The Great Escalator intrigue.

You follow the directions and find an escalator.

When are these moving stairs doing here?

And on second thought, why did they look so unlike regular stairs?

Well, hop on, and let's find out the first escalator was actually not a convenient way to go up or down, but on amusement park ride in 18 95 New York's Coney Island met.

It's amazing and never before seen attraction the inclined elevator or simply moving stairs.

Now on the escalator, the handrails air usually moving faster than the escalator itself.

Because the gear wheels that drive the handrails are intentionally made a bit larger than required.

The rubber on those wheels tends to wear off with time.

So if the handrails air moving at the same speed as the steps or even slower, then you're riding a rather old escalator.

Different escalators move at different speeds because they have different purposes.

For example, the subway escalators normally move faster than ones and shopping centers because in the subway you just need to get to or from the surface as fast as possible in malls.

Ah, you're given time to relax and look around and maybe buy something.

The fastest subway escalators in the world are installed in Hong Kong.

They move with the speed of 2.6 feet per second.

Visitors from China called them too fast.

Some of the slowest underground escalators are surprisingly in New York City, with the pace of just 1.5 feet per second.

For comparison, shopping mall escalators usually move at 1.65 feet per second.

Speaking of malls and we were, you must have noticed how far escalators are usually from each other in those places.

It's done for the same reason.

To make you look around and maybe buy something.

Why you make that detour from one moving staircase to the other while you're here, Look at that fancy metal and glass elevator and then look back at that boring escalator.

Elevator cabins can be decorated as much as we like, because the cabin itself is, well, just a cabin hanging on cable's an escalator is a much more complex mechanism, and the stairs you're standing on are an integral part of it.

That's right, standing on the steps of an escalator is basically the same as standing inside a clock.

You're right in the heart of things, and the most awesome part is that you're also standing both on the outside and the inside of the escalator.

At the same time.

The steps are actually a belt that goes in circles.

So while you're on the outer part, the inner one goes right beneath you.

And who knows, maybe there's someone traveling there too well back on the surface.

In most cities around the world, it's a rule to stand on the right side of the escalator and walk on the left.

Sometimes the sides air swamp like in Australia and some cities in Japan, but it still stand here.

Walk there.

The rule is based on escalator etiquette.

Those who can't or simply don't want a walk should let others pass, by the way.

Sometimes it only works on the down escalators because it's easier to descend, then decline.

Social research has proven, though, that standing on both sides increases the capacity of escalators.

That is, more people can travel faster when everyone is standing, but ironically, it's only the average number.

Almost all such researches have ultimately failed because of the deeply ingrained etiquette rule.

I've just described escalators have those grooves in their steps for your safety.

When they reach the upper or lower end of the line, the steps become flat for easier.

Walk off the grooves, and the comb at the end helped push up objects such as bags, garbage and your feet and not let them get trapped between the steps and the platform.

Don't let loose clothing get stuck there, though, or you're bound for a nasty surprise.

Those bristles along the sides aren't there to clean your shoes, either.

Those brushes make you instinctively move away from the sides, and this help you keep clear of the gaps between the moving and stationary parts of the escalator.

If your clothes or say a bag handle gets in there, it might get stuck, leading to injury or even breakdown of the whole system.

The longest individual escalators in the world are all located in the Russian city of ST Petersburg.

There are three of them at different subway stations, each reaching up to 453 feet in length.

The longest system escalators in the world, though, is in Hong Kong.

It's called the Central Mid Levels escalator, and it's 2600 feet long.

The shortest escalator in the world has made it into the Guinness World Records and even has a name of its own.

The pooch, a later in Kawasaki, Japan, has just five steps, making it only 33 inches long.

Most, if not all escalators have bright yellow stripes along their edge is the stripes are painted to make the edges more visible so that you don't stumble.

The bright green light you see from beneath just before coming off the steps performs the same function, basically rubbing it in at the most perilous part of your escalator journey.

Many people feel weird when going up or down a non moving escalator.

This has to do with a psychological setting that an escalator should be moving.

When it's not, we still expected to and find it hard to adjust to the reality.

Same goes for stepping on or off and out of order escalator.

Even when you clearly see it's not working, you automatically brace yourself for movement under your one foot and get ready to hop on or off with the other.

It's also harder tow, walk down and especially up in escalator than regular stairs.

The first reason is physical escalator steps have a higher rise and a wider platform because they're made for you to stand on them.

When you walk, you have to raise your feet higher and make your strides longer, too, which exhaust you much faster when stairs.

Also, when the step move and you are, you have to keep your balance to which is an additional effort.

The second reason is psychological again.

You expect the steps to move, and it's hard for your brain to realize why they don't.

If you ever wondered what would happen if you press the emergency stop button on an escalator, don't bother.

You shouldn't expect a funny domino effect.

The principal is similar to car breaks.

The gear stopped turning and the steps slow to a halt.

They don't stop immediately so that people could have time to react and grip the handrails for balance.

At subway stations with three or more escalators, the majority of them will be going in a different direction, depending on the time of day.

For example, in the city center, there will be two or more escalators going up in the morning and down in the evening and vice versa at the outskirts.

This is done to make it easier for passengers to get around.

Most people only work downtown while living far from the center, so they go to work in the morning and find Maur escalators moving in the direction they need.

How convenient?

It might seem obvious, but I'll still say it.

Those metal columns before some escalators, especially ones and shopping centers, are for you not to take the shopping carts and bulky baby carriages along.

Some people still manage it, but I'd strongly advised not to.

The steps are higher than normal on escalators, and your card or carriage might just tip over on top of you.

Hey, if you learn something new today that give the video alike and shared with a friend, and here are some other videos I think you'll enjoy, just click to the left or right and remember, Stay on the escalator.