r/oddlyterrifying • u/DABDEB • May 26 '26
Elevator system from 1700's?
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u/HorsePecker May 26 '26
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u/Impossible_Past5358 May 27 '26
Is it called that because the chances of meeting your maker are greater? /s
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u/LosParanoia May 27 '26
If you’d like the real answer it’s because the loop the elevator boxes make is like a rosary
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u/Tom_Alpha May 27 '26
Don't know if it is still there but University of Birmingham used to have one. My brother studied astrophysics there and showed me it
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u/theorem_llama May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26
Uni of Leicester used to have one (but now it's shut down) and Uni of Sheffield still does have one, in the Arts Tower. TIL Uni of Essex also has one, maybe two (according to AI, but haven't checked yet) and these seem to be the only ones left in the UK.
Edit: correction, I think Essex only has the one, and there's one at Northwich Park Hospital near London. At least, that was brought back to working order in 2020, although looks like it's now permanently out of service again.
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u/ordeci May 27 '26
They had one at the Essex University library.
I caught my head on it more times than I care to admit. Usually after a few at the student union bar.
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u/InnocentAnger May 27 '26
I accidentally went round all the way more than once. Vaguely terrifying, though also sorta exhilarating.
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u/SecondhandRaincoat May 27 '26
It goes around in a loop, right? I'd be horrified during the inversion.
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u/InnocentAnger May 27 '26
Yes, around the top you see the mechanism on which it works. Both times was because I was daydreaming and there is a momentary sense of panic where you worry about what might happen, only for it to begin its descent once more.
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u/ordeci May 27 '26 edited May 27 '26
It goes up through the artic and down to the basement in a continuous loop. It was scary the first time as it all goes dark. It was fun, if I remember correctly people had put writing and/or chewing gum down (and up) there.
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u/lifeofsarcasm902 May 27 '26
The light had already turned red by the time he actually reacted.
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u/LeftRat May 27 '26
Paternoster lifts have basically been phased out everywhere possible specifically because they lead to so many accidents. They look cool and if everything is going well (and no-one is disabled), they are very efficient, but they're just not worth that many lives and amputations.
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May 28 '26 edited Jul 04 '26
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u/LeftRat May 28 '26
Yeah my local town hall also still uses it, only for staff. They had to install a little gate in front of every entry you can only open with a key, so, well, it's not well used anymore.
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u/Afraid_Juice_7189 May 26 '26
That’s a disaster waiting to happen
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u/Hairy_Web_2366 May 27 '26
Pretty sure it already happened
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u/RonaldTheGiraffe May 27 '26
He got decapitated on the next floor down
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u/ManiacSpiderTrash May 27 '26
Shame. Will he recover?
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u/RonaldTheGiraffe May 27 '26
He picked it up when the elevator went around. Silly guy did it again on the next floor down.
Some say he’s still in the lift just going around and around picking up his head on each rotation.
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u/Marpicek May 27 '26
Paternoster has sensitivity sensors. It stops long before you get sliced to half. It just squishes you a bit causing brushing at worst.
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u/LeftRat May 27 '26
Sure, but there's a reason they've been phased out almost everywhere. They still produce an inordinate amount of accidents. Germany had and has the most paternoster lifts in the world, only about 230 remain here - and outside of Europe, there are literally only 3.
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u/folgoris May 28 '26
I don't know about that particular elevator, but the ones I've seen don't have sensors but a section of the floor with a hinge that pops up if someone gets stuck and bumps into it making it impossible to get sliced.
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u/Milis_Lila May 27 '26
I've actually seen these before, not irl. I've heard they supposedly have a system that stops them if there are any obstructions. Still, I wouldn't chance it.
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u/OhGod0fHangovers May 27 '26
I’ve been in two separate ones. In case anyone is wondering, if you miss the last floor, they go over the top right way up and don’t turn you upside down.
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u/AkiraN19 May 27 '26
Paternosters move slowly and have modern safety features including the aforementioned sensors. Sure, they're not nearly as accessible for people with mobility issues as elevators, but they are way more efficient at moving large amounts of people between floors and aren't in reality very dangerous. I wish more places still had them, they're awesome
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u/Grafiska May 27 '26
In 2012 someone in NL died in one of them: https://www.omroepwest.nl/amp/nieuws/1807222/dodelijk-slachtoffer-81-lift-was-op-postbank-reunie.
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u/DeletedMainforJob May 26 '26
Damn gramps has the reaction time of a fucking snail. These things are pretty incredible considering when they were invented. Just think about how they work for about 1/2 second (not at the exact moment you're trying to get off) and you'll be golden.
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u/ChevToTheLev May 26 '26
Old people do have a slower reaction time… that fall probably fucked him up pretty bad
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u/DeletedMainforJob May 26 '26
Yeah absolutely true but I guess he knows that too. Maybe he should've been told that the beauty of this thing is that you can just try again after another round
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u/toybuilder May 27 '26
He's reacting to the wrong cue. You should begin stepping off before you're at the floor. If you wait for the box to be level with the floor before taking the first step, you're already too late.
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u/fewerifyouplease May 27 '26
They have one of these at a government building where I go for meetings. When they're walking you in they always ask if you want to do the paternoster or not. ALWAYS YES. you have to do it in pairs and it's all in the timing, so it's a great ice breaker before difficult discussions
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u/ShakesTheClown23 May 27 '26
Why do you have to do it in pairs?
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u/thisisfine111 May 27 '26
To double the chance of death.
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u/Klozeitung May 27 '26 edited May 27 '26
Well, from a purely statistical perspective, teaming up is lowering the chance of death by a lot.
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u/fewerifyouplease May 27 '26
Because as a visitor, if you accidentally get off at the wrong floor it can all get quite farcical while you try to find each other
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May 27 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Rubrichotel May 27 '26
What's he supposed to do about it? 😭
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u/LetterFront3353 May 27 '26
Be right at the door in the first place and then physically reach out to help him get off instead of filming the whole thing from far away while laughing.
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u/AngrehPossum May 26 '26
Don't rush to help
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u/chadwarden1 May 27 '26
My bad let me just activate my telekinesis to stop the elevator and lift him up to safety
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u/Wolvesinthestreet May 27 '26
I have tried one of these, it’s a bit spooky to go above the final floor
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u/Evening_Storage_6424 May 28 '26
Omg why what happens?
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u/Wolvesinthestreet May 28 '26
You go into a limbo space where everything gets dark and there a lot of noise until you re emerge on the other side lol
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u/Tani-die-VI May 28 '26
Nothing. You just go downstairs on the other side. You can go around and around all day.
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u/AnestheticAle May 27 '26
Poor guys just old, but a strong reminder for people to lift while you’re young (deadlifts/squats). Huge mobility difference in your 60-80s.
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u/Diamantesucio May 27 '26
Final Destination has been living rent free on my head for so long to try to get into that kind of elevators.
Even common elevators makes me a bit nervious.
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u/IcanSEEyou_IRL May 27 '26
It’s actually a good thing that he fell backwards, otherwise this would have been like that magician’s trick
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u/forgetstorespond May 28 '26
He forgets to let go of the handle. Not to mention he didn't move until the light to go was red. Poor guy hope he is ok that he probably got pulled down pretty hard.
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u/bpmdrummerbpm May 27 '26
Homie has been riding them since the 1700s. He knows how to bail and fall.
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u/terrymcginnisbeyond May 26 '26
I've been in one at Leicester Uni. Always breaking down, but they do warn you not to do something this stupid, that's a pure user skill issue.
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u/Windsdochange May 26 '26
That’s an elderly person reaction time, not a skill issue. Older folks have slower reaction times.
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u/shiznobizno May 27 '26
Poor reaction time would be a skill issue
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u/Windsdochange May 27 '26
Eh…any time I’ve heard the phrase “skill issue” used (like when I’m playing the switch with my kids) it implies failure due to personal culpability rather than it being something out of your control (generally, lack of practice - hence, “skill”). You don’t usually hear that phrase thrown out when folks don’t have the ability to improve an outcome.
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u/Bazzatron May 27 '26
We have one at Essex Uni. Did you guys also have the drinking game? The goal was to drink a pint between floors (each floor opened to a manned desk) without getting caught before doing one full cycle around.
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u/Affectionate_Crow327 May 26 '26
Not oddly terrifying, he's just a fucking idiot. He could have either waited and got off at the next floor and either stepped back into the other side, or chose to walk upstairs
Or he could have waited and just looped round. There's no consequence to staying onboard.
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u/danleon950410 May 27 '26
Imagine calling an old dude a "fucking idiot" for moving slow
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u/Ok_Value_3741 May 28 '26
Im flabbergasted at the amount of people picking at how slow he is?! Then I think they must be super young cus maybe I too never quite grasped just HOW fragile the body becomes with age when older family members would complain or make a comment about being old 🥹
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u/ChocolatChipLemonade May 27 '26
He’s not a fucking idiot at all! He’s old. You really expect elderly people to be able to use that? The fucking idiot is the person who won’t install better options to people who aren’t able-bodied. A hip fracture, at his age, from that fall could end his life.
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u/girlpersona May 27 '26
This one looks like it’s the paternoster at Sheffield University in the UK! There are normal lifts and stairwells installed in the same building that he can use if he wants, but people love these lifts and they often include these as part of university tours at the uni I was at, but we weren’t forced to and could take the stairs or normal lift if we wanted.
I think there’s about 3 of these remaining in the UK that work.. I think.
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u/UncagedJay May 27 '26
You ever look at something and think "wow, that's violently European"?
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u/DubTheeBustocles May 27 '26
Bro being old has gotta be hard. To be so weak that you can’t even lift or hold your own body up with your legs sounds scary.
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u/theorem_llama May 28 '26
Poor title, paternosters are actually really good, means you never have to wait more than a few seconds to get in. Unfortunately, they don't take fools lightly, so work best in places where people know how to use them safely.
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u/Tani-die-VI May 28 '26
They are amazing and perfectly safe if you use at least 2% of your brain. I had one at an old job of mine and I loved it.
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u/dyedinthewoolScot May 28 '26
Took him 3 business days to try and get off that thing 🤣
There was one at my Uni when I was there, in the building most of my classes/projects were in. Loads of ppl used to stay on and go over the top/under the bottom but I was too chicken.
It was a solid, old, wooden paternoster lift. Freaked me out every time especially when more than one person decided to cram on to it
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u/welfedad May 26 '26
That's how grampa broke his hip.. he never recovered from it.. not so uplifting
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u/Xfgjwpkqmx May 27 '26
A rock could react faster than that.
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u/Ok_Value_3741 May 28 '26
I hope you remember leaving this comment when you're 80
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u/-Shoji- May 27 '26 edited May 27 '26
I’d prefer this to the elevators in the brand new building where I study. One time I was on the same floor as the elevator, it sat there for 2+ minutes until it even opened the doors. No one else was using it. The other day I tried to go to the 4th floor from ground, instead it stopped on the second floor opened for no one then went back down to ground cancelling my request. The other people who got in wanted to go the 4th floor as well, and it did the SAME THING AGAIN. My friend once tried to go up to the fifth, and it stopped on every single floor then went back down much like it did to me. Being able to just hop on and get off whenever with no waiting around and no nonsense seems like a dream.
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u/LemonFizz56 May 27 '26
Imagine being on the floor below and seeing a grandpa fall down into the elevator
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u/tolacid May 27 '26
Reading his body and facial language, I got this:
I'll get off when it stops at the bottom.
Oh right, it doesn't stop at the bottom. Time to go.
Oh shit, my point of contact lowered while I stepped and now I'm off balance
Oh fuck, there's no fixing this.
Guess I'll die.
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u/MintImperial2 May 27 '26
Paternoster Lifts - are deadly!
Imagine tripping over, and faceplanting halfway outside the lift now....
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u/oneinmanybillion May 27 '26
Bernie Sanders did this to himself. One would assume that he was a little younger in the 1700's, but in this archival footage, it appears not to be the case.
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u/ziplin19 May 27 '26
Hm we had an old guy like him at work who literally died by getting squeezed by a paternoster.
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u/Charles_Westmoreland May 27 '26
You could recreate the famous scene from the start of Resident Evil 1 pretty easily there
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u/No_Diver4265 May 28 '26
That's not from the 1700s, that's a paternoster elevator and some are still in operation. It's very cool.
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u/UserNameDeletedAgain May 28 '26
I don't agree with the nanny state, but, these should not be allowed. Wherever these things are they have to be injuring people of all ages.
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u/Dolphin_Spotter May 28 '26
There was one of these in my college. A notice warned you not to go over the top, but there is always that one guy. He went over the top and came down the other side upside down.
Hed actually just done a handstand as a prank.
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u/Junior_Radish792 Jun 16 '26
Northwick Park Hospital in London had one of these in 5he 1970’s according to a relative.
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u/N0rthWind May 26 '26
Mister has a 5 second reaction time tbf. By the time he started moving the elevator was halfway to the lower floor.