# holes in elevator doors **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 27, 1999, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holes-in-elevator-doors/3478 "1999-09-27T03:27:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Pete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ab097/32.png) [@Pete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pete)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 1999, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holes-in-elevator-doors/3478/1 "1999-09-27T03:27:00Z")
Why are they there? They’re small circular holes about a centimeter in diameter, near the top of the door, either on the right or left side. Never in the middle. * * * I don’t know who first said “everyone’s a critic,” but I think it’s a really stupid saying. ---
**Author:** ![Satan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Satan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Satan)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 1999, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holes-in-elevator-doors/3478/2 "1999-09-27T04:04:00Z")
**\WAG ALERT!! WAG ALERT!! WAG ALERT!!** \ It has something to do with getting doors open if they are stuck. Or at least looking at them and making fun of them while they’re stuck. * * * Yer pal, Satan ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 1999, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holes-in-elevator-doors/3478/3 "1999-09-27T04:05:00Z")
They are access points for the tool the firemen use to force the doors open in an emergency. I have no idea whether it is forced air, hydraulic, or mechanical. * * * Tom~ ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 1999, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holes-in-elevator-doors/3478/4 "1999-09-27T04:14:00Z")
They are access points for the tool the firemen use to force the doors open in an emergency. I have no idea whether it is forced air, hydraulic, or mechanical. * * * Tom~ ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 1999, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holes-in-elevator-doors/3478/5 "1999-09-27T04:25:00Z")
Ah. Not even a WAG, this. I had to perform minor maintenance on elevator doors in a building known as River House II in Arlington County, Virginia, back in the late 1970s. The hole in the door is essentially a keyhole. The tool the firefighter or maintenance individual uses is called, get this, the elevator key. When one inserts the elevator key into the keyhole and opens the door, the elevator, if not already at a halt, will come to a halt. ---
**Author:** ![KCB615](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ea666f/32.png) [@KCB615](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KCB615)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 1999, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/holes-in-elevator-doors/3478/6 "1999-09-27T04:47:00Z")
## There is a tool that is shoved into that hole that unlocks the exterior door(s). It is a rod, about 0.25" diameter and about 12-14" long or so, with a hinged end (the hinge is about 3" or so from the end). The tool is inserted into the hole, hinged side first, and rotated, I belive counter-clockwise. It does make a difference which way the tool is rotated, the correct way will flip the locking pin that holds the exterior doors closed, the wrong way will go “bing” when you hit the back side of the lock. Some states, such as Massachusetts, have outlawed these holes, as the less swift of our world have opened the exterior doors and then fallen down the elevator shaft. Duh. Jeremy… I can think of no more stirring symbol of man’s humanity to man than a fire engine - Kurt Vonnegut