tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post7296760544770216239..comments2024-03-29T09:48:12.405-05:00Comments on Althouse: Everything you ever wanted to know about elevators.Ann Althousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01630636239933008807noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-41541116915519978952008-04-18T08:36:00.000-05:002008-04-18T08:36:00.000-05:00i hate to say it but sir archy is all weti dont me...i hate to say it but sir archy is all wet<BR/>i dont mean he would slime us like in ghostbusters<BR/>but its just that there really are pots o gold sometimes<BR/>only the leprechauns are not little guys in green tights<BR/>put doctors in white lab coats<BR/>and their insurance companies<BR/><BR/>mom and dad here at the house<BR/>where i live in cambridge mass<BR/>know a very nice lady who is<BR/>the mom of a friend of tommys<BR/>--tommy is the boy whose computer i use--<BR/>anyway this lady is in her 40's but looks like 27<BR/>and radiates such healthy nice vibes<BR/>that even an insect such as myself can feel them<BR/>she is such a nice person its hard to believe<BR/>all the bad things that have happened to her<BR/>she was raped<BR/>she had lots of bones broken in a car wreck<BR/>that was not at all her fault<BR/>her grad school advisor committed suicide<BR/>and she found his body the next morning<BR/>her husband left her high and dry with 2 or 3 kids<BR/>and she had some gyno proceedure that went bad<BR/>so she was in pain for 3 years<BR/>all of the above are just for starters<BR/>you really dont want to know the rest<BR/>but the last one on the list<BR/>lead to the pot o gold<BR/>because the insurance co did not want<BR/>a tearful and poverty stricken single mom<BR/>on the stand talking about what a mess the doc made of her insides<BR/>so she wound up with more millions than i have legs<BR/>and so did her lawyer<BR/>but dad says that hey there is some<BR/>rough justice in the world<BR/>its just that there are no leprechauns<BR/>for 41 hours in an elevatorblogging cockroachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00899638590257384302noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-29708424209491848872008-04-18T07:11:00.000-05:002008-04-18T07:11:00.000-05:00Sgt. Ted,So you think being stuck in an elevator f...Sgt. Ted,<BR/><BR/>So you think being stuck in an elevator for 41 hrs. isn't traumatic? I don't think very many people would agree with you.<BR/><BR/>I was stuck in one for twenty minutes and I didn't like it at all.<BR/><BR/>Great article. Refreshing change from all the political claptrap sloshing around.ballyfagerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16946523913002020541noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-68790894581906519882008-04-18T05:44:00.000-05:002008-04-18T05:44:00.000-05:00Then there's this elevator accident here which is ...Then there's this elevator accident <A HREF="http://www.dailymotion.com/swf/x53443&v3=1" REL="nofollow">here</A> which is apparently a wonderbra ad.rhhardinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06901742898653890646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-47836086498974175552008-04-17T20:43:00.000-05:002008-04-17T20:43:00.000-05:00This elevator accident, which happened just a few ...This <A HREF="http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/elevator.asp" REL="nofollow">elevator accident</A>, which happened just a few years ago, still causes me to just let the doors close when I'm late getting to an elevator.Kathyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15898153617546385281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-80467139205594543772008-04-17T17:33:00.000-05:002008-04-17T17:33:00.000-05:00There was an elevator accident in Texas long ago, ...There was an elevator accident in Texas long ago, but a different kind of elevator. The airplane kind.<BR/><BR/>Mechanics had neglected to secure rivets on the underside of the elevators of a commuter plane and the skin broke loose, stalling the tail, which caused a nose-dive into the ground.<BR/><BR/>To airplane nuts, stalling the tail is one of those cool accidents. (``Hey yeah, that could happen, I guess.'')rhhardinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06901742898653890646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-51413496915378738272008-04-17T17:06:00.000-05:002008-04-17T17:06:00.000-05:00Myth Busters did an episode on the jump-right-befo...Myth Busters did an episode on the jump-right-before-the-elevator-crashes myth. Conclusion: lay flat to evenly distribute the force of an abrupt stop, which never happens anyway because of the safety cogs that mechanically engage the tracks that run the length of the shaft in emergencies. Fewer broken bones, marginally less stress. But the so-called coin elevator at the Fed which was used to move heavy skids of coin and currency down to the vault was designed on a huge pneumatic pole with none of those sissy safety cogs on the sides of the shaft. That elevator, concerned me. It broke down often, and you could piss yourself whenever it suddenly stopped between floors. Luckily the building department was always quick on the case. This is the sort of physics I puzzled over as a youngster. I drove my parents nuts quizzing them over why a person would be hurt if they leapt straight out from a speeding car, or what would be the problem with jumping off the roof if you bent your knees skillfully enough. I had to learn about pain the hard way.Chip Ahoyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12597726289890879627noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-27399421507745366722008-04-17T16:03:00.000-05:002008-04-17T16:03:00.000-05:00Rather than the elevator, I would say he entered t...Rather than the elevator, I would say he entered the airplane for the trip to Anguilla with his life in one shape and exited the airplane with it in another shape. Who said you get to spend the winter on vacation because you got stuck in an elevator?Larry Thompsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17681361995005740963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-76587920007722384352008-04-17T15:51:00.000-05:002008-04-17T15:51:00.000-05:00Tam patiens Urbis, tam ferreus ut teneat se?—Juven...<I>Tam patiens Urbis, tam ferreus ut teneat se?</I><BR/>—Juvenal.<BR/><BR/>To Professor Althouse.<BR/><BR/>Madam,<BR/><BR/>That Avarice may engender Folly admits of no Doubt. Yet may we ask whether the Indignation of the Victim seeking Redress would be as <I>asperitive</I> and <I>grasping</I> without Encouragement?<BR/><BR/>I do no wish to cast much Blame upon your Profession, but I cannot forbear to quote a few Lines from <I>Samuel Johnson's</I> well-known <I>London: A Poem in Imitation of the Third Satire of Juvenal</I>:—<BR/><BR/> Here Malice, Rapine, Accident, conspire,<BR/> And now a Rabble Rages, now a Fire;<BR/> Their Ambush here relentless Ruffians lay,<BR/> And here the fell Attorney prowls for Prey;<BR/> Here falling Houses thunder on your Head,<BR/> And here a female Atheist talks you dead.<BR/><BR/>As the Ghost of someone who dwelt in London 250 Years and more ago, I may tell You that I have seen all this and more, for such is Life in a Metropolis. In my Day, if a House fell on your Head, you would sure to be Prey to an Attorney promising you a legal Reward, just as easily as you may Today in <I>New-York</I>. I forbear to mention the quack Chiurgeons who would marr setting your Bones, but still demand their Fees, setting more Attorneys upon your Attorneys, until you are lock'd away in Prison, or Bedlam, or sunk into the Grave.<BR/><BR/>I would remind those who forgo just Compensation for their Knocks & Bruises, and who, goaded by a <I>fell Attorney</I>, seek a Pot of Gold: That Pots of Gold are commonly the Possession of <I>Leprechauns</I>; and that you may as well believe in these <I>Little People</I> as in your ever getting a <I>Kettlefull of Guineas.</I> For however much as this <I>imbroglio</I> has miscarried, Mr. White has at least owned his own Foolishness; so that here again the Folly of mix't Greed & Anger is proclaim'd.<BR/><BR/>Knowing that, as a Professor of Laws, you are wont to think Higher Thoughts than some of your Fellows, and would never lower Yourself to grub after Coins fall'n from an imaginary Treasure, I remain,<BR/><BR/>Madam,<BR/><BR/>Your humble & obt. Servant,<BR/><BR/>Sir ArchySir Archyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16966239101217563726noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-77794131106330835352008-04-17T14:30:00.000-05:002008-04-17T14:30:00.000-05:00Of course, as we have all long suspected, the arti...Of course, as we have all long suspected, the article reveals that the "Close Door" button on elevators made since the 1990s does not function.<BR/><BR/>It's just there to make people feel as though they're in control!George M. Spencerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07818413936028778734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-77018659153531067002008-04-17T14:21:00.000-05:002008-04-17T14:21:00.000-05:00P.S. It isn't in the New Yorker article, but the ...P.S. It isn't in the New Yorker article, but the building where Nicholas White was trapped, 1221 Avenue of the Americas, is also the building that was used in filming "The Devil Wears Prada." (It's also the building where I used to work.)seanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00843345930627586208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-7012361882805185922008-04-17T14:16:00.000-05:002008-04-17T14:16:00.000-05:00like someone who got lost in the woods sueing the ...<I>like someone who got lost in the woods sueing the forest service.</I><BR/><BR/>No, it would be like someone who was rearended by a cop car in front of the police department being trapped in his wrecked car for 41 hours. He was trapped through no fault of his own, and those who were responsible to observe what happened in the elevators did not help him. Except for having to argue intent, it's a perfect case of false imprisonment.<BR/><BR/>He should have gone back to work, though I never would get in an elevator after hours again. I did work with a woman who, on a lawyer's advice, did not come back to work after a car accident, to preserve the possibility of lost wage damages. I think this is very tacky at least.former law studenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15196697206046544350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-47704893449300366382008-04-17T13:56:00.000-05:002008-04-17T13:56:00.000-05:00I wonder why White settled for so little money. (...I wonder why White settled for so little money. (It really does seem like he had an incompetent lawyer.) If I had been on the jury, the award wouldn't have been six figures, or even seven.<BR/><BR/>--Claustrophobicseanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00843345930627586208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-14205343647258567442008-04-17T13:54:00.000-05:002008-04-17T13:54:00.000-05:00What a bozo. Being trapped in an elevator sucks, b...What a bozo. Being trapped in an elevator sucks, but it is hardly traumatic.<BR/><BR/>So, he has a pity party and tries to stretch it into free money. It'd be like someone who got lost in the woods sueing the forest service.SGT Tedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00184808889760136366noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-30393449131359542452008-04-17T11:46:00.000-05:002008-04-17T11:46:00.000-05:00A classic New York article with a tremendous concl...A classic New York article with a tremendous conclusion.<BR/><BR/>Wish you had not given it away for those who had not yet read the story....George M. Spencerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07818413936028778734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-47247325616293374772008-04-17T10:40:00.000-05:002008-04-17T10:40:00.000-05:00I sometimes think that when you hire a lawyer, you...I sometimes think that when you hire a lawyer, you need to hire another lawyer to watch the first one. Clearly this guy's elevator did not go all the way to the top. Throwing all thay away was a requirement, so <I>he came to believe</I> at a chance some years down the road to get some substantial amount of money. This guy worked for Business Week?Laura Reynoldshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15855241652633348350noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-40682163581269406942008-04-17T10:08:00.000-05:002008-04-17T10:08:00.000-05:00There's tune-in-at-six news-you-can-use features o...There's tune-in-at-six news-you-can-use features on surviving or not surviving plane ditchings, according to which expert you want<BR/><BR/><A HREF="http://rhhardin.home.mindspring.com/abcnews.ram" REL="nofollow">The Bad News</A><BR/><A HREF="http://rhhardin.home.mindspring.com/nbcnews.ram" REL="nofollow">The Good News</A>rhhardinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06901742898653890646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-53081196460938901022008-04-17T10:02:00.000-05:002008-04-17T10:02:00.000-05:00Anyone from Wisconsin should have this one figured...Anyone from Wisconsin should have this one figured out. Always wear your cheesehead hat when riding in an elevator. Place cheesehead hat between the floor and your noggin, and, wallah! Instead of suing someone, you sell your story to the National Enquirer, and make oodles of money.AllenShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08848966772462502893noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-34612956155457599492008-04-17T09:58:00.000-05:002008-04-17T09:58:00.000-05:00I've heard that since Otis elevators got started, ...I've heard that since Otis elevators got started, there have only been 13 fatal accidents in elevators. This has been since about 1888. I can't remember where I read this.<BR/><BR/>They have a fantastic contraption underneath the car -- a sort of radial spike -- don't know the terminology, that digs into the walls of the shaft.<BR/><BR/>Just think about it -- no one that any of us knows has ever even heard of anyone who has ever died in a plummeting elevator.<BR/><BR/>We see it in films, and we fantasize about it, but in no case has it ever actually happened.Kirby Olsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05952289700191142943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-12561998822459195842008-04-17T09:50:00.000-05:002008-04-17T09:50:00.000-05:00Have two convenient bungee cords with you, and at ...Have two convenient bungee cords with you, and at the first sign of trouble, clip yourself to the walls or ceiling of the elevator. You'd jerk your arms out of their sockets, but in the end...<BR/><BR/>...<I>you'd still die,</I> says the elevator guy.Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11402651457453813639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-13715571490948089012008-04-17T09:38:00.000-05:002008-04-17T09:38:00.000-05:00...from smoking a cigarette to call security. Whos...<I>...from smoking a cigarette to call security. Whose fault is this? he wondered. Who’s going to pay?...The annals of litigiousness need this morality tale.</I><BR/><BR/>And the moral is: he should have sued the tobacco companies...everyone knows by now that's where the real money is.Smilin' Jackhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01501763605001379362noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-26301498995725906572008-04-17T09:37:00.000-05:002008-04-17T09:37:00.000-05:00I know a man named Otis who invented a roomAnd his...<I>I know a man named Otis who invented a room<BR/>And his heart was filled with pride<BR/>I said to Mr. Otis "What does your room do?"<BR/>He said it goes from side to side.<BR/>So I said "Mr. Otis if you take my advice<BR/>You can be the richest man in town!<BR/>You've got to take that room that goes from side to side<BR/>And make it go up and down!"<BR/><BR/>And that was Good Advice, Good Advice...</I><BR/><BR/><BR/>There really should be an Allan Sherman week on American Idol.MadisonManhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01212179466758420208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-60781967376215984932008-04-17T09:22:00.000-05:002008-04-17T09:22:00.000-05:00Lie on a pile of stuff, preferably other passenger...Lie on a pile of stuff, preferably other passengers.rhhardinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06901742898653890646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-30328993530286779592008-04-17T09:14:00.000-05:002008-04-17T09:14:00.000-05:00Easy to imagine Ann: No shortage of bad, case-hun...Easy to imagine Ann: No shortage of bad, case-hungry lawyers out there. He visited one, who suggested to him that his ridiculous pie-in-the-sky claims of lasting and permanent mental distress would be compromised if he returned to work. White bought it. Unfortunately, no one with any sanity intervened. Sounds like he's perfectly OK (if unemployed) now.<BR/><BR/>Great article by the way. I laughed when I read that on most new elevators, the door-close button is inoperative.Widmerpoolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06280383007248563653noreply@blogger.com