On the way into work today, in the elevator, I had what I hope is a cool revelation and not just a cold medicine brain fart. Our building recently replaced both the main and the service elevators. During the long period of construction, I got used to using the service elevator, so that now every time I walk into the main elevator, I get a little confused by the button layout and hit the wrong floor. This is a dumb mistake; there are only five floors in the building. So I add about 30 extra seconds to my commute having to wait through the fourth floor to get to the fifth. So, no big deal, right?
But, I thought, what about the old prank where a punk kid hits all of the buttons on a high rise elevator and runs off cackling while the passengers are forced to endure a stop at every single floor on the way to their destinations? Short of the taser, there has to be a way to stop these mischief makers, as well as iPhone-absorbed chowderheads like myself.
THEN IT HIT ME
Why don't they program the buttons so that if you hit them a second time, you don't go to that floor. I'm no elevator button expert (I'm hired for my looks), but to my mind, relative to hardware that reduces your chances of a Speed-like plummet to your doom, the costs to change the panel should be trivial. Training would be pretty fast, too:
1) Hit a button once, go to that floor.
2) Hit a button twice, don't go to that floor.
3) Hit a button again, go to that floor again.
4) Hit it a fourth time, don't go to that floor.
This kind of odd-even button interface would work fine with anyone who has ever used a light switch. We understand on/off. We can make this work, people.
I hope you're listening, America.
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