Take the stairs
Someone on my friend's list mentioned Christmas? Ooookay so let's go there. When you think of Holiday shopping in big city centers you think of bustling people, big stores, malls...with escalators.
These are wonderful people moving inventions, that became popular in as early as the 1900's. As they evolved and became what we know today. There is a lesser-known phobia called Escalaphobia which affects people differently than an average phobia. It's not being scared of just the metal, rubber, and moving parts. It's the abnormal fear of being literally eaten alive by the contraption.
With just cause. 27 People are fully consumed and made into human confetti annually by escalators. Additionally, 6000 are injured
Did you know
The number 1 escalator manufacturer (Otis) actually pays into the US Screen Writers Guild to make sure escalators are not used in "death scenes" in horror movies. The few that have been used in films such as The Kiss (1988), Final Destination (2009), and RaveMe (2004) are all obviously non-functioning and not just a simple take on even the phobia.
Every escalator actually has a warning label that you have probably never read beyond the "hold handrails" signage.
Under the SAF codes and ASME A17.1-2019/CSA B44:19 safety codeThe warning label reads: This is heavy machinery, Do not stay static, Remain on the center step, One person per moving step, Do not lean, or remove hands from safety rails. This machinery can cause death, dismemberment, loss of limb, and severe injury.
So much controversy in a simple machine? It gets better! Otis and TK Manufacturing both applied for a Death Patent. That's when a company can take the cases of the deceased as a learning environment. Meaning they are built in with a known fail rate. One out of every 273,610 people will succumb to an escalator incident of some severity.
Okay, so what is the Halloween connection? The last known Canadian fatality on a faulty escalator was in Montreal on October 4th, 2013 while a man with his family were shopping for early Christmas presents!!
(EDIT* sadly while doing my research I discovered, that not 3 months later another woman also lost her life on the same escalator, where Naima Rharouity's scarf got caught, causing death by asphyxiation, may she Rest in Peace)
Happy Shopping! Sometimes small-town living ain't so bad!
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