The New Yorker’s online edition has a fascinating article that combines everything you might want to know about elevators (“The Otis Elevator Company, the world’s oldest and biggest elevator manufacturer, claims that its products carry the equivalent of the world’s population every five days.” I did not know that!) with the frightening story of Nicholas White, who in 1999 was working in Manhattan’s McGraw-Hill Building and returning from a smoke break, when his express elevator stopped a third of the way up, in a section that had no outlet for many floors in either direction.

Oh yeah, and it was late on a Friday evening.

By the time he was rescued 41 hours later, he had endured the worst nightmare of many urban workers. He has watched the video of himself trapped in the elevator (a speeded-up version which the New Yorker provides), and is amazed most that the video was available also to the staff performing routine maintenance during his ordeal.

A fascinating article, and an inspiration to take the stairs.