Fun Staircase Facts

Staircases are not the usual source of comedy gold to put it lightly, but in this blog we explore some of the more weird and wonderful staircase facts. We sincerely hope they get you ‘going’ and ‘rise’ above your expectations….Sorry, this is already spiralling out of control!

Unmarried people are more likely to fall downstairs than married people and previously married people fall down even more still!

 This fact, among others, is gleaned from John Templer’s book ‘The Staircase’ –being the first theoretical and scientific analysis of the stair which looks deeply into the art and science of stair design, staircase history, and their hazards. Now we haven’t read this book ourselves but hear it is pretty hard ‘going’ – yep, that’s a staircase joke- the going being a term used to describe the depth of a stair tread (it only gets worse from here)

Apparently, notable ‘mis-steps’ happen every 2222 stair uses; Minor accidents happen every 63,000 uses; disabling accidents every 734,210 uses; hospital treatments every 3,660,667 uses and deaths every 513,947,300 uses. So although it’s unlikely you’ll die on a staircase any time soon, we recommend you remain vigilant.

The reason given for the accidents is that every staircase is a compromise between going up, and going down. There are, believe it or not, staircases that are designed just for going up – no, we don’t mean that there are tower blocks full of 10,000 people on the top floor! – Picture a cruise ship for example where passengers use the staircase at a dock for getting off the boat but for getting on the boat they may use the pier. In this example, the old saying ‘what goes up (stairs) must come down (stairs) does not necessarily hold true.

The North East of England is most at risk of falling down stairs (48% in the last year) while Yorkshire and North Humber regions have the least amount of accidents on Stairs (26%).

And you thought staircases were boring huh? There are scientists at Georgia Tech that have invented stairs which as you walk down them, they store your energy and then as you walk back up it assists in ‘springing’ you back up every step you take and in theory is 37% easier on your knee. Now an obvious pitfall, unless the staircase somehow knows who is using the stairs, is what would happen when a 20 stone man walks down the stairs followed by a 8 year old boy walking back up them!? Take-off.

In 1948 an elephant climbed up the stairs of the Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower staircase has been used over the years as a tourist attraction and many people have taken to climbing the stairs in hilarious ways. One chap did it in a pair of stilts.

Hitler once visited and was unable to use the lift to access the top of the tower as the power cables had been intentionally disabled to make the Nazi’s look silly, with claims that the lit was simply out of order and the only option available was to ascend the staircase. The following day, as Hitler left, the lifts were back up and running again.

See, now you’re getting into the spirit of staircases- just as well, as the fact will continue to flow…..

The most number of stairs climbed on your head (headstand) is 36.

The most stairs tumbled down in a stunt fall is 134.

The most consecutive stairs climbed while juggling a football (kick ups) is 4,698

Most consecutive stairs climbed while balancing another person on your head, upside down is 90.

Competitive stair climbing, believe it or not, is a growing sport. The sport has mostly taken hold in the USA where The Empire State Building, Sears Tower and US Bank Tower are climbed as quickly as possible. There is an online community where members affectionately and punningly call each other ‘step-brothers’ and ‘step-sisters’

Get in touch with us to discuss your requirements, or give us your favourite stair-based jokes and facts on 0114 243 9009 or email sales@diometonline.co.uk

Source : No Such Thing as a Fish Podcast.