Ever wonder what that green light coming from underneath the escalator is?

[Brian Defferding]

Why is it green? Why can't it be red or blue, or purple?

Where's it coming from? I could have sworn I asked someone here this but I can't remember the answer. Did I ask this to someone at Heroes Con?

[Jef UK]

I always assumed it was a safety issue; that is, so you would readily notice where the escalator ends. Like painting safety cones orange.

[nihilance]

Green is the easiet color for the human eye to see...that's why nightvision goggles display in green.

But to answer your question, it's to keep those stinking Kryptonians off our escalators.

[Howlett]

But to answer your question, it's to keep those stinking Kryptonians off our escalators.
:roll: You sad fucking bastard. Kryptonians don't NEED escalaters, they can fly :p

[Brian Defferding]

Green is the easiet color for the human eye to see...that's why nightvision goggles display in green.

But to answer your question, it's to keep those stinking Kryptonians off our escalators.

Ooooooooh okay. I totally thought so!

[Taki Soma]

goblins live under there

[Brian Defferding]

I was assumed it was a safety issue; that is, so you would readily notice where the escalator ends. Like painting safety cones orange.
That makes sense to me, I suppose.

[Taki Soma]

Green is the easiet color for the human eye to see...that's why nightvision goggles display in green.

But to answer your question, it's to keep those stinking Kryptonians off our escalators.
not true. Red it the color our brain registers before any other. That is why stop lights and such are in red.

that is another reason why red cars are known to be pulled over more for speeding because the human eye naturally 'see' it first, thus, noticing it faster.

[Mr. E!]

I was assumed it was a safety issue; that is, so you would readily notice where the escalator ends. Like painting safety cones orange.

You are correct. Here is the fancy answer from The Straight Dope:


Dear Cecil:

Why are there green lights under escalators? Should I start believing in Escalator Trolls? Am I seeing the Otis borealis? Or do I just have a brain tumor? Please--the straight dope! --John Sandel, Chicago

Cecil replies:

John, please, get a grip. Escalator companies put lights under the steps near the top and bottom of the escalator in order to silhouette the edges of each step. The improved visibility is supposed to help you avoid stumbling, or worse, as the step slides against its neighbors on reaching (or leaving) the landing area. The yellow stripe you see on the edge of the steps on some escalators performs a similar function. The lights are part of a code of standards for escalators devised by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and since adopted by many cities and states. As for why they're green, as opposed to, say, lavender, nobody at ASME could remember. But presumably it was to cut down on glare.

[nihilance]

:roll: You sad fucking bastard. Kryptonians don't NEED escalaters, they can fly :p
Not the ones posing as humans.

[WinterRose]

goblins live under there

The term is Tommyknockers. But essentially, yes.

[Howlett]

Not the ones posing as humans.
Damn, you're right.

[amy]

Not the ones posing as humans.


any updates on your brother?

[Brian Defferding]

You are correct. Here is the fancy answer from The Straight Dope:
Hot shit there it is. Thank you for the enlightenment, Sir Ellis! :king:

[Taki Soma]

The term is Tommyknockers. But essentially, yes.
I don't know what that is. I understand goblins.

[Sy-Klone]

Confession: I hate escalators. I always feel so much pressure as I approach them. The timing, the trepidation, will I get my shoestring caught in it and be sliced apart...oy.

[Howlett]

I don't know what that is. I understand goblins.
It's a reference to a Stephen King book.

[ClintP]

Green is the easiet color for the human eye to see...that's why nightvision goggles display in green.

But to answer your question, it's to keep those stinking Kryptonians off our escalators.


not true. Red it the color our brain registers before any other. That is why stop lights and such are in red.

that is another reason why red cars are known to be pulled over more for speeding because the human eye naturally 'see' it first, thus, noticing it faster.
I thought that was yellow when I took physics. That's why highlighters are most commonly yellow. We need to get to the bottom of this....

[Taki Soma]

Confession: I hate escalators. I always feel so much pressure as I approach them. The timing, the trepidation, will I get my shoestring caught in it and be sliced apart...oy.
:shifty: dude what are you, 3?

[Brian Defferding]

goblins live under there
I need Cth to find a pic of that saying

"I'M IN YUR ESCL8TR

GROPING YUR BUM"

[Taki Soma]

It's a reference to a Stephen King book.
I only read Pet Semetary by him I think.

I don't read too many horror, more 60's - 70's sci-fi please

[Howlett]

I need Cth to find a pic of that saying

"I'M IN YUR ESCL8TR

GROPING YUR BUM"
"Next week on The Weird Images Thread" :lol:

[Sy-Klone]

:shifty: dude what are you, 3?

:)

I do live in fear, though.

Elevators are much easier. I have enough trouble navigating stairs. An escalator is moving stairs. Oy.

I should mention that I'm extraordinarily clumsy.

[Howlett]

I only read Pet Semetary by him I think.

I don't read too many horror, more 60's - 70's sci-fi please
I really wouldn't bother with most of his stuff. For every good book, I've read about 5 or 6 stinkers. I'd say "IT" and "The Stand" are the only great ones I've ever read.

Honestly, check out The Stand. It's not really horror. More of an almost biblical "Good Vs Evil" story set after a plague wipes out most of humanity. Really great stuff.

[Taki Soma]

:)

I do live in fear, though.

Elevators are much easier. I have enough trouble navigating stairs. An escalator is moving stairs. Oy.

I should mention that I'm extraordinarily clumsy.
baby steps man... just relax

I'm clumsy, but I just deal with the bruises and scars.

[ClintP]

:)

I do live in fear, though.

Elevators are much easier. I have enough trouble navigating stairs. An escalator is moving stairs. Oy.

I should mention that I'm extraordinarily clumsy.
What about the moving sidewalk in the airports?

[nihilance]

not true. Red it the color our brain registers before any other. That is why stop lights and such are in red.

that is another reason why red cars are known to be pulled over more for speeding because the human eye naturally 'see' it first, thus, noticing it faster.
I didn't say it was the first color our brain registers...I said it was the easiest for the human eye to see. It causes the least fatigue and is also the easiest color for the colorblind to register (whereas red is the most difficult).

[Sy-Klone]

What about the moving sidewalk in the airports?

That I can handle better, because I'm not going vertical.

I should also mention that I have an intense fear of heights, so that doesn't help with the escalator thing.

As I said...I live in fear. :D

[ClintP]

baby steps man... just relax

I'm clumsy, but I just deal with the bruises and scars.
That would explain all of the calls to the CPS your parents had....

[nihilance]

I thought that was yellow when I took physics. That's why highlighters are most commonly yellow. We need to get to the bottom of this....
Yellow is the most fatiguing color that the human eye can see.

[Brian Defferding]

In the distant future, if things got to be like it is in the movies like A.I. or I, Robot, I might actually be scared of escalators. Imagine an escalator that can scan what you have in your bag, know what you bought last, and record your shoe/foot print?

If we go to war with robots, escalators die first! I'm taking the stairs.

[nihilance]

any updates on your brother?
I'll update the normal thread in a sec.

[Howlett]

If we go to war with robots, escalators go first! I'm taking the stairs.
:rofl:

Hold on, but then where would Taki's goblins live? :(

[ClintP]

That I can handle better, because I'm not going vertical.

I should also mention that I have an intense fear of heights, so that doesn't help with the escalator thing.

As I said...I live in fear. :D
I have an intense fear of heights as well. I can not handle the elevators that are see-through and hang on the outside of the area. I can handle normal ones, because the illusion is that I am just in a small closet with a few gassy people.:lol:

[Taki Soma]

I didn't say it was the first color our brain registers...I said it was the easiest for the human eye to see. It causes the least fatigue and is also the easiest color for the colorblind to register (whereas red is the most difficult).
I see what you mean now.

[nihilance]

It's a reference to a Stephen King book.
Tommyknockers isn't a King invention...he just co-opted it.

[ClintP]

Imagine an escalator that can scan what you have in your bag, know what you bought last, and record your shoe/foot print?
Good for them, if they want to know I have comics in my bag, I had leftovers for lunch, and want to know I have size 13 shoes, more power to them. I submit to their useless scanning!:D

[Sy-Klone]

I have an intense fear of heights as well. I can not handle the elevators that are see-through and hang on the outside of the area. I can handle normal ones, because the illusion is that I am just in a small closet with a few gassy people.:lol:

Oh, I can't do those see-through elevators. No.

[Brian Defferding]

:rofl:

Hold on, but then where would Taki's goblins live? :(
Under the stairs. It would be like a bad Wes Craven movie :D

[Sy-Klone]

In the distant future, if things got to be like it is in the movies like A.I. or I, Robot, I might actually be scared of escalators. Imagine an escalator that can scan what you have in your bag, know what you bought last, and record your shoe/foot print?

If we go to war with robots, escalators die first! I'm taking the stairs.

The robot war is coming.

Yesterday, I came home and my computer installed new programs while I was away and restarted itself. Let me repeat that. My computer took it upon itself to install new programs for itself and restart.

The Cylons are coming. Live in fear. Like me. ;)

[Howlett]

Under the stairs. It would be like a bad Wes Craven movie :D
Soooo, it would be like ANY Wes Craven movie :p

[Taki Soma]

:rofl:

Hold on, but then where would Taki's goblins live? :(
I have my own Goblins?

[Foolish Mortal]

The term is Tommyknockers. But essentially, yes.

I don't know what that is. I understand goblins.
Taki is from Middle Earth. She knows nothing about these fancy-shcmancy names you modern-age types use. She knows them as Goblins!! :mad:

[Howlett]

I have my own Goblins?
Sure. Why not. Everyone should have their own goblins.

[Taki Soma]

Sure. Why not. Everyone should have their own goblins.
they better start obeying me

[Howlett]

they better start obeying me
If they don't, you could just kill a couple. Show the others who's boss.

[nihilance]

Soooo, it would be like ANY Wes Craven movie :p
Serpent and the Rainbow kick all sorts of ass...






















when it came out...

[Taki Soma]

Serpent and the Rainbow kick all sorts of ass...


when it came out...
so true, when I rewatched it years later, it wasn't as... kick ass...

[WinterRose]

The robot war is coming.

Yesterday, I came home and my computer installed new programs while I was away and restarted itself. Let me repeat that. My computer took it upon itself to install new programs for itself and restart.

The Cylons are coming. Live in fear. Like me. ;)

I welcome it, and my eventual entechment. Get my mind OUT of this flawed piece of meat and get me something better! You shall all fall before us, meatbag.

[WinterRose]

so true, when I rewatched it years later, it wasn't as... kick ass...

The COMMERCIAL for it scared the bejabbers outta me when I was little.

In any case... the Tommyknockers in the Stephen King Novel were a bunch of really technically apt aliens who telepathically influenced people on whatever planet they made fall on into technological savantes. The marked evidence of 'tommyknocker' technology was an eerie green glow that emanated from thatever the influenced person built.

It wasn't the greatest of his stuff. The middle part of the book was pretty much short stories he'd written, shoved ungracefully together. He was hitting it pretty hard then. Right around the time Tabby and his pals did an intervention on him.

[The Clone Ranger]

My wife works in a JC Penney's that has an escalator. At least once a week she tells me a new story of people getting stuck in it. This week it was a really old couple. The old guy got his pants stuck when they reached the bottom. He fell and cut his head open. His wife fell over top of him and hurt herself. When an employee hit the emergency stop button, several other people on the escalator fell down. And then finally, an alert customer upstairs decided to help out the old man by dropping pillows on his head from thirty feet in the air. It's a deathtrap! Run for your lives!

[Brian Defferding]

My wife works in a JC Penney's that has an escalator. At least once a week she tells me a new story of people getting stuck in it. This week it was a really old couple. The old guy got his pants stuck when they reached the bottom. He fell and cut his head open. His wife fell over top of him and hurt herself. When an employee hit the emergency stop button, several other people on the escalator fell down. And then finally, an alert customer upstairs decided to help out the old man by dropping pillows on his head from thirty feet in the air. It's a deathtrap! Run for your lives!
Wow, and to think I was worried about escalators scanning handbags. Nevermind! They are already thinning the herd!

[Taki Soma]

My wife works in a JC Penney's that has an escalator. At least once a week she tells me a new story of people getting stuck in it. This week it was a really old couple. The old guy got his pants stuck when they reached the bottom. He fell and cut his head open. His wife fell over top of him and hurt herself. When an employee hit the emergency stop button, several other people on the escalator fell down. And then finally, an alert customer upstairs decided to help out the old man by dropping pillows on his head from thirty feet in the air. It's a deathtrap! Run for your lives!
:rofl:

oh that is great... like that pillow's gonig to do any good AFTER he's cut himself already!

[Evan Wiener]

Yellow is the most fatiguing color that the human eye can see.

nihilance, where do you get your wonderful facts? I'd love to see some resources on things like this?

[Taki Soma]

nihilance, where do you get your wonderful facts? I'd love to see some resources on things like this?
I learned a lot about color while in art school / color theory / painting

and I learned a lot about the emotional effects of color from advertising/tv studies.

I dunno about Nihilance though.

[Sy-Klone]

My wife works in a JC Penney's that has an escalator. At least once a week she tells me a new story of people getting stuck in it. This week it was a really old couple. The old guy got his pants stuck when they reached the bottom. He fell and cut his head open. His wife fell over top of him and hurt herself. When an employee hit the emergency stop button, several other people on the escalator fell down. And then finally, an alert customer upstairs decided to help out the old man by dropping pillows on his head from thirty feet in the air. It's a deathtrap! Run for your lives!

See! See! *points*

I told you! ;)

[Taki Soma]

See! See! *points*

I told you! ;)
just make sure you have a pillow stuck to your head BEFORE you get on one.

easy solution.

[Brian Defferding]

just make sure you have a pillow stuck to your head BEFORE you get on one.

easy solution.
The visual I'm getting from this is funny as all hell.

[Foolish Mortal]

My wife works in a JC Penney's that has an escalator. At least once a week she tells me a new story of people getting stuck in it. This week it was a really old couple. The old guy got his pants stuck when they reached the bottom. He fell and cut his head open. His wife fell over top of him and hurt herself. When an employee hit the emergency stop button, several other people on the escalator fell down. And then finally, an alert customer upstairs decided to help out the old man by dropping pillows on his head from thirty feet in the air. It's a deathtrap! Run for your lives!
Heh. Most multi-level department stores and shopping malls have escalators AND elevators.

Elderly people (Or people who aren't too mobile) would be well-advised to use the elevator instead of an escalator.