# How hard is the concept "Emergency Exit"? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 9, 2007, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-concept-emergency-exit/391464 "2007-02-09T05:26:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Aserrann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/82dd89/32.png) [@Aserrann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aserrann)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-concept-emergency-exit/391464/21 "2007-02-09T16:00:03Z")
Eh, sorry **tdn** , all I can tell you is that it is on Huntington (53 Huntington, to be exact), and across Huntington is a hotel (Marriott?). And I don’t think it was ever a Star Market… ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-concept-emergency-exit/391464/22 "2007-02-09T16:08:00Z")
[QUOTE=Aserrann] Eh, sorry **tdn** , all I can tell you is that it is on Huntington (53 Huntington, to be exact), and across Huntington is a hotel (Marriott?). And I don’t think it was ever a Star Market… [/QUOTE] Perhaps [satellite image](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=53+Huntington,+boston,+ma&ie=UTF8&z=18&ll=42.348173,-71.078383&spn=0.002997,0.006475&t=h&om=1) would help. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-concept-emergency-exit/391464/23 "2007-02-09T16:22:54Z")
[QUOTE=Lute Skywatcher] Perhaps [satellite image](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=53+Huntington,+boston,+ma&ie=UTF8&z=18&ll=42.348173,-71.078383&spn=0.002997,0.006475&t=h&om=1) would help. [/QUOTE] Ah, OK. That place. Never been there. Not even close. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-concept-emergency-exit/391464/24 "2007-02-09T16:35:37Z")
[QUOTE=Dante] By the way, your argument is what is know as a logical fallacy. See if you can figure out which one! [/QUOTE] Ooooh, can I guess? I’m not a big logician type, so I looked a bunch up on Wikipedia. Is it "appeal to authority’? ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-concept-emergency-exit/391464/25 "2007-02-09T16:45:53Z")
In my years of working with the public, I have learned one concrete, immutable fact: _Most people don’t read signs and a good portion of those who do think it doesn’t apply to them._ A sign which reads “Please do not touch” in a museum should be pretty clear, right? Nope. At least half a dozen times a day, I have to verbally issue this request. When you walk up to our building, you come upon a glass door. Hanging at eye-level is a sign which reads, “To Enter Museum, Please Ring Doorbell” with a helpful arrow _pointing_ at the doorbell. Walking by this door during the day, I’ll sometimes see visitors helplessly tugging on the handles, cupping their hands around their eyes to peer inside (about an inch away from the sign which would solve this mystery of why they can’t open the door.) One woman I left in plantively complained that we needed to “put up a sign or something.” When I tapped it, she just said she hadn’t seen it. Amazing! I can see it from the street when I’m walking up to the building. (I can read it from about ten paces away, yet somehow it completely escapes the notice of many people.) ---
**Author:** ![qubed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f07891/32.png) [@qubed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qubed)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-concept-emergency-exit/391464/26 "2007-02-09T16:54:38Z")
While i don’t disagree that the people using the emergency exit are idiots, i have to say that whichever architect/contractor decided to put an emergency exit between two normal exits is an even bigger idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Aserrann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/82dd89/32.png) [@Aserrann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aserrann)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-concept-emergency-exit/391464/27 "2007-02-09T16:56:59Z")
[QUOTE=Lute Skywatcher] Perhaps satellite image would help. [/QUOTE] Appropriate, given your username… and I guess my address was a little off, it’s that circle about one block south-west… And **Lissa** , I believe I’ve read your stories… they make me feel much better about the people I deal with, although that probably doesn’t make you feel any better. ---
**Author:** ![fisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@fisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fisha)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-concept-emergency-exit/391464/28 "2007-02-09T17:15:58Z")
[QUOTE=Dante] Well, there might be, I haven’t seen them all yet. They keep digging up new ones. By the way, your argument is what is know as a logical fallacy. See if you can figure out which one! [/QUOTE] We start with a hypothetical syllogism. If A then B. Deductive argument He responds with No B are non A Illicit obversion? Yes, I am in the middle of a logic course right now. Let me rephrase that. I am lost in the depths of the bowels of hell, otherwise known as “A Concise Introduction to Logic.” **Dante** , feel free to let me know where I went wrong. Only took me 30 minutes to make that pitiful attempt. Fuck logic. FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCKITY FUCK. ---
**Author:** ![Dante](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dante/32/9673_2.png) [@Dante](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dante)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-concept-emergency-exit/391464/29 "2007-02-09T18:06:46Z")
Illicit Obversion is correct. Or at least, that’s what I was thinking of… Some S are P =/= P ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-concept-emergency-exit/391464/30 "2007-02-09T19:17:04Z")
> [@](#): > > Quote: > Originally Posted by McNew > Simple solution- just chain it shut. > Oh how I wish we could… unfortunately, we’re not allowed to. We have tried though. And on preview Exgineer covered that. Um, it was said in jest, folks. Oh boy. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-concept-emergency-exit/391464/31 "2007-02-09T19:50:58Z")
[QUOTE=Aserrann] Appropriate, given your username… and I guess my address was a little off, it’s that circle about one block south-west… [/QUOTE] Could be that Google’s address is a bit off, it’s been known to happen. Edit: one block south-west does look more like retail, though. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-concept-emergency-exit/391464/32 "2007-02-09T20:04:49Z")
[QUOTE=Lissa] In my years of working with the public, I have learned one concrete, immutable fact: _Most people don’t read signs and a good portion of those who do think it doesn’t apply to them._ [/QUOTE] Very true. When I worked at McDonald’s, we’d sometimes put signs directly on the drive-through speaker…I mean, you’d think they couldn’t miss that, right? After telling the ninth or tenth person that the shake machine was broken (or whatever the sign said) we’d go out and check. Yep, the sign would still be there. Same deal with signs on bathroom doors or anywhere else. If it’s in writing, you have probably failed to communicate anything whatsoever to the general public. ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-concept-emergency-exit/391464/33 "2007-02-09T21:32:51Z")
Actually, **Dung Beetle** , I’m guessing that your sign was a hand-printed one, made specifically for the failure. In that case, I think it’s not unreasonable to ask, “Is this sign accurate, or might it be a prank?” (Yes, I’ve gone to drive throughs that were near college towns.) But I doubt that’s what you’re commenting on. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-concept-emergency-exit/391464/34 "2007-02-09T21:35:03Z")
I do read the signs and I particulaly like the one the that says WARNING: DOOR IS ALARMED. I always want to go up and pat it and tell it everything will be ok. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-concept-emergency-exit/391464/35 "2007-02-09T21:46:35Z")
[QUOTE=OtakuLoki] Actually, **Dung Beetle** , I’m guessing that your sign was a hand-printed one, made specifically for the failure. In that case, I think it’s not unreasonable to ask, “Is this sign accurate, or might it be a prank?” (Yes, I’ve gone to drive throughs that were near college towns.) But I doubt that’s what you’re commenting on. [/QUOTE] I suppose they could have thought that. It doesn’t seem like a very hilarious prank though. Even in this college town! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-concept-emergency-exit/391464/36 "2007-02-09T22:02:20Z")
I guess this is as good a place as any to confess that I have never passed a wet paint sign without checking to see how wet it is. I’m always reminded of the story about Mark Twain and Whistler. When Twain reached for one of Whistler’s paintings as if to feel the texture Whistler said “Careful, that paint is still wet!” Twain’s reply “That’s all right, these are old gloves.” ---
**Author:** ![Interrobang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/interrobang/32/17463_2.png) [@Interrobang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interrobang)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-concept-emergency-exit/391464/37 "2007-02-09T22:28:48Z")
If a door requires that people read a sign to use it correctly, it’s a poorly designed door. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-concept-emergency-exit/391464/38 "2007-02-09T22:42:17Z")
[QUOTE=Interrobang!?] If a door requires that people read a sign to use it correctly, it’s a poorly designed door. [/QUOTE] Absolutely. One of my pet peeves is doors which have a handle designed to be pulled, when you actually need to push them. Visual design taking priority over ease of use. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-concept-emergency-exit/391464/39 "2007-02-09T23:04:17Z")
[QUOTE=Lissa] In my years of working with the public, I have learned one concrete, immutable fact: _Most people don’t read signs and a good portion of those who do think it doesn’t apply to them._ [/QUOTE] Yep. When I waited tables, the “Please Wait to Be Seated” sign by the door was frequently pushed aside (or knocked over) by customers stampeding in to seat themselves. We have some of those emergency exit doors in the atrium of the building where I work—which is a fairly nice place to sit and read during lunchtime, except for the piercing 15-second squeal that fills the lobby whenever one of my co-workers barrels through one of the doors clearly marked “EMERGENCY EXIT ONLY - ALARM WILL SOUND.” Which are located about 20 feet away from the main, non-shrieking doors. If the door handle administered a brief, non-lethal electric shock as well as making the siren sound, I suspect non-emergency use would decline sharply. ---
**Author:** ![fisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@fisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fisha)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2007, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-concept-emergency-exit/391464/40 "2007-02-09T23:14:08Z")
[QUOTE=Dante] Illicit Obversion is correct. Or at least, that’s what I was thinking of… Some S are P =/= P [/QUOTE] Haven’t got to S’s and P’s yet, I’m still on A’s and B’s, maybe a C if I am feeling adventurous. Good, I won’t have to resort to sexual favors to pass the class. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-concept-emergency-exit/391464.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-concept-emergency-exit/391464.md?page=3)