A problem on the Skytrain (computer operated light rail in Vancouver) is that people keep sticking their arms into the doors as the doors close, as the train will not start up again until all doors are fully closed. This safety measure has the effect of slowing down the train ride, as this can go on for half a minute as people hold the doors open.
To prevent people from doing this, I was originally thinking of installing a razor sharp edge to chop off intervening appendages, but in the interest of practicality, replacing the razor blade with a washable ink strip should hopefully stop people from sticking their hands or jacketed arms into the train, as it will blemish their outfit (until they get home and wash it off).-- Cuit_au_Four, Jan 26 2008 Explain again what's wrong with the razor-sharp edges idea .......-- 8th of 7, Jan 26 2008 48 hrs later, and there's a new internet site - 'Inky Train Glory Doors.com'-- ConsulFlaminicus, Jan 26 2008 You know, Cuit, that is not actually such a stupid idea.
One problem is that commuters brushing past the closing (or opening) doors would get inked, which would be unfair. However, the rubber strips could be designed in a sort of M shape (where the top of the M is the open edge of the door), with the inky strip in the middle valley. That way, sideways past-brushing would not ink the past- brusher, but anyone holding the doors would cause the raised parts of the rubber to be compressed, exposing themselves to the ink.
Yes, good idea.-- MaxwellBuchanan, Jan 26 2008 If the substance were animal excrement rather than ink, that would be much more of a deterrent, and on London Underground it might improve the smell.....
<recorded voice>
"Mind The Crap !"
</recorded voice>-- 8th of 7, Jan 26 2008 They've upgraded the trains, but I used to get a lot of black marks from the rubber on the New York subway train doors. Or maybe it was oil and soot.-- DrCurry, Jan 27 2008 Yup..... out in Brooklyn, the're running with wood-burners, still with the cow-catcher on the front .....-- 8th of 7, Jan 27 2008 >You know, Cuit, that is not actually such a stupid idea.
Thanks! I was hoping someone would say that =)-- Cuit_au_Four, Jan 27 2008 The locomotives are mostly all electric, but soot is a major component of pollution in New York - presumably from car engines.-- DrCurry, Jan 28 2008 Good idea, with the added minor protection for those just brushing against the doors (+). PS I think the "soot" is rock dust.-- MisterQED, Jan 28 2008 Most 'soot' these days is 70% human skin, 20% diesel dust (so actual soot) and 10% other fine particulates - geologic dusts, degraded plastics, insect chitin and do on..-- ConsulFlaminicus, Jan 28 2008 Why not just have the doors close with a thousand pound hydraulic pressure....and remain closed while the train accellerates to 85 kmph? Ah...would that colg the morgues? one really has to wonder....perhaps the clogging of the morgues would subside after the first few weeks of the rams being in operation. It's rather like the idea that a rgood way to improve driving safety would be to place a one foot long sharpened spike, directed at the driver, on the middle of the steering wheel....as opposed to silly nonsense like seat belts and air bags.
Of course, some say, my ideas are a bit too anti-idiot.-- Blisterbob, Jan 28 2008 It should print an elongated veritical format message like: "I am a human door-stop" A gem of an idea [CauF]-- xenzag, Jan 28 2008 Definately. How about a different message on every door, so you can try and collect them all. Ah no, kind of defeats the purpose. Bun for the idea without my improvement (+)-- MadnessInMyMethod, Jan 28 2008 What about just having the doors close from the top? Much less people would crouch to jump under a closing door, then between two closing doors.
This would be cleaner then horizontal doors with razors as well since any spurting would be done on ground level. People could just wipe their shoes off.-- mylodon, Jan 29 2008 Next idea: fake arm to hold the doors open. Preferably on the end of the umbrella.-- Ling, Jan 29 2008 You could go through the ranks with this.-- skinflaps, Jan 29 2008 A good idea that could work on elevators, too. The problem is that the doors open again or you can force them open. If neither of them would happen, people would stop trying.-- Zimminger, Sep 05 2009 random, halfbakery