Elevator Or Stairs - Which Do You Prefer?

Elevators began as devices used to move freight and other heavy items in an industrial building or factory. The original boxes hoisted from floor to floor showed up around the 1600's. By the 1800's, an inventor by the name of Elisha Otis created a modern version that could safely transport human beings by using hydraulic lifts instead of the steam powered earlier versions. Otis made sure that there were enough safety features to keep passengers safe and sound. His name is still a popular brand of lifts even today. There are lots of benefits to these devices. A person can move quickly up and down multiple floors in a building. This comes in handy in tall hotels or office buildings. Imagine delivering mail to every office on every floor by stair if you worked in the mailroom of an office or lugging your suitcases up twenty flights of stairs in a hotel. Passengers can still chitchat with each other while riding up and down. If a person is dressed up for an important business meeting on the nineteenth floor, he or she will arrive looking fresh. If this same person had to schlep up stairs in high heels or a three piece suit, he or she would be a bit sweaty and winded when the receptionist welcomed him or her in for the appointment.

Those Who Prefer The Stairs

Individuals who prefer the stairs might be claustrophobic, impatient or athletic. If the person suffers from claustrophobia, being inside a closed metal box with no windows will give him or her the heebie-jeebies. Everyone's probably heard stories about power outages where people were stuck for days inside an elevator and this is a claustrophobic person's worst nightmare. This person is likely in good physical condition because he or she will indeed haul suitcases up twenty flights of stairs rather than face the fear of closed in spaces. The impatient types would rather run up and down a few flights than wait for the doors of an available elevator to open up and invite them in. Athletic people are likely wearing a pedometer device to record each and every step. When they see stairways, it's another chance to gain steps for their daily count. They're also the ones who park in the spaces farthest from the door. For these urban athletes, it's all about the step count on their pedometer.


The elevator is truly an amazing device. It allows individuals to easily carry grocery bags up to their fourteenth floor apartment; to chitchat all the way up and down with friends, neighbors and acquaintances, and to arrive at important meetings and dates looking fresh and sweat-free. For those who are phobic, impatient or athletic, the stairs are preferable.