Chapter 02 of 5
All Safe, Gentlemen
The stunt that sold the elevator, and the first lift in a shop.
- 1854
The Crystal Palace
In 1854, New York hosted a world's fair in a glass-and-iron building called the Crystal Palace.
- The Stage
A Platform in the Air
Otis stood on an open platform, hoisted high above the crowd.
- The Cut
The Rope Is Cut
In front of the crowd, the hoisting rope was cut.
17 more cards in this chapter
Could you answer this?
What kept Otis's safety catches switched off while the lift was working normally?
🛗 Who Stops the Elevator?
- 01A Lift Without a NetWhy nobody trusted a lift, and the brake idea that fixed it.
- 02All Safe, GentlemenThe stunt that sold the elevator, and the first lift in a shop.
- 03The Invisible BrakingCounterweights, governors and wedges: the safety systems you never see.
- 04Up and UpHow safe elevators raised skylines and flipped the value of the top floor.
- 05The Brain in the ShaftWhy elevators skip you, how dispatch systems think, and what comes next.