 --> 00:28:55,160 Speaker 1: of a sudden it's like in all the water drains 558 00:28:55,200 --> 00:28:59,360 Speaker 1: out and then you're just standing there speaking of bathrooms. 559 00:28:59,360 --> 00:29:02,600 Speaker 1: Did you know that Japan is actually considering putting toilets 560 00:29:02,600 --> 00:29:05,920 Speaker 1: and running water in their elevators. While that sounds like 561 00:29:05,960 --> 00:29:08,880 Speaker 1: an unnecessary luxury, there's actually a reason for it. The 562 00:29:08,880 --> 00:29:12,000 Speaker 1: country has a ton of earthquakes and when that happens, 563 00:29:12,040 --> 00:29:14,800 Speaker 1: the elevators just get stuck. So it's to offer a 564 00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:17,479 Speaker 1: little bit of relief and dignity and those like hours 565 00:29:17,480 --> 00:29:20,080 Speaker 1: that you might be stuck in an elevator. That actually, 566 00:29:20,200 --> 00:29:21,960 Speaker 1: when you first said it, it was confusing, But you 567 00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:24,000 Speaker 1: know what, that that actually does make a lot of sense, 568 00:29:24,040 --> 00:29:25,959 Speaker 1: and that's that's thoughtful to do that, all right. So 569 00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:29,200 Speaker 1: here's one I I love. So during the French Resistance, 570 00:29:29,240 --> 00:29:32,640 Speaker 1: the French severed the cables to the Eiffel Tower elevator 571 00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:35,080 Speaker 1: so that Hitler wouldn't take a photo op at the 572 00:29:35,120 --> 00:29:39,040 Speaker 1: top of it. Apparently the idea of climbing over stairs 573 00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:42,320 Speaker 1: was just enough to keep him away. That's crazy. Do 574 00:29:42,360 --> 00:29:44,960 Speaker 1: you know. There's a subculture of elevator enthusiasts and it 575 00:29:45,120 --> 00:29:49,240 Speaker 1: is really really sweet. It's often people on the autism 576 00:29:49,280 --> 00:29:52,840 Speaker 1: spectrum and they bond over their love of elevators. So 577 00:29:53,040 --> 00:29:55,840 Speaker 1: they filmed the buttons. They capture how the motor sound 578 00:29:55,920 --> 00:29:59,040 Speaker 1: and were They document their rides on pretty normal elevators 579 00:29:59,040 --> 00:30:01,600 Speaker 1: and sometimes it's near rated and sometimes it isn't. But 580 00:30:01,720 --> 00:30:04,800 Speaker 1: Slate did an article on this and the author wrote, quote, 581 00:30:04,920 --> 00:30:07,640 Speaker 1: while I've never found my journeys in real life elevators 582 00:30:07,640 --> 00:30:11,120 Speaker 1: to be particularly therapeutic, I find these videos very soothing. 583 00:30:11,920 --> 00:30:13,800 Speaker 1: I could see that. That's pretty neat. All right, So 584 00:30:13,840 --> 00:30:15,920 Speaker 1: you've heard of the Burj Khalifa. You know that's a 585 00:30:16,000 --> 00:30:20,160 Speaker 1: hundred and sixty stories, like eight hundred and thirty meters tall. 586 00:30:20,280 --> 00:30:23,080 Speaker 1: I think, yeah, that's the first time I've ever measured 587 00:30:23,120 --> 00:30:25,480 Speaker 1: something in meters, but I've ever had to convert that. 588 00:30:25,560 --> 00:30:27,560 Speaker 1: So what We'll let Charles or one of the listeners 589 00:30:27,560 --> 00:30:29,800 Speaker 1: waigh in and give us that fact. So all right, 590 00:30:29,840 --> 00:30:32,160 Speaker 1: so get this. Apparently it's so tall that you can 591 00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:37,320 Speaker 1: watch the same sunset or sun rise in the same day, 592 00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:39,440 Speaker 1: like you watch it from the ground, and then you 593 00:30:39,520 --> 00:30:41,880 Speaker 1: take their super fast elevator to the top of the 594 00:30:41,920 --> 00:30:45,760 Speaker 1: building and you can actually catch it again. Oh man, 595 00:30:46,040 --> 00:30:47,960 Speaker 1: that is unbelievable. Do you remember when we went to 596 00:30:47,960 --> 00:30:50,640 Speaker 1: go see that eclipse in Nashville. Yeah, of course. I 597 00:30:50,640 --> 00:30:53,000 Speaker 1: remember thinking like I wasn't that interested in the phenomena, 598 00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:54,720 Speaker 1: and then I saw it. It It was so beautiful, and 599 00:30:54,720 --> 00:30:57,080 Speaker 1: I like immediately wanted jet forward and see it again. 600 00:30:57,240 --> 00:30:59,200 Speaker 1: You know, like I feel like that that kind of 601 00:30:59,240 --> 00:31:01,800 Speaker 1: has that same feel. Oh, totally. That's a great fact. 602 00:31:01,960 --> 00:31:04,480 Speaker 1: I'm gonna give you today's trophy, you know what, I'll 603 00:31:04,480 --> 00:31:05,920 Speaker 1: take it. I feel like it's been a little while, 604 00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:08,320 Speaker 1: so this this feel is really good. All right. Well, 605 00:31:08,320 --> 00:31:10,280 Speaker 1: thanks to all of our listeners out there for tuning in. 606 00:31:10,320 --> 00:31:12,000 Speaker 1: We know how hard it is to be stuck in 607 00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:14,320 Speaker 1: your home, so thank you for inviting us in with you. 608 00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:17,160 Speaker 1: That's gonna do it for today's Part Time Genius for myself, Mango, 609 00:31:17,280 --> 00:31:19,640 Speaker 1: Gabe and Lull. Take care. We'll be back soon with 610 00:31:19,680 --> 00:31:36,560 Speaker 1: another episode. Part Time Genius is a production of I 611 00:31:36,680 --> 00:31:39,400 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. For more podcasts for my Heart Radio, visit 612 00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:42,040 Speaker 1: the I heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you 613 00:31:42,080 --> 00:31:43,160 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite show.