4 ms·

The State of Wyoming Has Two Escalators

15 points by duggieawesome 13y ago

incision 13y ago
During tourist season here in DC I often think something along the lines of "Is this the first escalator these folks have ever seen?". This article makes me think the answer might be "yes" more often than I'd imagined.
- JonSkeptic 13y ago
  I know the feeling! It's so annoying when people don't know to stand to one side of escalator and they take up the whole thing. It's five times more annoying when it's an airport escalator and you just got done waiting in line for an hour and then being molested by airport security. Move to one side people! /rant
  - lmm 13y ago
    Surely that ought to lessen the annoyance? If you've just been held up for an hour anyway, another 20 seconds doesn't make a lot of difference.
    - johnchristopher 13y ago
      Unfortunately no, the irritation piles up until a threshold after which anything can make you snap.
  - incision 13y ago
    The DC Metro actually had "Stand to the right" signs many years ago, but they all disappeared one day. Local legend has it that someone with a medical condition who couldn't stand right got tired of being berated by other passengers who would point to the signs as justification. This person raised the issue and Metro responded by removing the signs. Given what I know of the system, it certainly seems plausible, but I think it a bit more likely that the signs were an unchecked code violation [0] from the start rather than their removal a knee-jerk reaction to an upset customer. Not to say that knee-jerk reactions would be out of character for them. Apparently, there has been discussion about bringing the signs back [0]. 0: http://www.welovedc.com/2010/07/20/dc-mythbusting-stand-to-the-right/ http://www.welovedc.com/2010/07/20/dc-mythbusting-stand-to-t...
- peterwwillis 13y ago
  That's only if the escalator isn't under repair. I always take the staircase to/from the entrance.
  - incision 13y ago
    >"That's only if the escalator isn't under repair." Are you in DC? Metro is notorious for out of service escalators, but they do have more than any other transit system in North America [0] and they can be quite long/deep [1]. ">I always take the staircase to/from the entrance." Depending on the station/situation, that might not be an option. 0: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/02/us/02escalators.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/02/us/02escalators.html?_r=0 1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheaton_(Washington_Metro) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheaton_(Washington_Metro)
    - peterwwillis 13y ago
      > Metro is notorious for out of service escalators, That's what I meant. And unless i'm mistaken, most (if not all) stations have stairs for the street-level escalators, at one of the station's entrances. The funny thing is the initial escalators aren't an issue; people hear you clanking your way down the escalator and they'll usually turn around and get out of your way. It's the stairs from the ticket gates to the trains where people decide to become sloths, and when there are stairs there I take them. (I seem to recall that being intermittent as well...)
ssharp 13y ago
So Wyoming has as many escalators as they do Senators.
- cafard 13y ago
  Yet surely California has more than twice as many escalators than it has Representatives.

15 points by duggieawesome 13y ago

During tourist season here in DC I often think something along the lines of "Is this the first escalator these folks have ever seen?". This article makes me think the answer might be "yes" more often than I'd imagined.

JonSkeptic 13y ago
I know the feeling! It's so annoying when people don't know to stand to one side of escalator and they take up the whole thing. It's five times more annoying when it's an airport escalator and you just got done waiting in line for an hour and then being molested by airport security. Move to one side people! /rant
- lmm 13y ago
  Surely that ought to lessen the annoyance? If you've just been held up for an hour anyway, another 20 seconds doesn't make a lot of difference.
  - johnchristopher 13y ago
    Unfortunately no, the irritation piles up until a threshold after which anything can make you snap.
- incision 13y ago
  The DC Metro actually had "Stand to the right" signs many years ago, but they all disappeared one day. Local legend has it that someone with a medical condition who couldn't stand right got tired of being berated by other passengers who would point to the signs as justification. This person raised the issue and Metro responded by removing the signs. Given what I know of the system, it certainly seems plausible, but I think it a bit more likely that the signs were an unchecked code violation [0] from the start rather than their removal a knee-jerk reaction to an upset customer. Not to say that knee-jerk reactions would be out of character for them. Apparently, there has been discussion about bringing the signs back [0]. 0: http://www.welovedc.com/2010/07/20/dc-mythbusting-stand-to-the-right/ http://www.welovedc.com/2010/07/20/dc-mythbusting-stand-to-t...
peterwwillis 13y ago
That's only if the escalator isn't under repair. I always take the staircase to/from the entrance.
- incision 13y ago
  >"That's only if the escalator isn't under repair." Are you in DC? Metro is notorious for out of service escalators, but they do have more than any other transit system in North America [0] and they can be quite long/deep [1]. ">I always take the staircase to/from the entrance." Depending on the station/situation, that might not be an option. 0: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/02/us/02escalators.html?_r=0 http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/02/us/02escalators.html?_r=0 1: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheaton_(Washington_Metro) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheaton_(Washington_Metro)
  - peterwwillis 13y ago
    > Metro is notorious for out of service escalators, That's what I meant. And unless i'm mistaken, most (if not all) stations have stairs for the street-level escalators, at one of the station's entrances. The funny thing is the initial escalators aren't an issue; people hear you clanking your way down the escalator and they'll usually turn around and get out of your way. It's the stairs from the ticket gates to the trains where people decide to become sloths, and when there are stairs there I take them. (I seem to recall that being intermittent as well...)

ssharp 13y ago

So Wyoming has as many escalators as they do Senators.

cafard 13y ago
Yet surely California has more than twice as many escalators than it has Representatives.