INTERESTING FACT OF THE DAY

The common woodlouse has an average lifespan of aprox 2 years although some are known to have lived up to 4 years old.

[widepants]

[daveyrach]

Originally Posted by widepants

That' so annoying, even when you try not to it still does.

[Shawthing]

Think you're having a bad day?

Betty Lou Oliver is best known as the 1940s elevator attendant for the empire state building who survived two large accidents on the same day.

Oliver was working on the 80th story of the building on July 28, 1945. On that day, due to thick fog a B-25 Mitchell bomber crashed into the north side of the Empire State Building. The plane struck the 79th floor of the building. Oliver was thrown from her post and badly burned in the accident, though she survived, while 14 others did not.
When rescuers got to her they decided to lower her via the elevator, unaware that the cables had been weakened to breaking point. Once the elevator doors closed, the cables snapped and Oliver plummeted 75 stories to the basement. She screamed all the way down when falling in the elevator. Oliver survived but again had to be rescued and was later treated at the hospital for serious injuries. The thousand feet of elevator cable had fallen to the bottom of the shaft, creating a softer landing surface. The rapid compression of the air also likely helped slow the elevator's fall.This descent still stands as the Guiness World Record for the longest survived elevator fall ever recorded. Five months later, Oliver returned with an elevator inspector, who complimented her "guts" in riding the elevators to the full height of the building on that visit

Great fact Shawthing

[Bibio]

Originally Posted by Shawthing

Think you're having a bad day?

Betty Lou Oliver is best known as the 1940s elevator attendant for the empire state building who survived two large accidents on the same day.

Oliver was working on the 80th story of the building on July 28, 1945. On that day, due to thick fog a B-25 Mitchell bomber crashed into the north side of the Empire State Building. The plane struck the 79th floor of the building. Oliver was thrown from her post and badly burned in the accident, though she survived, while 14 others did not.
When rescuers got to her they decided to lower her via the elevator, unaware that the cables had been weakened to breaking point. Once the elevator doors closed, the cables snapped and Oliver plummeted 75 stories to the basement. She screamed all the way down when falling in the elevator. Oliver survived but again had to be rescued and was later treated at the hospital for serious injuries. The thousand feet of elevator cable had fallen to the bottom of the shaft, creating a softer landing surface. The rapid compression of the air also likely helped slow the elevator's fall.This descent still stands as the Guiness World Record for the longest survived elevator fall ever recorded. Five months later, Oliver returned with an elevator inspector, who complimented her "guts" in riding the elevators to the full height of the building on that visit

i don't think that's possible due to the Otis safety brake fitted to elevators. in the event of a cable snap the elevator has a system that releases a ratchet system into the walls of the shaft where by locking the cart in position. but if its in the GBOR then in bust be true.

[daveyrach]

I think this may have been before safety features such as those.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S2 using Tapatalk 2

1874 was the year that safety brakes (emergency brakes) became standard on all elevators.

Source BBC2 QI series 5.

[andrewsmith]

Originally Posted by Thunderace

1874 was the year that safety brakes (emergency brakes) became standard on all elevators.

Source BBC2 QI series 5.

This
The lifts could never fall (unless its removed) without the brakes coming on. Mythbusters

The same method is still used by manufacturers now, but using digital sensors and governor speed rope

Feck me! We agree on something!