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Spiral staircase elevator

 round and round you go, come out high and say "oh no!"
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You enter the hall and start to climb an ordinary looking spiral staircase. Little do you know it is in fact a two story elevator. it quickly rises to the 10th, 15th whatever floor of the building leaving you with the impression that you climbed a single flight of ordinary spiral stairs.

A glance out the window proves otherwise.

IMAGE: http://www.futurebird.com/images/lift.jpg

—futurebird, Mar 14 2004

http://www.futurebird.com/images/lift.jpg This is what it would look like. [futurebird, Oct 05 2004]

Spiral Stairs, ex-Pavement. http://indyweek.com...1-11-07/music-1.jpg
[oatcake, Oct 05 2004]

Spiral Escalator http://www.halfbake...0Helix_20Escalators
Well, helical, actually. [DrCurry, Oct 05 2004]

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       What happens if you make a sudden stop at another floor at the moment you trip?   

       Nevertheless, I like it.
—oatcake, Mar 14 2004
   

       Why spiral? Surely this would work with any staircase format?
—DrCurry, Mar 14 2004
   

       I'd guess because it would take longer, and give sufficient time for the elevator's ascent?   

       Well, wait, maybe not...I suppose either way you could make the distance by which the staircase climbs shallower than normal to give time for the elevator.
—oatcake, Mar 14 2004
   

       The elevator can only start moving once the entrance is out of view. This happens faster on a spiral staircase.
—futurebird, Mar 14 2004
   

       You could make it travel the opposite direction of motion as well, so that you enter and leave on the same floor.
—waugsqueke, Mar 14 2004
   

       fb: works fine until the second, um, passenger wants to use it while it's already in motion. Then, I think, the jig is up.   

       Not much use outside the funhouse.
—DrCurry, Mar 14 2004
   

       Works perfect if you live alone.
—futurebird, Mar 14 2004
   

       A tube station in London used to have a spiral escalator in the early 1900's. They have most of the bits in storage but they don't know how it worked.
—sufc, Mar 14 2004
   

       It's quite possible it never did - see link on link.
—DrCurry, Mar 14 2004
   

       it's spiral so the elevator only has one door and fits into a normal shaft that is why it MUST be spiral.
—politiquefiction, May 10 2004
   

       This reminds me of the staircase to the Headmaster's office at Hogwarts.
—notexactly, Oct 24 2016
   


 

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