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TIL the first safety elevator brake was invented because of a broken rope
I was reading an old trade journal from the library and came across a story about Elisha Otis. In 1854, he was working at a factory in Yonkers that used hoists. A hemp rope snapped on him, which got him thinking. He didn't just fix it, he built a whole new safety catch system with a wagon spring and ratchet bars. He showed it off at a big show in New York by having the rope cut while he was standing on the platform. I always knew about the safety brake, but I never knew it came from a simple broken rope on the job. It makes you think about how many fixes in our trade start with a problem right in front of us. Has anyone else stumbled on a piece of elevator history that explained why we do something a certain way now?
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brooke4843mo ago
Wow, that's a crazy way to have a breakthrough. It really shows how the best solutions come from just dealing with the actual problem in front of you. Makes me appreciate the simple fixes we find on site.
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