I noticed that the escalators on the tube have a brush running the full length on both sides of the escalator. If this was fed with neutral coloured shoe polish, people could buff their shoes on it on the way to work by holding the toe of the shoe against the brush as they were moved past it.
There may need to be a rail or something to stop the toe getting caught against the side of the escalator and th leg being twisted and/or dislocated but these minor details can be worked out in testing.-- oneoffdave, Jun 10 2015 King's Cross Fire https://en.wikipedi...King%27s_Cross_fireAn escalator, but not at all funny. [8th of 7, Jun 10 2015] //leg being twisted and/or dislocated// - or amputated. [+]-- hippo, Jun 10 2015 Schindler, who are one of the leading manufacturers of escalators (and, amusingly, of lifts) estimate that the habit of buffing ones shoes on the side-brushes costs the escalator industry between 70 and 100 million US dollars per year worldwide, due to accelerated wear and the need to replace worn brushes. They also claim that 30-40% of escalator accidents are caused by this activity.
In 1993 in Japan, there was one of the worst escalator accidents on record, when a brush broke and the free end caught between two of the treads. This created a loop which, as the escalator ascended, peeled off the entire brush strip creating a loop which travelled upwards (at twice the escalator speed, thanks to the geometry of the situation), sweeping the tightly-packed commuters off their feet.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jun 10 2015 If people are doing it anyway, that shows it should be built in as a feature to avoid the wear and accidents you refer to.
That accident does create the image of a kind of inverted linear mexican wave with everyone being sequentially hurled to the ground-- oneoffdave, Jun 10 2015 // sweeping the tightly-packed commuters off their feet. //
They just got brushed off, shirley ?
Is there a video ? We would pay a dollar to watch it.
// these minor details can be worked out in testing //
Errr, right. What are you up to, now the 787 programme is winding down ?-- 8th of 7, Jun 10 2015 //They just got brushed off, shirley ?// There were some awful injuries. I suspect that the authorities swept it under the carpet.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jun 10 2015 We need a Tube here. Oh wait...-- blissmiss, Jun 10 2015 // I suspect that the authorities swept it under the carpet. //
Presumably that makes you bristle with indignation ?
It's as well to get a handle on these things early, so you know how it's going to pan out if there's a dust-up.-- 8th of 7, Jun 10 2015 random, halfbakery