Facts You May or May Not Know about Elevators

1.    There are an estimated 900,000 elevators in the United States.

2.    5 is the average amount of people per elevator ride

3.    40 feet or 4-5 floors equals the average elevator rise.

4.    Passengers take an average amount of 4 rides daily.

5.    The average amount of passengers carried by elevators per year is 20,000.

6.    Elevators take an estimated 18 billion passenger trips per year in the U.S.

7.    The first elevator shaft was designed into the Cooper Union Foundation Building in 1853.

8.    In 1857, Elisha Otis designed the worlds first successful passenger elevator for the E.V. Haughwout Building in NYC. Costing only $300!

9.    1874 is when Elisha Otis designed the first modern elevator with a safety break. This invention is what made skyscrapers possible.

10.  Elevator music first appeared in the 1920s in order to calm people that feared elevators.

11.  The maintenance and modernization budget to be spent on elevators and moving stairways is $125 billion by 2021.

12.  Asia- Pacific is the area of the world that is experiencing the largest growth of new elevators. 

13.  The Empire State Building gets hit by a plane in 1945. An engine from the plane cut an elevator cable while a passenger was inside. An emergency auto-break saves her life. 

14.  The longest anyone has been stuck in an elevator is 41 hours. The only complaint from the passenger was that he had no water.

15.  New York Marriot reveals their first smart elevator in 1985. This elevator takes passengers to their floors without stopping. 

16.  The world record for tallest elevator is set in Hunan, China. The ‘Bailong Elevator’ is a whopping 1,070 feet tall.

17.  The fastest elevator in the world is located in the Shanghai Tower Unit OB-3 in China. It travels 121 stories at 45.8 mph.

18.  The “close door” button is just an illusion to make passengers feel more in control. In reality the door is set to close after a certain amount of time and the button will not change that.