It happens millions of times every day, all over the world. You approach an unknown door. You make a quick mental check of the handle, possible signs and most importantly the relation of the door edge to the doorjamb. In a split-second decision you choose…pull… Wrong again! Adding a little frustration and losing a little time, you then push open the door.

The trial and error method of determining the direction doors open is only one of the minor exasperations of life, but is so unnecessary. Since many foreigners don’t understand “Push”/”Pull”, “Poussée”/”Traction”, etc. if and when such signs exist, I suggest signs with symbols that can be used on most doors of the world. See link below for proposed designs that would also exist for doors that open on the right.
-- FarmerJohn, Dec 07 2002

(?) figure http://www.geocitie...hnnie/pushpull.html
[FarmerJohn, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

PUSH & PULL in Hong Kong http://www.flickr.c...ckstock/4310449716/
Intuitive, International Symbols for PUSH and PULL? [DickStock, Jan 27 2010]

http://www.pushpullsigns.com/ Alastair Cook's site; artwork by John Szwenk [jutta, Jul 11 2011]

Doors marked "pull"
Reduce the speed
Of those that push
Before they read.....

ah, a simple solution to an age old problem. Croissant! Now, can we do something about all those darn doors that outweigh me so that I can push or pull without a struggle?

(and, yes, UB, Gary Larson did this....but it wasn't successful at that particular school)
-- Marassa, Dec 07 2002


A pet shop in town has an owner pulling a reluctant dog on his lead for the 'pull' sign, and the owner pushing a reluctant dog for the push sign.

Alternatively, the pull side of doors should have handles on them, and the push side should just have a flat metal plate, or nothing at all.

Or you can look for the visual clues as to whether it is a push or pull door. Pull doors don't fit plush to the top of the surround, whereas push doors fit above the surround.
-- tyskland, Dec 07 2002


Sometimes heavy, push doors need a handle to get a grip on them or for emergency exit.

I often find that the quick glance, especially with aluminum doors, doesn't give me the necessary visual clue if a flange is part of the door or the doorjamb.
-- FarmerJohn, Dec 07 2002


The worst are those times when you assume the door is a push and don't quite stop in time, (+).

(shifty eyes) Not that I've ever done this.
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Dec 07 2002


or you could just put all doors on freely swinging hinges so that they can be pushed from either side.
-- kaz, Dec 07 2002


For unlatched doors, the best thing is to put a handle only on the pull side, and a push plate only on the push side. (I realise that doesn't work too well if you need a handle on both sides to unlatch the door.)

I've also seen places solve this problem by *only* having push doors, with "no entry" signs on the other side (the doors coming in pairs, one for each direction).
-- DrCurry, Dec 07 2002


Pull: solid rectangle
Push: open/recessed rectangle
-- thumbwax, Dec 07 2002


the problem being, the door user can't see the other side............

the pictogram works fine
-- peter2, Apr 30 2003


Ever push, and then pull, and then realize that pushing was actually right, but it's just a heavy door? Argh! Croissant baby.
-- phundug, Apr 30 2003


On the whole reading thing, it doesn't always help even if you think you know the language. I understand a bit of German but the words for push (or pull, I forget which) are different in Munich and Basel (Bavaria and German speaking Switzerland).
-- MechE, Jul 11 2011


Some doors should be marked "?", just for fun.
-- phundug, Jul 11 2011



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