Lift v. Elevator question for Brits

[EIV...@cms.cc.wayne.edu]

To all Britons who care to answer:
I've heard the English say "lift," unlike the Americans who say "elevator,"
but what do they call an escalator?

Anxiously awaiting your reply,
--Eric

[Bill Venables]

In article <1991Jul17.1...@cs.wayne.edu> EIV...@CMS.CC.WAYNE.EDU
writes:

> To all Britons who care to answer:
> I've heard the English say "lift," unlike the Americans who say "elevator,"
> but what do they call an escalator?
>

For Australians (usually)
a lift is for people;
an elevator is for goods;
escalators for people are called escalators, but an
escalator-like device for goods is called an elevator (as
in a grain elevator).

Also a lift-like device for goods is sometimes called a
"dumb waiter", particularly in a home or in a hotel.

(Even though few Australians these days are "Britons", our language
is still closer to British English than to other varieties.)
--
Bill Venables, Dept. of Statistics, | Email: vena...@spam.adelaide.edu.au
Univ. of Adelaide, South Australia. | Phone: +61 8 228 5412

[Alec McKenzie]

In the referenced article EIV...@CMS.CC.WAYNE.EDU writes:

>I've heard the English say "lift," unlike the Americans who say "elevator,"
>but what do they call an escalator?

Nowadays, "escalator", but I remember hearing "moving staircase" as a child.
--
+-------------------+-----------------------+
| Alec McKenzie | a...@stl.stc.co.uk |
+-------------------+-----------------------+

[Ian G Batten]

In article <1991Jul17.1...@cs.wayne.edu> EIV...@CMS.CC.WAYNE.EDU writes:

> I've heard the English say "lift," unlike the Americans who say "elevator,"
> but what do they call an escalator?

an escalator.

ian

[Graham Toal]

In article <1991Jul17.1...@cs.wayne.edu> EIV...@CMS.CC.WAYNE.EDU writes:

:To all Britons who care to answer:

:I've heard the English say "lift," unlike the Americans who say "elevator,"
:but what do they call an escalator?

An escalator, or sometimes a moving staircase.

G
--
(* Posted from tharr.uucp - Public Access Unix - +44 (234) 841503 *)

[Jane Philcox]

In article <47...@stl.stc.co.uk> a...@stl.stc.co.uk (Alec McKenzie) writes:

>I remember hearing "moving staircase" as a child.

Hey, so do I, in Australia, and I'd forgotten all about it, until you
mentioned it. When I learned the term "escalator," I think I thought that
"moving staircase" was a term used for little children.

Regards, Jane.
--

What appears to be a sloppy or meaningless use of words may well be a
completely correct use of words to express sloppy or meaningless ideas
Anonymous Diplomat

[michael lawley]

wven...@spam.ua.oz.au (Bill Venables) writes:

>In article <1991Jul17.1...@cs.wayne.edu> EIV...@CMS.CC.WAYNE.EDU
>writes:

>> To all Britons who care to answer:
>> I've heard the English say "lift," unlike the Americans who say "elevator,"
>> but what do they call an escalator?
>>
> For Australians (usually)
> a lift is for people;
> an elevator is for goods;
> escalators for people are called escalators, but an
> escalator-like device for goods is called an elevator (as
> in a grain elevator).

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Huh? Try conveyor-belt.

>--
> Bill Venables, Dept. of Statistics, | Email: vena...@spam.adelaide.edu.au
> Univ. of Adelaide, South Australia. | Phone: +61 8 228 5412

_--_|\ michael lawley (law...@cs.mu.OZ.AU). | "She was the kind of woman
/ \ The Unicycling Postgrad | who lived for others, you
\_.--.*/ Computer Science, | could tell the others by
v University of Melbourne | their hunted look." C.S.Lewis

[EIV...@cms.cc.wayne.edu]

a...@stl.stc.co.uk (Alec McKenzie) writes...

>In the referenced article EIV...@CMS.CC.WAYNE.EDU writes:

>>I've heard the English say "lift," unlike the Americans who say "elevator,"
>>but what do they call an escalator?

>Nowadays, "escalator", but I remember hearing "moving staircase" as a child.

That's interesting. I've heard "movinging sidewalks" applied to horizontally
oriented escalator-like devices often found in airports--in fact, the term
is still used today--but I've never heard of "moving staircases."

Thanks!
--Eric

[Danny Rothenberg]

I had always thought they were called travelators.

>Thanks!
>--Eric
_______________________________________________________________________
--Danny Rothenberg | "Why can't the English learn to
Bitnet : X68043@barilvm | speak?"
Internet : X68...@vm.biu.ac.il |- Prof. Higgins (My Fair Lady)
_______________________________________________________________________

[Leila Burrell-Davis]

law...@mullauna.cs.mu.OZ.AU (michael lawley) writes:

+ wven...@spam.ua.oz.au (Bill Venables) writes:
+
+ > For Australians (usually)
+ > a lift is for people;
+ > an elevator is for goods;
+ > escalators for people are called escalators, but an
+ > escalator-like device for goods is called an elevator (as
+ > in a grain elevator).
+ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+ Huh? Try conveyor-belt.

When I helped out with the haymaking at a friend's farm in Wales,
the moving belt which took the bales from the trailer to the top of
the stack in the barn was referred to as an elevator. I'm also
familiar with the term grain elevator.

Leila
--
Leila Burrell-Davis, Computing Service, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
Tel: +44 273 678390 Fax: +44 273 678470
Email: lei...@syma.sussex.ac.uk (JANET: lei...@uk.ac.sussex.syma)

[mspem...@gmail.com]

An escalator is the same in England what it is in America, a moving stairway.

[Peter Duncanson [BrE]]

That may set some sort of record.
The question was asked on 17 July 1991 and this answer from
mspem...@gmail.com was on 28 Sep 2017 - 26 years later.


--
Peter Duncanson, UK
(in alt.usage.english)

[Garrett Wollman]

In article <22ab6954-f700-43dd...@googlegroups.com>,

I was not subscribed to this newsgroup back in 1991 -- I don't think
my news server back then even carried alt.* -- so I have to ask a
follow-up:

In AmE we have a distinction between an elevator, which is intended
for general use, and a lift, which is for wheelchairs only, and
typically lacks the enclosure and other safety affordances provided by
elevators. Do you have this distinction in BrE?

-GAWollman

--
Garrett A. Wollman | "Act to avoid constraining the future; if you can,
wol...@bimajority.org| act to remove constraint from the future. This is
Opinions not shared by| a thing you can do, are able to do, to do together."
my employers. | - Graydon Saunders, _A Succession of Bad Days_ (2015)

[Peter Young]

On 28 Sep 2017 wol...@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) wrote:

> In article <22ab6954-f700-43dd...@googlegroups.com>,
> <mspem...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>On Wednesday, 17 July 1991 18:28:16 UTC+1, EIV...@cms.cc.wayne.edu wrote:
>>> To all Britons who care to answer:
>>> I've heard the English say "lift," unlike the Americans who say "elevator,"
>>> but what do they call an escalator?
>>>
>>> Anxiously awaiting your reply,
>>> --Eric
>>
>>An escalator is the same in England what it is in America, a moving stairway.

> I was not subscribed to this newsgroup back in 1991 -- I don't think
> my news server back then even carried alt.* -- so I have to ask a
> follow-up:

> In AmE we have a distinction between an elevator, which is intended
> for general use, and a lift, which is for wheelchairs only, and
> typically lacks the enclosure and other safety affordances provided by
> elevators. Do you have this distinction in BrE?

No. They're both lifts this side of the Pond.

ObAUE: I was initially puzzled on reading Garrison Keillor when he
referred to grain elevators. I asked a Leftpondian and was informed.

Peter.

--
Peter Young, (BrE, RP), Consultant Anaesthetist, 1975-2004.
(US equivalent: Certified Anesthesiologist) (AUE Pt)
Cheltenham and Gloucester, UK. Now happily retired.
http://pnyoung.orpheusweb.co.uk

[Peter Duncanson [BrE]]

On Thu, 28 Sep 2017 18:51:39 +0000 (UTC), wol...@bimajority.org
(Garrett Wollman) wrote:

>In article <22ab6954-f700-43dd...@googlegroups.com>,
> <mspem...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>On Wednesday, 17 July 1991 18:28:16 UTC+1, EIV...@cms.cc.wayne.edu wrote:
>>> To all Britons who care to answer:
>>> I've heard the English say "lift," unlike the Americans who say "elevator,"
>>> but what do they call an escalator?
>>>
>>> Anxiously awaiting your reply,
>>> --Eric
>>
>>An escalator is the same in England what it is in America, a moving stairway.
>
>I was not subscribed to this newsgroup back in 1991 -- I don't think
>my news server back then even carried alt.* -- so I have to ask a
>follow-up:
>
>In AmE we have a distinction between an elevator, which is intended
>for general use, and a lift, which is for wheelchairs only, and
>typically lacks the enclosure and other safety affordances provided by
>elevators. Do you have this distinction in BrE?
>
>-GAWollman

"Lift" is used for both. That for non-general used is a "<something>
lift". For example:
http://www.dolphinlifts.co.uk/wheellifts.html

Home lifts are designed for two-storey accommodation, used by
wheelchair users and people who have restricted mobility. They are
commonly described as wheelchair lifts, vertical lifts, platform
lifts, through floor lifts, disabled lifts or home lifts.
Essentially they are small lifts that will fit into any home
designed to provide freedom of access to the whole house.

That page has an animation (animated gif) demonstrating one.

There are also "stair lifts" that go up a flight of stairs (using rails
on the wall).
https://www.terrylifts.co.uk/lifts/platform-stairlifts/s7-sr-platform-stair-lift/

[Peter T. Daniels]

On Thursday, September 28, 2017 at 2:51:41 PM UTC-4, Garrett Wollman wrote:
> In article <22ab6954-f700-43dd...@googlegroups.com>,
> <mspem...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >On Wednesday, 17 July 1991 18:28:16 UTC+1, EIV...@cms.cc.wayne.edu wrote:
> >> To all Britons who care to answer:

> >> I've heard the English say "lift," unlike the Americans who say "elevator,"
> >> but what do they call an escalator?
> >> Anxiously awaiting your reply,

> >An escalator is the same in England what it is in America, a moving stairway.
>
> I was not subscribed to this newsgroup back in 1991 -- I don't think
> my news server back then even carried alt.* -- so I have to ask a
> follow-up:
>
> In AmE we have a distinction between an elevator, which is intended
> for general use, and a lift, which is for wheelchairs only, and
> typically lacks the enclosure and other safety affordances provided by
> elevators. Do you have this distinction in BrE?

Interesting. I've never associated wheelchair lifts with elevators. They're
physically very different and functionally very different.

What about lifts in shoes?

There were only 12 messages in 1991, and all of them were about escalators. In
Australia, they claimed, "elevator" meant 'conveyor belt' as for filling a
grain elevator.

[Whiskers]

On 2017-09-28, Garrett Wollman <wol...@bimajority.org> wrote:
> In article <22ab6954-f700-43dd...@googlegroups.com>,
> <mspem...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>On Wednesday, 17 July 1991 18:28:16 UTC+1, EIV...@cms.cc.wayne.edu
>>wrote:
>>> To all Britons who care to answer: I've heard the English say
>>> "lift," unlike the Americans who say "elevator," but what do they
>>> call an escalator?
>>>
>>> Anxiously awaiting your reply, --Eric
>>
>>An escalator is the same in England what it is in America, a moving
>>stairway.
>
> I was not subscribed to this newsgroup back in 1991 -- I don't think
> my news server back then even carried alt.* -- so I have to ask a
> follow-up:
>
> In AmE we have a distinction between an elevator, which is intended
> for general use, and a lift, which is for wheelchairs only, and
> typically lacks the enclosure and other safety affordances provided by
> elevators. Do you have this distinction in BrE?

We might describe a lift meant only for wheelchair users as 'a
wheelchair lift', whether it moves vertically or follows the gradient of
a flight of steps or stairs. But we'd expect it to have adequate
enclosure and safety features to make it safe to use, and probably
accommodate an ambulatory passenger as well (eg to push the wheelchair,
or as a carer or companion).

But in practice, such things are likely to be used by anyone who
struggles with the stairs, including those with luggage or tea-trolleys
or walking-frames or crutches or bad legs; the concept of a lift to be
used only by people in wheelchairs is rather strange. So we'd probably
just call it a lift.

A 'stair lift' is more likely to be something meant for one person only,
sitting on the seat which is an integral part of the equipment - so
probably not a wheelchair user. These too would be expected to have
adequate safety features eg to stop the user from falling off.

--
-- ^^^^^^^^^^
-- Whiskers
-- ~~~~~~~~~~

[Jack Campin]

> > In AmE we have a distinction between an elevator, which is intended
> > for general use, and a lift, which is for wheelchairs only, and
> > typically lacks the enclosure and other safety affordances provided by
> > elevators. Do you have this distinction in BrE?
>
> No. They're both lifts this side of the Pond.

The more basic kind might sometimes be a "hoist", but that word
is rather ambiguous.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
e m a i l : j a c k @ c a m p i n . m e . u k
Jack Campin, 11 Third Street, Newtongrange, Midlothian EH22 4PU, Scotland
mobile 07895 860 060 <http://www.campin.me.uk> Twitter: JackCampin

[Whiskers]

On 2017-09-28, Peter Young <pny...@ormail.co.uk> wrote:
> On 28 Sep 2017 wol...@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) wrote:
>
>> In article <22ab6954-f700-43dd...@googlegroups.com>,
>> <mspem...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>On Wednesday, 17 July 1991 18:28:16 UTC+1, EIV...@cms.cc.wayne.edu wrote:
>>>> To all Britons who care to answer:
>>>> I've heard the English say "lift," unlike the Americans who say "elevator,"
>>>> but what do they call an escalator?
>>>>
>>>> Anxiously awaiting your reply,
>>>> --Eric
>>>
>>>An escalator is the same in England what it is in America, a moving stairway.
>
>> I was not subscribed to this newsgroup back in 1991 -- I don't think
>> my news server back then even carried alt.* -- so I have to ask a
>> follow-up:
>
>> In AmE we have a distinction between an elevator, which is intended
>> for general use, and a lift, which is for wheelchairs only, and
>> typically lacks the enclosure and other safety affordances provided by
>> elevators. Do you have this distinction in BrE?
>
> No. They're both lifts this side of the Pond.
>
> ObAUE: I was initially puzzled on reading Garrison Keillor when he
> referred to grain elevators. I asked a Leftpondian and was informed.
>
> Peter.

To me (BrE), a grain elevator is the thing that carries the grain up to
the top of [whatever]. The tall structure containing the grain is a
'silo'. Similar elevators are used for raising other bulk goods such as
gravel, or sacks or cans or crates.

[JNugent]

On 28/09/2017 19:51, Garrett Wollman wrote:
> In article <22ab6954-f700-43dd...@googlegroups.com>,
> <mspem...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Wednesday, 17 July 1991 18:28:16 UTC+1, EIV...@cms.cc.wayne.edu wrote:
>>> To all Britons who care to answer:
>>> I've heard the English say "lift," unlike the Americans who say "elevator,"
>>> but what do they call an escalator?
>>>
>>> Anxiously awaiting your reply,
>>> --Eric
>>
>> An escalator is the same in England what it is in America, a moving stairway.
>
> I was not subscribed to this newsgroup back in 1991 -- I don't think
> my news server back then even carried alt.* -- so I have to ask a
> follow-up:
>
> In AmE we have a distinction between an elevator, which is intended
> for general use, and a lift, which is for wheelchairs only, and
> typically lacks the enclosure and other safety affordances provided by
> elevators. Do you have this distinction in BrE?
>
> -GAWollman

In a few locations (usually institutional) in the UK, we have a
specialised form of open lift/elevator called the "paternoster".

There used to be one in Peterborough District Hospital in the
early-to-mid seventies. I don't know whether it's still there. It was
certainly the only one I've ever ridden on.

See: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paternoster>

[David Kleinecke]

On Thursday, September 28, 2017 at 3:16:07 PM UTC-7, Jack Campin wrote:
> > > In AmE we have a distinction between an elevator, which is intended
> > > for general use, and a lift, which is for wheelchairs only, and
> > > typically lacks the enclosure and other safety affordances provided by
> > > elevators. Do you have this distinction in BrE?
> >
> > No. They're both lifts this side of the Pond.
>
> The more basic kind might sometimes be a "hoist", but that word
> is rather ambiguous.

Doesn't a hoist require a petard?

[Lewis]

In message <oqjgbr$2ep8$1...@grapevine.csail.mit.edu> Garrett Wollman <wol...@bimajority.org> wrote:
> In article <22ab6954-f700-43dd...@googlegroups.com>,
> <mspem...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>On Wednesday, 17 July 1991 18:28:16 UTC+1, EIV...@cms.cc.wayne.edu wrote:
>>> To all Britons who care to answer:
>>> I've heard the English say "lift," unlike the Americans who say "elevator,"
>>> but what do they call an escalator?
>>>
>>> Anxiously awaiting your reply,
>>> --Eric
>>
>>An escalator is the same in England what it is in America, a moving stairway.

> I was not subscribed to this newsgroup back in 1991 -- I don't think
> my news server back then even carried alt.* -- so I have to ask a
> follow-up:

> In AmE we have a distinction between an elevator, which is intended
> for general use, and a lift, which is for wheelchairs only, and
> typically lacks the enclosure and other safety affordances provided by
> elevators. Do you have this distinction in BrE?

I've heard lift used for those in-sidewalk lifts sued to deliver goods
into the basement of a storefront.


--
"Send beer, words simply can't adequately express your gratitude" --
James Sedgwick

[bil...@shaw.ca]

On Thursday, September 28, 2017 at 3:18:26 PM UTC-7, Whiskers Catwheezel wrote:
>
> To me (BrE), a grain elevator is the thing that carries the grain up to
> the top of [whatever]. The tall structure containing the grain is a
> 'silo'. Similar elevators are used for raising other bulk goods such as
> gravel, or sacks or cans or crates.
>

In CanE, a grain elevator is both the lifting device -- which can be a bucket line or a pneumatic tube -- and the structure it is a part of. There have been various sorts, including stand-alone wooden elevators where farmers took their grain, generally alongside railway tracks; and large complexes of concrete cylinders usually found along harbours for receiving grain from trains and loading it into freighters for export.

The complex concrete structures remain in grain-loading ports, but the old wooden elevators that used to dot every prairie town are nearly all gone. Grain storage at the farm is now mostly in round metal buildings which we call silos.

bill

[Lewis]

Do you have any farming experience?

A silo is a single structure used to store grain and you are correct, it
is not a grain elevator.

A grain elevator is tall building for storing grain and containing the
equipment to distribute that grain. It is essentially a distribution
factory for grain. It may consist of many silos and conveyances.

<http://www.traingeek.ca/gallery2/d/16180-2/forrest-viterra-grain-elevator-20140804.jpg>
<http://www.lockiefarms.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/untitled3n-3-e1442952643138.jpg>

A silo is probably on a farm, a grain elevator is where the farmer takes
his grain to sell.

The long bit of equipment that is used to move the grain up to the top
of a silo or grain elevator is a grain conveyor.

--
If you [Carrot] were dice, you'd always roll sixes. And the dice don't
roll themselves. If it wasn't against everything he wanted to be true
about the world, Vimes might just then have believed in destiny
controlling people. And gods help the other people who were around when
a big destiny was alive in the world, bending every poor bugger around
itself...

[RH Draney]

On 9/28/2017 3:14 PM, Whiskers wrote:
>
> We might describe a lift meant only for wheelchair users as 'a
> wheelchair lift', whether it moves vertically or follows the gradient of
> a flight of steps or stairs. But we'd expect it to have adequate
> enclosure and safety features to make it safe to use, and probably
> accommodate an ambulatory passenger as well (eg to push the wheelchair,
> or as a carer or companion).
>
> But in practice, such things are likely to be used by anyone who
> struggles with the stairs, including those with luggage or tea-trolleys
> or walking-frames or crutches or bad legs; the concept of a lift to be
> used only by people in wheelchairs is rather strange. So we'd probably
> just call it a lift.
>
> A 'stair lift' is more likely to be something meant for one person only,
> sitting on the seat which is an integral part of the equipment - so
> probably not a wheelchair user. These too would be expected to have
> adequate safety features eg to stop the user from falling off.

One of these: http://web.newsguy.com/dadoctah/images/chair.gif

....r

[HVS]

On Thu, 28 Sep 2017 23:23:51 +0100, JNugent <jenni...@fastmail.fm>
wrote:

> On 28/09/2017 19:51, Garrett Wollman wrote:

-snip-

> > I was not subscribed to this newsgroup back in 1991 -- I don't
think
> > my news server back then even carried alt.* -- so I have to ask a
> > follow-up:
> >
> > In AmE we have a distinction between an elevator, which is
intended
> > for general use, and a lift, which is for wheelchairs only, and
> > typically lacks the enclosure and other safety affordances
provided by
> > elevators. Do you have this distinction in BrE?

> In a few locations (usually institutional) in the UK, we have a
> specialised form of open lift/elevator called the "paternoster".

I think that was just an abbreviating of "paternister lift" - as you
say, generally institutional - I first encountered one in the library
at Essex University in the early 1980s, which AIUI is still in use.

> There used to be one in Peterborough District Hospital in the
> early-to-mid seventies. I don't know whether it's still there. It
was
> certainly the only one I've ever ridden on.

They're fun to use, and a fairly reasonable solution to the problem
of handling uneven passenger demand - there can still be bottlenecks
at peak times, but they're not as bad as standard lifts.

I really liked it, but I realise they're only for people without
mobility problems (If you're in a wheelchair, they may as well be
stairs.)

--
Cheers, Harvey
CanE (30 years) & BrE (34 years),
indiscriminately mixed

[Peter T. Daniels]

On Thursday, September 28, 2017 at 6:18:26 PM UTC-4, Whiskers Catwheezel wrote:
> On 2017-09-28, Peter Young <pny...@ormail.co.uk> wrote:

> > ObAUE: I was initially puzzled on reading Garrison Keillor when he
> > referred to grain elevators. I asked a Leftpondian and was informed.
>

> To me (BrE), a grain elevator is the thing that carries the grain up to
> the top of [whatever]. The tall structure containing the grain is a
> 'silo'. Similar elevators are used for raising other bulk goods such as
> gravel, or sacks or cans or crates.

Silos are where farmers keep the silage for feeding the livestock. Grain
elevators are where farmers bring their grain for sale. They're usually huge.

[Athel Cornish-Bowden]

On 2017-09-28 22:23:51 +0000, JNugent said:

> On 28/09/2017 19:51, Garrett Wollman wrote:
>> In article <22ab6954-f700-43dd...@googlegroups.com>,
>> <mspem...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> On Wednesday, 17 July 1991 18:28:16 UTC+1, EIV...@cms.cc.wayne.edu wrote:
>>>> To all Britons who care to answer:
>>>> I've heard the English say "lift," unlike the Americans who say "elevator,"
>>>> but what do they call an escalator?
>>>>
>>>> Anxiously awaiting your reply,
>>>> --Eric
>>>
>>> An escalator is the same in England what it is in America, a moving stairway.
>>
>> I was not subscribed to this newsgroup back in 1991 -- I don't think
>> my news server back then even carried alt.* -- so I have to ask a
>> follow-up:
>>
>> In AmE we have a distinction between an elevator, which is intended
>> for general use, and a lift, which is for wheelchairs only, and
>> typically lacks the enclosure and other safety affordances provided by
>> elevators. Do you have this distinction in BrE?
>>
>> -GAWollman
>
> In a few locations (usually institutional) in the UK, we have a
> specialised form of open lift/elevator called the "paternoster".

For those who've never seena paternoster some explanation may be
needed. A paternoster has no doors and runs continuously (no stops).
When it reaches the floor you want to leave you leap on, and when it
arrives to the one you want to get off at you leap off. There was one
in the biochemistry department in Oxford when I was there, and one in a
department I rarely entered in Birmingham. I expect they're gone now as
the busybodies probably think they're dangerous.

>
> There used to be one in Peterborough District Hospital in the
> early-to-mid seventies. I don't know whether it's still there. It was
> certainly the only one I've ever ridden on.
>
> See: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paternoster>

--
athel

[LFS]

I think they may now breach H & S rules. I had to use one when auditing
a subsidiary of GEC back in the late 1960s. I was very apprehensive the
first time I plucked up the courage to step in but it was very much
quicker than using a normal lift.

<waves: good to see you here!>

--
Laura (emulate St George for email)

[Peter Young]

Yes, my late wife had one of these, and she was a wheelchair user. We
wouldn't have had space for a platform lift, and as she was a lot
smaller than me I was able to lift her on and off it, much to the
horror of the physiotherapists. I've kept it, as I have no idea what
will happen to me as I get even older, but my friend-who-is-a-lady
thinks I'm being too pessimistic.

[Peter Young]

There was one of these at Northwick Park Hospital, London, in the
early 1970s when the late S(WMBO)+(WILAC) worked there in the A&E (AmE
ER). It was put out of service on health and safety grounds, just as
Athel refers to downthread.

[GordonD]

If it's delivering goods downwards, shouldn't it be a 'lower'?
--
Gordon Davie
Edinburgh, Scotland

[Richard Heathfield]

On 29/09/17 09:12, GordonD wrote:

<LeftPondian elevators>

> If it's delivering goods downwards, shouldn't it be a 'lower'?

Not at all. It only ever elevates (lifts up).

If you want to go from, say, the ground floor to the roof garden, the
elevator lifts itself UP - elevating.

If you want to go from the ground floor to the basement (or indeed the
roof garden to the basement), the elevator lifts *THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE*
(except for itself) UP - elevating.

This explains why elevators are so very often out of order. Lifting the
entire universe is hard work, even if (on average) you only have to do
it for half your shift.


(Note to budding scientists: find a way, and even a hypothetical way
will do, to prove me wrong.)


--
Richard Heathfield
Email: rjh at cpax dot org dot uk
"Usenet is a strange place" - dmr 29 July 1999
Sig line 4 vacant - apply within

[Whiskers]

Ummm ... similar.

[Whiskers]

On 2017-09-28, Jack Campin <bo...@purr.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>> > In AmE we have a distinction between an elevator, which is intended
>> > for general use, and a lift, which is for wheelchairs only, and
>> > typically lacks the enclosure and other safety affordances provided by
>> > elevators. Do you have this distinction in BrE?
>>
>> No. They're both lifts this side of the Pond.
>
> The more basic kind might sometimes be a "hoist", but that word
> is rather ambiguous.

In the context of raising and lowering people, I think a 'hoist' is what
would be used to help transfer from bed to bath to chair etc for someone
who is unable to support their own weight.

[Cheryl]

The wheelchair lifts I'm familiar with from their installation in
buildings erected before such things were required come somewhere in
between. They take the user in a wheelchair, but are barely large enough
for that; they certainly wouldn't take an assistant. They are also
rarely if ever used by someone not in a wheelchair.

--
Cheryl

[J. J. Lodder]

Peter Young <pny...@ormail.co.uk> wrote:

> On 28 Sep 2017 wol...@bimajority.org (Garrett Wollman) wrote:
>
> > In article <22ab6954-f700-43dd...@googlegroups.com>,
> > <mspem...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>On Wednesday, 17 July 1991 18:28:16 UTC+1, EIV...@cms.cc.wayne.edu wrote:
> >>> To all Britons who care to answer: I've heard the English say "lift,"
> >>> unlike the Americans who say "elevator," but what do they call an
> >>> escalator?
> >>>
> >>> Anxiously awaiting your reply,
> >>> --Eric
> >>
> >>An escalator is the same in England what it is in America, a moving
> >>stairway.
>
> > I was not subscribed to this newsgroup back in 1991 -- I don't think
> > my news server back then even carried alt.* -- so I have to ask a
> > follow-up:
>
> > In AmE we have a distinction between an elevator, which is intended
> > for general use, and a lift, which is for wheelchairs only, and
> > typically lacks the enclosure and other safety affordances provided by
> > elevators. Do you have this distinction in BrE?
>
> No. They're both lifts this side of the Pond.
>
> ObAUE: I was initially puzzled on reading Garrison Keillor when he
> referred to grain elevators. I asked a Leftpondian and was informed.

There is knowledge closer by.
Rotterdam harbour had floating grain elevators to unload ships,
well before WW II. (steam powered)
The last of them is now a museum piece.

Guess London habour had them too,

Jan

[occam]

:-) Only if the hoister has a self-destructive personality.

[GordonD]

On 29/09/2017 09:18, Richard Heathfield wrote:
> On 29/09/17 09:12, GordonD wrote:
>
> <LeftPondian elevators>
>
>> If it's delivering goods downwards, shouldn't it be a 'lower'?
>
> Not at all. It only ever elevates (lifts up).
>
> If you want to go from, say, the ground floor to the roof garden, the
> elevator lifts itself UP - elevating.
>
> If you want to go from the ground floor to the basement (or indeed
> the roof garden to the basement), the elevator lifts *THE ENTIRE
> UNIVERSE* (except for itself) UP - elevating.
>
> This explains why elevators are so very often out of order. Lifting
> the entire universe is hard work, even if (on average) you only have
> to do it for half your shift.
>
>
> (Note to budding scientists: find a way, and even a hypothetical way
> will do, to prove me wrong.)
>
>

1) Choose two lifts - one in Alaejos, Spain and one in Wellington, New
Zealand, which are antipodean points.

2) Arrange for both to descend simultaneously. Since the universe cannot
be lifted in opposite directions at the same time either it will be
ripped in half along the circumference of the Earth, or your hypothesis
is wrong.

QED.

[Richard Heathfield]

Brilliantly done! I salute you. But it can all be explained away by
quantum mechanics and parallel universes and so on. (If anyone here is a
quantum mechanic, perhaps they can make this a bit more rigorous, and
maybe change the oil at the same time - we seem to be running out.)

[Peter Moylan]

What do you call a fly with no wings?

--
Peter Moylan http://www.pmoylan.org
Newcastle, NSW, Australia

[Tony Cooper]

Where do the farmers who are not huge take their grain?
--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida

[Peter T. Daniels]

There are hardly any of those left any more. The "family farm" that used to be
the background of the rural economy -- just isn't.

[Tony Cooper]

On Fri, 29 Sep 2017 08:13:37 +0200, Athel Cornish-Bowden
<acor...@imm.cnrs.fr> wrote:

>For those who've never seena paternoster some explanation may be
>needed. A paternoster has no doors and runs continuously (no stops).
>When it reaches the floor you want to leave you leap on, and when it
>arrives to the one you want to get off at you leap off. There was one
>in the biochemistry department in Oxford when I was there, and one in a
>department I rarely entered in Birmingham. I expect they're gone now as
>the busybodies probably think they're dangerous.

I used one daily when I was working as the night "manager" of a
multi-story parking garage when I was in college. The garage did not
allow self-parking. Attendants drove the cars to the upper floors and
rode that thing back down, and rode it when they went up to fetch a
car.

I put "manager" in quotes because there was no one to manage between
11PM and 7AM. I was the only one on duty, and collected the parking
fees and fetched and parked the cars. I had to be classified as a
manager because I had keys to the cash drawer.

The term "paternoster" was not known to me at the time. It was just a
moving belt with platforms at intervals that went up through holes in
the floor. It could be started or stopped at the ground floor, but at
no other level.

[Lewis]

They are also ponderously slow.

My wife worked in a building that had one that went up three steps, and
it took one minute 45 seconds to go up and back down.

--
In my world there are people in chains and you can ride them like ponies

[Peter Young]

On 29 Sep 2017 Peter Moylan <pe...@pmoylan.org.invalid> wrote:

> On 29/09/17 18:12, GordonD wrote:
>> On 29/09/2017 00:03, Lewis wrote:

>>> I've heard lift used for those in-sidewalk lifts sued to deliver goods
>>> into the basement of a storefront.
>>
>> If it's delivering goods downwards, shouldn't it be a 'lower'?

> What do you call a fly with no wings?

A walk. What do you call a fish with no eyes?

[Peter Young]

None of them are (is?) fast, but we came across many that were quite a
bit quicker than that.

[J. J. Lodder]

Tony Cooper <tonyco...@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Thu, 28 Sep 2017 20:15:11 -0700 (PDT), "Peter T. Daniels"
> <gram...@verizon.net> wrote:
>

> >On Thursday, September 28, 2017 at 6:18:26 PM UTC-4, Whiskers Catwheezel:

> >> On 2017-09-28, Peter Young <pny...@ormail.co.uk> wrote:
> >
> >> > ObAUE: I was initially puzzled on reading Garrison Keillor when he
> >> > referred to grain elevators. I asked a Leftpondian and was informed.
> >>
> >> To me (BrE), a grain elevator is the thing that carries the grain up to
> >> the top of [whatever]. The tall structure containing the grain is a
> >> 'silo'. Similar elevators are used for raising other bulk goods such as
> >> gravel, or sacks or cans or crates.
> >
> >Silos are where farmers keep the silage for feeding the livestock. Grain
> >elevators are where farmers bring their grain for sale. They're usually huge.
>
> Where do the farmers who are not huge take their grain?

There is a European answer to that.
(to the cooperative)

Pure communism of course, eh?

Jan

[Athel Cornish-Bowden]

Rather to my surprise, the physical therapy centre I've been going to
for the past few weeks has no lift, though it has two floors.

> I've kept it, as I have no idea what
> will happen to me as I get even older, but my friend-who-is-a-lady
> thinks I'm being too pessimistic.
>
> Peter.


--

athel

[Athel Cornish-Bowden]

On 2017-09-29 13:54:49 +0000, Peter Young said:

> On 29 Sep 2017 Peter Moylan <pe...@pmoylan.org.invalid> wrote:
>
>> On 29/09/17 18:12, GordonD wrote:
>>> On 29/09/2017 00:03, Lewis wrote:
>
>>>> I've heard lift used for those in-sidewalk lifts sued to deliver goods
>>>> into the basement of a storefront.
>>>
>>> If it's delivering goods downwards, shouldn't it be a 'lower'?
>
>> What do you call a fly with no wings?
>
> A walk. What do you call a fish with no eyes?

A flounder

--
athel

[musika]

No, fsh.

--
Ray
UK

[Peter Young]

No, try again.

[Cheryl]

Perhaps on the same principle as that supposedly espoused by a long-ago
local doctor, who thought that hospitals didn't need
wheelchair-accessible public toilets. Presumably, he was assuming that
anyone using a wheelchair remained in a nursing home or perhaps their
own home and never needed to come to an outpatient clinic.

Perhaps it's a sign of my increasing age, but I'm surprised at how many
private bathrooms have no safety bars, or whatever they're called - in
fact, if such exist, they may be removed when updating the bathroom. I
once rented an apartment which had been renovated with the needs of an
elderly relative, and the owner didn't find it necessary to removed the
grab bars in the bathroom when the relative no longer needed the
apartment. I rather liked having them there.


--
Cheryl

[Mack A. Damia]

On Fri, 29 Sep 2017 17:49:23 +0100, Peter Young <pny...@ormail.co.uk>
wrote:

>On 29 Sep 2017 Athel Cornish-Bowden <acor...@imm.cnrs.fr> wrote:
>
>> On 2017-09-29 13:54:49 +0000, Peter Young said:
>
>>> On 29 Sep 2017 Peter Moylan <pe...@pmoylan.org.invalid> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 29/09/17 18:12, GordonD wrote:
>>>>> On 29/09/2017 00:03, Lewis wrote:
>>>
>>>>>> I've heard lift used for those in-sidewalk lifts sued to deliver goods
>>>>>> into the basement of a storefront.
>>>>>
>>>>> If it's delivering goods downwards, shouldn't it be a 'lower'?
>>>
>>>> What do you call a fly with no wings?
>>>
>>> A walk. What do you call a fish with no eyes?
>
>> A flounder
>
>No, try again.

Fsh

(It's a verbal joke)

[David Kleinecke]

As usual things are different in the Emerald Triangle. We have
lots of "family" farms and, so far as I know, no big corporate
ones. I lack data but I suspect we are almost self-sufficient.

[Peter T. Daniels]

Person does not live by marijuana alone.

[Peter Young]

Thanks. What's the name of a woman lying at the foot of a cliff?

[CDB]

On 9/29/2017 1:51 PM, David Kleinecke wrote:
> Peter T. Daniels wrote:

>> Tony Cooper wrote:
>>> "Peter T. Daniels" <gram...@verizon.net> wrote:

>>>> Whiskers Catwheezel wrote:
>>>>> Peter Young <pny...@ormail.co.uk> wrote:

>>>>>> ObAUE: I was initially puzzled on reading Garrison Keillor when he
>>>>>> referred to grain elevators. I asked a Leftpondian and was informed.
>>>>> To me (BrE), a grain elevator is the thing that carries the grain up to
>>>>> the top of [whatever]. The tall structure containing the grain is a
>>>>> 'silo'. Similar elevators are used for raising other bulk goods such as
>>>>> gravel, or sacks or cans or crates.
>>>> Silos are where farmers keep the silage for feeding the livestock. Grain
>>>> elevators are where farmers bring their grain for sale. They're usually huge.

>>> Where do the farmers who are not huge take their grain?

>> There are hardly any of those left any more. The "family farm" that used to be
>> the background of the rural economy -- just isn't.

> As usual things are different in the Emerald Triangle. We have
> lots of "family" farms and, so far as I know, no big corporate
> ones. I lack data but I suspect we are almost self-sufficient.

Hey, Franklin, that you?

https://lygsbtd.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/freak-bros.jpg?w=490

[Mack A. Damia]

On Fri, 29 Sep 2017 19:07:58 +0100, Peter Young <pny...@ormail.co.uk>

wrote:

>On 29 Sep 2017 Mack A. Damia <drstee...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> On Fri, 29 Sep 2017 17:49:23 +0100, Peter Young <pny...@ormail.co.uk>
>> wrote:
>
>>>On 29 Sep 2017 Athel Cornish-Bowden <acor...@imm.cnrs.fr> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 2017-09-29 13:54:49 +0000, Peter Young said:
>>>
>>>>> On 29 Sep 2017 Peter Moylan <pe...@pmoylan.org.invalid> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> On 29/09/17 18:12, GordonD wrote:
>>>>>>> On 29/09/2017 00:03, Lewis wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I've heard lift used for those in-sidewalk lifts sued to deliver goods
>>>>>>>> into the basement of a storefront.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> If it's delivering goods downwards, shouldn't it be a 'lower'?
>>>>>
>>>>>> What do you call a fly with no wings?
>>>>>
>>>>> A walk. What do you call a fish with no eyes?
>>>
>>>> A flounder
>>>
>>>No, try again.
>
>> Fsh
>
>> (It's a verbal joke)
>
>Thanks. What's the name of a woman lying at the foot of a cliff?

Mona?

[Peter Young]

No, try again.

[Athel Cornish-Bowden]

Yes. I understood that.


--
athel

[snide...@gmail.com]

They can clump together and be more bigly for taking their grain for sale.

/dps

[Mack A. Damia]

On Fri, 29 Sep 2017 20:58:34 +0200, Athel Cornish-Bowden

<acor...@imm.cnrs.fr> wrote:

>On 2017-09-29 17:16:01 +0000, Mack A. Damia said:
>
>> On Fri, 29 Sep 2017 17:49:23 +0100, Peter Young <pny...@ormail.co.uk>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> On 29 Sep 2017 Athel Cornish-Bowden <acor...@imm.cnrs.fr> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 2017-09-29 13:54:49 +0000, Peter Young said:
>>>
>>>>> On 29 Sep 2017 Peter Moylan <pe...@pmoylan.org.invalid> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> On 29/09/17 18:12, GordonD wrote:
>>>>>>> On 29/09/2017 00:03, Lewis wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>>>> I've heard lift used for those in-sidewalk lifts sued to deliver goods
>>>>>>>> into the basement of a storefront.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> If it's delivering goods downwards, shouldn't it be a 'lower'?
>>>>>
>>>>>> What do you call a fly with no wings?
>>>>>
>>>>> A walk. What do you call a fish with no eyes?
>>>
>>>> A flounder
>>>
>>> No, try again.
>>
>> Fsh
>>
>> (It's a verbal joke)
>
>Yes. I understood that.

After I wrote that, I realized that it's wrong.

How do you say "FSH" (without an I) to make others understand it?

[Mack A. Damia]

On Fri, 29 Sep 2017 19:41:55 +0100, Peter Young <pny...@ormail.co.uk>

wrote:

>On 29 Sep 2017 Mack A. Damia <drstee...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> On Fri, 29 Sep 2017 19:07:58 +0100, Peter Young <pny...@ormail.co.uk>
>> wrote:
>
>>>On 29 Sep 2017 Mack A. Damia <drstee...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Fri, 29 Sep 2017 17:49:23 +0100, Peter Young <pny...@ormail.co.uk>
>>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>>>On 29 Sep 2017 Athel Cornish-Bowden <acor...@imm.cnrs.fr> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> On 2017-09-29 13:54:49 +0000, Peter Young said:
>>>>>
>>>>>>> On 29 Sep 2017 Peter Moylan <pe...@pmoylan.org.invalid> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> On 29/09/17 18:12, GordonD wrote:
>>>>>>>>> On 29/09/2017 00:03, Lewis wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> I've heard lift used for those in-sidewalk lifts sued to deliver goods
>>>>>>>>>> into the basement of a storefront.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> If it's delivering goods downwards, shouldn't it be a 'lower'?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> What do you call a fly with no wings?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> A walk. What do you call a fish with no eyes?
>>>>>
>>>>>> A flounder
>>>>>
>>>>>No, try again.
>>>
>>>> Fsh
>>>
>>>> (It's a verbal joke)
>>>
>>>Thanks. What's the name of a woman lying at the foot of a cliff?
>
>> Mona?
>
>No, try again.

Patty?

[snide...@gmail.com]

As long as we're missing the wordplay,
<URL:https://ourgrandfathersgrainelevators.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/dsc_05011.jpg>

/dps

[Peter Young]

Still no!

[Peter T. Daniels]

On Friday, September 29, 2017 at 3:18:26 PM UTC-4, snide...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Friday, September 29, 2017 at 8:20:57 AM UTC-7, J. J. Lodder wrote:
> > Tony Cooper <tonyco...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > On Thu, 28 Sep 2017 20:15:11 -0700 (PDT), "Peter T. Daniels"
> > > <gram...@verizon.net> wrote:
> > > >On Thursday, September 28, 2017 at 6:18:26 PM UTC-4, Whiskers Catwheezel:
> > > >> On 2017-09-28, Peter Young <pny...@ormail.co.uk> wrote:

> > > >> > ObAUE: I was initially puzzled on reading Garrison Keillor when he
> > > >> > referred to grain elevators. I asked a Leftpondian and was informed.
> > > >> To me (BrE), a grain elevator is the thing that carries the grain up to
> > > >> the top of [whatever]. The tall structure containing the grain is a
> > > >> 'silo'. Similar elevators are used for raising other bulk goods such as
> > > >> gravel, or sacks or cans or crates.
> > > >Silos are where farmers keep the silage for feeding the livestock. Grain
> > > >elevators are where farmers bring their grain for sale. They're usually huge.
> > > Where do the farmers who are not huge take their grain?
> > There is a European answer to that.
> > (to the cooperative)
> > Pure communism of course, eh?

(JJ doesn't do jokes.)

> As long as we're missing the wordplay,
> <URL:https://ourgrandfathersgrainelevators.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/dsc_05011.jpg>

A while back the Decades Network had a "Route 66 binge" one weekend, so I tuned
in to an episode to discover what all the fuss had been about. They got a job
at a grain elevator, and someone got killed in a gush of grain, but I didn't
even last till the end of the episode.

[Mack A. Damia]

On Fri, 29 Sep 2017 20:32:29 +0100, Peter Young <pny...@ormail.co.uk>

I don't think there is an answer better than "Patty".

I can't stop laughing!

[Percival P. Cassidy]

On 09/28/2017 06:18 PM, Whiskers wrote:

>>>>> To all Britons who care to answer:
>>>>> I've heard the English say "lift," unlike the Americans who say "elevator,"
>>>>> but what do they call an escalator?
>>>>>
>>>>> Anxiously awaiting your reply,
>>>>> --Eric
>>>>
>>>> An escalator is the same in England what it is in America, a moving stairway.
>>
>>> I was not subscribed to this newsgroup back in 1991 -- I don't think
>>> my news server back then even carried alt.* -- so I have to ask a
>>> follow-up:
>>
>>> In AmE we have a distinction between an elevator, which is intended
>>> for general use, and a lift, which is for wheelchairs only, and
>>> typically lacks the enclosure and other safety affordances provided by
>>> elevators. Do you have this distinction in BrE?
>>

>> No. They're both lifts this side of the Pond.

>>
>> ObAUE: I was initially puzzled on reading Garrison Keillor when he
>> referred to grain elevators. I asked a Leftpondian and was informed.
>>

>> Peter.

>
> To me (BrE), a grain elevator is the thing that carries the grain up to
> the top of [whatever]. The tall structure containing the grain is a
> 'silo'. Similar elevators are used for raising other bulk goods such as
> gravel, or sacks or cans or crates.

On the farm where I grew up in SE England, the thing that carried the
grain up to the top of [whatever] was a "grain auger.

Perce

[bil...@shaw.ca]

On Friday, September 29, 2017 at 10:00:49 AM UTC-7, Cheryl wrote:
>
> Perhaps it's a sign of my increasing age, but I'm surprised at how many
> private bathrooms have no safety bars, or whatever they're called - in
> fact, if such exist, they may be removed when updating the bathroom. I
> once rented an apartment which had been renovated with the needs of an
> elderly relative, and the owner didn't find it necessary to removed the
> grab bars in the bathroom when the relative no longer needed the
> apartment. I rather liked having them there.
>

At my end of CanE, they are called grab bars. I think that's the usual North American term. We have had a few for many years -- my wife has MS and poor balance -- and when we renovated a few years ago, we went whole-hog. Various types of bars, seven in total, were installed in our two bathrooms, with solid wood panels attached to the two-by-fours, then wall board, then the bars attached to the wood through the wall board with heavy screws.

My balance is still good but I'm going on 70 and I'm glad we have them.

bill

[Percival P. Cassidy]

On 09/29/2017 01:16 PM, Mack A. Damia wrote:

>>>>>>> I've heard lift used for those in-sidewalk lifts sued to deliver goods
>>>>>>> into the basement of a storefront.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> If it's delivering goods downwards, shouldn't it be a 'lower'?
>>>>
>>>>> What do you call a fly with no wings?
>>>>
>>>> A walk. What do you call a fish with no eyes?
>>
>>> A flounder
>>
>> No, try again.
>
> Fsh
>
> (It's a verbal joke)

Are you a New Zealander?

Perce

[Cheetah99218]

I live in a retirement community apartment building. All the bathrooms
have grab bars for the toilet and for the shower. They are very handy
for me even though I don't actually need them at the present time.

[Richard Yates]

On Fri, 29 Sep 2017 12:59:01 -0700, Mack A. Damia

Eileen?

[Peter Young]

Nearly. What's her surname?

[musika]

On 29/09/2017 22:51, Peter Young wrote:
> On 29 Sep 2017 Richard Yates <ric...@yatesguitar.com> wrote:
>> On Fri, 29 Sep 2017 12:59:01 -0700, Mack A. Damia
>> <drstee...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>> On Fri, 29 Sep 2017 20:32:29 +0100, Peter Young <pny...@ormail.co.uk>

>>>>>>>> Thanks. What's the name of a woman lying at the foot of a cliff?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Mona?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> No, try again.
>>>>
>>>>> Patty?
>>>>
>>>> Still no!
>>>
>>> I don't think there is an answer better than "Patty".
>>>
>>> I can't stop laughing!
>>>
>> Eileen?
>
> Nearly. What's her surname?
>

Dover.


--
Ray
UK

[David Kleinecke]

We grow food too.

[David Kleinecke]

Ask your friendly neighborhood Berber.

[RH Draney]

In public restrooms they are called "something in the way of my knees
that prevents me using the stall"....rs

[snide...@gmail.com]

Your knees are up against the walls?

/dps

[Tony Cooper]

On Fri, 29 Sep 2017 16:24:02 -0700, RH Draney <dado...@cox.net>
wrote:

You must have a wide stance.
--
Tony Cooper - Orlando, Florida

[Mack A. Damia]

All the better to toe tap......

[Robert Bannister]

On 29/9/17 11:15 am, Peter T. Daniels wrote:
> On Thursday, September 28, 2017 at 6:18:26 PM UTC-4, Whiskers Catwheezel wrote:
>> On 2017-09-28, Peter Young <pny...@ormail.co.uk> wrote:
>
>>> ObAUE: I was initially puzzled on reading Garrison Keillor when he
>>> referred to grain elevators. I asked a Leftpondian and was informed.
>>
>> To me (BrE), a grain elevator is the thing that carries the grain up to
>> the top of [whatever]. The tall structure containing the grain is a
>> 'silo'. Similar elevators are used for raising other bulk goods such as
>> gravel, or sacks or cans or crates.
>
> Silos are where farmers keep the silage for feeding the livestock. Grain
> elevators are where farmers bring their grain for sale. They're usually huge.
>

The Corn Exchange?

--
Robert B. born England a long time ago;
Western Australia since 1972

[Robert Bannister]

A number were installed in my house when my mother was alive and they're
still there. Unfortunately, she was not able to use the bath so there
are none there, and at the moment my shower is leaking and I am forced
to have baths. Wish there were bars to help me get out.

[Mack A. Damia]

I was going to tell a joke about fishing...
but I forgot the line.

Your turn...

[Robert Bannister]

On 29/9/17 2:55 pm, LFS wrote:
> On 28/09/2017 23:23, JNugent wrote:
>> On 28/09/2017 19:51, Garrett Wollman wrote:
>>> In article <22ab6954-f700-43dd...@googlegroups.com>,
>>>   <mspem...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> On Wednesday, 17 July 1991 18:28:16 UTC+1, EIV...@cms.cc.wayne.edu

>>>> wrote:
>>>>> To all Britons who care to answer:
>>>>> I've heard the English say "lift," unlike the Americans who say
>>>>> "elevator,"
>>>>> but what do they call an escalator?
>>>>>
>>>>> Anxiously awaiting your reply,
>>>>> --Eric
>>>>
>>>> An escalator is the same in England what it is in America, a moving
>>>> stairway.
>>>
>>> I was not subscribed to this newsgroup back in 1991 -- I don't think
>>> my news server back then even carried alt.* -- so I have to ask a
>>> follow-up:
>>>
>>> In AmE we have a distinction between an elevator, which is intended
>>> for general use, and a lift, which is for wheelchairs only, and
>>> typically lacks the enclosure and other safety affordances provided by
>>> elevators.  Do you have this distinction in BrE?
>>>

>>> -GAWollman
>>
>> In a few locations (usually institutional) in the UK, we have a
>> specialised form of open lift/elevator called the "paternoster".
>>
>> There used to be one in Peterborough District Hospital in the
>> early-to-mid seventies. I don't know whether it's still there. It was
>> certainly the only one I've ever ridden on.
>>
>> See: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paternoster>
>
> I think they may now breach H & S rules. I had to use one when auditing
> a subsidiary of GEC back in the late 1960s. I was very apprehensive the
> first time I plucked up the courage to step in but it was very much
> quicker than using a normal lift.

They only scared me when I had to go to the top floor. I always had the
feeling that I wouldn't get off in time and would get folded up and
carried around the wheel at the top to return downwards in a flattened
state.

[Robert Bannister]

On 29/9/17 7:54 pm, GordonD wrote:
> On 29/09/2017 09:18, Richard Heathfield wrote:
>> On 29/09/17 09:12, GordonD wrote:
>>
>> <LeftPondian elevators>

>>
>>> If it's delivering goods downwards, shouldn't it be a 'lower'?
>>

>> Not at all. It only ever elevates (lifts up).
>>
>> If you want to go from, say, the ground floor to the roof garden, the
>>  elevator lifts itself UP - elevating.
>>
>> If you want to go from the ground floor to the basement (or indeed
>> the roof garden to the basement), the elevator lifts *THE ENTIRE
>> UNIVERSE* (except for itself) UP - elevating.
>>
>> This explains why elevators are so very often out of order. Lifting
>> the entire universe is hard work, even if (on average) you only have
>> to do it for half your shift.
>>
>>
>> (Note to budding scientists: find a way, and even a hypothetical way
>>  will do, to prove me wrong.)
>>
>>
>
> 1) Choose two lifts - one in Alaejos, Spain and one in Wellington, New
> Zealand, which are antipodean points.
>
> 2) Arrange for both to descend simultaneously. Since the universe cannot
> be lifted in opposite directions at the same time either it will be
> ripped in half along the circumference of the Earth, or your hypothesis
> is wrong.
>
> QED.

I believe the ripped in half theory. In fact, with the number of lifts
around the world, the Earth, if not the entire universe is being ripped
several ways many times a day. This accounts for a lot of Bad Things.

[Robert Bannister]

The New Zealand way.

[Mack A. Damia]

On Thu, 28 Sep 2017 23:03:00 -0000 (UTC), Lewis
<g.k...@gmail.com.dontsendmecopies> wrote:

>In message <oqjgbr$2ep8$1...@grapevine.csail.mit.edu> Garrett Wollman <wol...@bimajority.org> wrote:
>> In article <22ab6954-f700-43dd...@googlegroups.com>,
>> <mspem...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>On Wednesday, 17 July 1991 18:28:16 UTC+1, EIV...@cms.cc.wayne.edu wrote:
>>>> To all Britons who care to answer:
>>>> I've heard the English say "lift," unlike the Americans who say "elevator,"
>>>> but what do they call an escalator?
>>>>
>>>> Anxiously awaiting your reply,
>>>> --Eric
>>>
>>>An escalator is the same in England what it is in America, a moving stairway.
>
>> I was not subscribed to this newsgroup back in 1991 -- I don't think
>> my news server back then even carried alt.* -- so I have to ask a
>> follow-up:
>
>> In AmE we have a distinction between an elevator, which is intended
>> for general use, and a lift, which is for wheelchairs only, and
>> typically lacks the enclosure and other safety affordances provided by
>> elevators. Do you have this distinction in BrE?
>

>I've heard lift used for those in-sidewalk lifts sued to deliver goods
>into the basement of a storefront.

I worked in the janitorial/maintenance department of a large
department store in Reading, Pa, just before I went into the military
in 1966.

I worked the elevator, too, when I was needed. The one elevator was
very fast and automatic, and you had to release the lever at a certain
point, or it would go to the next floor, either up or down.

One day an elderly, well-dressed lady got on at the third floor. I
was alone with her. I took her down but did not release the lever in
time, and the elevator went hurtling down to the cellar.
Unfortunately, there was no floor on that level. When the door opened
there was just an old and dirty brick wall there, and the lady got
extremely nervous.

She reported me, but everybody thought it was funny.

[Mack A. Damia]

Perce asked me if I am from NZ.

I know there is something with NZers about verbal/non-verbal
communication, but I don't know how it applies to this.

[Peter Moylan]

When we bought our present house, one of the attractive features was a
separate shower and bath in the bathroom. (More common arrangements in
this country are a shower with no bath, or a shower inside the bathtub.)
Now I find that I can't use the bath, because it's too difficult to get
out. The layout of the room, with the bath under a window, means that
it's not feasible to install a grab bar there.

On the other had, we have recently put grab bars outside the house,
adjacent to our two back doors.

--
Peter Moylan http://www.pmoylan.org
Newcastle, NSW, Australia

[Peter Moylan]

On 29/09/17 23:54, Peter Young wrote:
> On 29 Sep 2017 Peter Moylan <pe...@pmoylan.org.invalid> wrote:
>
>> On 29/09/17 18:12, GordonD wrote:
>>> On 29/09/2017 00:03, Lewis wrote:
>
>>>> I've heard lift used for those in-sidewalk lifts sued to deliver goods
>>>> into the basement of a storefront.
>>>
>>> If it's delivering goods downwards, shouldn't it be a 'lower'?
>
>> What do you call a fly with no wings?
>
> A walk. What do you call a fish with no eyes?

No-eye deer.

Oh, wait. Different joke.

[Peter Moylan]

On 30/09/17 05:07, Mack A. Damia wrote:
> On Fri, 29 Sep 2017 20:58:34 +0200, Athel Cornish-Bowden
> <acor...@imm.cnrs.fr> wrote:
>
>> On 2017-09-29 17:16:01 +0000, Mack A. Damia said:
>>
>>> On Fri, 29 Sep 2017 17:49:23 +0100, Peter Young <pny...@ormail.co.uk>

>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 29 Sep 2017 Athel Cornish-Bowden <acor...@imm.cnrs.fr> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On 2017-09-29 13:54:49 +0000, Peter Young said:
>>>>

>>>>>> On 29 Sep 2017 Peter Moylan <pe...@pmoylan.org.invalid> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On 29/09/17 18:12, GordonD wrote:
>>>>>>>> On 29/09/2017 00:03, Lewis wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> I've heard lift used for those in-sidewalk lifts sued to deliver goods
>>>>>>>>> into the basement of a storefront.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> If it's delivering goods downwards, shouldn't it be a 'lower'?
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> What do you call a fly with no wings?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> A walk. What do you call a fish with no eyes?
>>>>

>>>>> A flounder
>>>>
>>>> No, try again.
>>>
>>> Fsh
>>>
>>> (It's a verbal joke)
>>
>> Yes. I understood that.
>
> After I wrote that, I realized that it's wrong.

It's a non-speech-act joke.

> How do you say "FSH" (without an I) to make others understand it?

As others have pointed out, that's the normal pronunciation in NZ.

[Reinhold {Rey} Aman]

Tony Cooper wrote:

>
> RH Draney wrote:
>>
>> In public restrooms they are called
>> "something in the way of my knees
>> that prevents me using the stall"....rs
>>
> You must have a wide stance.
>

Ron is manspreading.

--
~~~ Reinhold {Rey} Aman ~~~

[Mack A. Damia]

On Sat, 30 Sep 2017 12:39:47 +1000, Peter Moylan

<pe...@pmoylan.org.invalid> wrote:

>On 29/09/17 23:54, Peter Young wrote:
>> On 29 Sep 2017 Peter Moylan <pe...@pmoylan.org.invalid> wrote:
>>
>>> On 29/09/17 18:12, GordonD wrote:
>>>> On 29/09/2017 00:03, Lewis wrote:
>>
>>>>> I've heard lift used for those in-sidewalk lifts sued to deliver goods
>>>>> into the basement of a storefront.
>>>>
>>>> If it's delivering goods downwards, shouldn't it be a 'lower'?
>>
>>> What do you call a fly with no wings?
>>
>> A walk. What do you call a fish with no eyes?
>
>No-eye deer.
>

Guy with a polished wooden eye goes to a dance; he is very shy.

After a while he gets up the nerve to go across the floor and ask a
young woman to dance. She has a cleft lip.

He: "Want to dance?'

She: Oh, would I !

He: "Fuck you, hare lip!"

[Richard Yates]

AKA "The Craig wide stance"

[Peter Young]

Thanks.

What do you say to a woman with a cream bun?

[occam]

On 29/09/2017 08:34, Peter Young wrote:

>
> Yes, my late wife had one of these, and she was a wheelchair user. We
> wouldn't have had space for a platform lift, and as she was a lot
> smaller than me I was able to lift her on and off it, much to the
> horror of the physiotherapists. I've kept it, as I have no idea what
> will happen to me as I get even older, but my friend-who-is-a-lady
> thinks I'm being too pessimistic.
>

Tell her you are keeping it as a fun ride for your
grandsons/grand-daughters or younger visitors. More optimistic that way.

[Peter Young]

I did!

[Cheryl]

On Fri, 29 Sep 2017 12:53:00 -0700 (PDT), "Peter T. Daniels"
<gram...@verizon.net> wrote:
> On Friday, September 29, 2017 at 3:18:26 PM UTC-4,
snide...@gmail.com wrote:
> > On Friday, September 29, 2017 at 8:20:57 AM UTC-7, J. J. Lodder
wrote:

> > > Tony Cooper <tonyco...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > > > On Thu, 28 Sep 2017 20:15:11 -0700 (PDT), "Peter T. Daniels"

> > > > <gram...@verizon.net> wrote:
> > > > >On Thursday, September 28, 2017 at 6:18:26 PM UTC-4,

Whiskers Catwheezel:

> > > > >> On 2017-09-28, Peter Young <pny...@ormail.co.uk> wrote:


> > > > >> > ObAUE: I was initially puzzled on reading Garrison
Keillor when he
> > > > >> > referred to grain elevators. I asked a Leftpondian and
was informed.
> > > > >> To me (BrE), a grain elevator is the thing that carries
the grain up to
> > > > >> the top of [whatever]. The tall structure containing the
grain is a
> > > > >> 'silo'. Similar elevators are used for raising other bulk
goods such as
> > > > >> gravel, or sacks or cans or crates.
> > > > >Silos are where farmers keep the silage for feeding the
livestock. Grain
> > > > >elevators are where farmers bring their grain for sale.
They're usually huge.

> > > > Where do the farmers who are not huge take their grain?

> > > There is a European answer to that.
> > > (to the cooperative)
> > > Pure communism of course, eh?


> (JJ doesn't do jokes.)


> > As long as we're missing the wordplay,
> >
<URL:https://ourgrandfathersgrainelevators.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/
dsc_05011.jpg>


> A while back the Decades Network had a "Route 66 binge" one
weekend, so I tuned
> in to an episode to discover what all the fuss had been about. They
got a job
> at a grain elevator, and someone got killed in a gush of grain, but
I didn't
> even last till the end of the episode.

The danger associated with grain elevators that I first learned of
was that of fire caused by a dust explosion. I can't remember why I
learned of this when living in an area completely devoid of grain
elevators, but I do remember my surprise that such a thing was
possible.

--
Cheryl

[Cheryl]

My brother, who had cerebral palsy, had a very sturdy pole, floor to
ceiling, installed next to his bed. It was perfect to help someone in
lying bed swing himself into a sitting position. I don't suppose
something like that would be use in getting out of a bath.

I've always preferred showers to baths, and now am even less likely
to take a bath than to shower because of the difficulty getting in
and out of the bath. Like most bathrooms here, mine has a combines
bath shower, and I don't have enough space to install a fashionable
stand alone shower. No doubt I should eventually have grab bars
installed. Removing a bath and having only a shower is thought to
make a property undesirable.

I visited a house a few times which had a very attractive front
garden with 2 or 3 stone steps from the driveway to a short path to
the steps leading to the front door. I hated those steps. There
weren't many of them, but there was no hand rail (I suppose because
it would have spoiled the look of the garden), they were far enough
from the light from the house to be quite dark. On wet or icy
evenings I found them terrible! A rail of some kind would have been
useful.

--
Cheryl