Comments on: Movie Pet Peeve http://victormilan.com/blog/2008/04/08/movie-pet-peeve/ Fun, freedom, and adventure with Victor Milán Thu, 20 Nov 2008 09:30:55 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.3 By: Ian http://victormilan.com/blog/2008/04/08/movie-pet-peeve/#comment-485 Ian Tue, 15 Apr 2008 22:39:01 +0000 http://victormilan.com/blog/2008/04/08/movie-pet-peeve/#comment-485 That elevator thing always bugs me, too! The good people at Otis Elevator company are quick to point out (rightly so) that the number of people killed inside plummeting elevators every year is extremely small. Probably smaller than the number of people who get killed by lightning while standing at the bottom of mine shafts. Course, they don't mention that most elevator fatalities happen when either (a) the doors open and the elevator isn't there (I guess people just don't look), or (b) the elevator gets stuck between floors, people start to crawl out, and then the elevator starts moving again. I suppose (c), doing something stupid, and (d), maintenance tragedy, should also be on the list. But you really can't blame (most of) those on the safety brakes... That elevator thing always bugs me, too! The good people at Otis Elevator company are quick to point out (rightly so) that the number of people killed inside plummeting elevators every year is extremely small. Probably smaller than the number of people who get killed by lightning while standing at the bottom of mine shafts.

Course, they don’t mention that most elevator fatalities happen when either (a) the doors open and the elevator isn’t there (I guess people just don’t look), or (b) the elevator gets stuck between floors, people start to crawl out, and then the elevator starts moving again. I suppose (c), doing something stupid, and (d), maintenance tragedy, should also be on the list.

But you really can’t blame (most of) those on the safety brakes…

]]> By: Victor http://victormilan.com/blog/2008/04/08/movie-pet-peeve/#comment-466 Victor Fri, 11 Apr 2008 06:41:53 +0000 http://victormilan.com/blog/2008/04/08/movie-pet-peeve/#comment-466 While I found out about Otis' elevator brakes a good long time ago, I was actually pretty clueless about fail-safe systems in general. An engineer friend of mine set me straight on them when I was doing research to support my then-controversial insistence that Y2K would be NBD. Always nice to get one right once in a while... While I found out about Otis’ elevator brakes a good long time ago, I was actually pretty clueless about fail-safe systems in general. An engineer friend of mine set me straight on them when I was doing research to support my then-controversial insistence that Y2K would be NBD.

Always nice to get one right once in a while…

]]> By: dbbeebs http://victormilan.com/blog/2008/04/08/movie-pet-peeve/#comment-464 dbbeebs Fri, 11 Apr 2008 06:16:54 +0000 http://victormilan.com/blog/2008/04/08/movie-pet-peeve/#comment-464 I noticed the exact same thing in that movie. Very cool. I did tell my wife later how emergency brakes work. She had no idea. Then we branched out to emergency brakes on a car and how they work when the hydraulics are down. Again, she had no idea. Very few teachable moments in movies these days. I noticed the exact same thing in that movie. Very cool.

I did tell my wife later how emergency brakes work. She had no idea. Then we branched out to emergency brakes on a car and how they work when the hydraulics are down. Again, she had no idea.

Very few teachable moments in movies these days.

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