# Who Invented Stairs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 4, 2017, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-stairs/776304 "2017-01-04T13:13:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-stairs/776304/21 "2017-01-04T17:32:13Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Not only did those wily Eurasians invent the wheel, but after a while they noticed they were always climbing up and down those Eurasian steppes, and were inspired to invent the Eurasian stairs, a compact version that they used inside their houses. šŸ†’ [shakes head, then shakes hand] Nice. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-stairs/776304/22 "2017-01-04T17:39:29Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > Notched-log ladders are actually pretty similar to built stairs in appearance and usage - theyā€™re one of the simplest forms of ladder, and found at least back as far as the iron age I forgot about them. Youā€™re right, notched log ladders can be very useful. Even today. Iā€™ve seen them at hiking camps. [https://goo.gl/images/eeynHK](https://goo.gl/images/eeynHK) They can even be used on outdoor slopes [https://goo.gl/images/wUHXBl](https://goo.gl/images/wUHXBl) This is one inexpensive way to get people up a steep slope. šŸ˜ƒ just donā€™t look down. LOL [https://goo.gl/images/ZKjUUJ](https://goo.gl/images/ZKjUUJ) ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-stairs/776304/23 "2017-01-04T17:44:49Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > The Collosseum? Ye be modest, sir. steps and stairs precede Imperial Rome by millenniaā€¦ However, there were elevators in the Colosseum. They were, of course, human powered, but they served similar purposes - to elevate and lower participants (including animals) to and from the main floor of the stadium from the floor(s) below. If I knew how to work this damned thing, Iā€™d attach a link showing some nice shots of the reconstructed versions that are in place now. xo, C. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-stairs/776304/24 "2017-01-04T17:57:55Z")
> [@CC](#): > > However, there were elevators in the Colosseum. They were, of course, human powered, but they served similar purposes - to elevate and lower participants (including animals) to and from the main floor of the stadium from the floor(s) below. If I knew how to work this damned thing, Iā€™d attach a link showing some nice shots of the reconstructed versions that are in place now. xo, > C. They predate the Colosseum, too. Itā€™s not evidence, of course, but Pieter Brueghelā€™s painting of The Tower of Babel shows numerous man-powered ā€œelevatorsā€ in place > **[The Tower of Babel (Bruegel)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tower_of_Babel_(Bruegel))** > > The Tower of Babel was the subject of three paintings by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The first, a miniature painted on ivory, was painted while Bruegel was in Rome and is now lost. The two surviving paintings, often distinguished by the prefix "Great" and "Little", are in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna and the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam respectively. Both are oil paintings on wood panels. > The Rotterdam painting is about half the size of the Vienna one. In broad terms they ha... Itā€™s almost certain that these sorts of things were used in early construction. Of course, ropes can break, and things can fall. People donā€™t know, or forget, that what Elisha Otis invented in 1852 was the _safety elevator_, a key element of which was a brake that stopped the car from falling if the cable broke. Thatā€™s why I put ā€œelevatorā€ in quotes. When I saw _elevator_, I mean one equipped with Otis-like brakes. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-stairs/776304/25 "2017-01-04T18:41:24Z")
Also consider that Inca and Aztecs (and plenty of other North American societies) had stairs; I even see them in the photos of American Southwest cliff dwellings - and probably not something they brought over from Siberia fully developed, like boats or bows. So again, an elementary idea like stepping stones that was apparent to anyone. (The Romans had stepping stones in Pompeii to cross the street without stepping in the manureā€¦) ---
**Author:** ![velomont](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/8491ac/32.png) [@velomont](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velomont)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-stairs/776304/26 "2017-01-04T22:57:14Z")
They were a significant _step_ in our development. When the first ones were actually built they attracted a lot of _stares_šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-stairs/776304/27 "2017-01-04T23:39:10Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Theyā€™re also sort of obvious and inevitable. How else are you going to go from one elevation to another? Unless itā€™s abrupt (use a ladder or a rope), you either use steps/stairs or a ramp. You might as well ask you invented the ramp In Barsoom (Edgar Rice Burroughs) they only had ramps. John Carter tried to introduce steps, but the Barsoomians didnā€™t understand/like them. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2017, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-stairs/776304/28 "2017-01-04T23:59:27Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I forgot about them. Youā€™re right, notched log ladders can be very useful. Even today. Iā€™ve seen them at hiking camps. > [https://goo.gl/images/eeynHK](https://goo.gl/images/eeynHK) > > They can even be used on outdoor slopes > [https://goo.gl/images/wUHXBl](https://goo.gl/images/wUHXBl) > > This is one inexpensive way to get people up a steep slope. šŸ˜ƒ just donā€™t look down. LOL > [https://goo.gl/images/ZKjUUJ](https://goo.gl/images/ZKjUUJ) See, two of those, with halved logs nestled into the notches (flat side up) is a staircase - it almost invents itself. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2017, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-stairs/776304/29 "2017-01-05T03:16:49Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > In Barsoom (Edgar Rice Burroughs) they only had ramps. John Carter tried to introduce steps, but the Barsoomians didnā€™t understand/like them. The old Physics Building at the University of Utah had four floors, and no steps ā€“ it was all ramps. My office was on the top floor. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2017, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-stairs/776304/30 "2017-01-05T03:47:33Z")
Thag Simmons? ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2017, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-stairs/776304/31 "2017-01-05T04:58:33Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > The old Physics Building at the University of Utah had four floors, and no steps ā€“ it was all ramps. My office was on the top floor. In a Physics Building, I can only assume that ramps were frictionless. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2017, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-stairs/776304/32 "2017-01-05T06:47:40Z")
Ah, the good old _inclined plane_. ---
**Author:** ![Mavic\_Chen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mavic\_Chen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mavic_Chen)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2017, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-stairs/776304/33 "2017-01-05T17:10:38Z")
**Gardrilla Manceframe** patented the staircase - cf. [Fit the Seventh](http://www.clivebanks.co.uk/THHGTTG/THHGTTGradioxmas.htm) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2017, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-stairs/776304/34 "2017-01-05T17:24:00Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > In a Physics Building, I can only assume that ramps were frictionless. Fortunately, no. That wouldā€™ve made life very interesting. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2017, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-stairs/776304/35 "2017-01-06T19:07:59Z")
> [@Gorsnak](#): > > In a Physics Building, I can only assume that ramps were frictionless. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > Fortunately, no. That wouldā€™ve made life very interesting. I assume frictionless ramps only work in a spherical building. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2017, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-stairs/776304/36 "2017-01-06T19:45:57Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > I assume frictionless ramps only work in a spherical building. Donā€™t be ridiculous! You want frictionless ramps shaped like _cycloids_. That way, no matter which floor you get onto it at, it takes you the same amount of time to get where youā€™re going. And itā€™s the shortest possible time. > **[Brachistochrone curve](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachistochrone_curve)** > > In physics and mathematics, a brachistochrone curve (from Ancient Greek Ī²ĻĪ¬Ļ‡Ī¹ĻƒĻ„ĪæĻ‚ Ļ‡ĻĻŒĪ½ĪæĻ‚ (brĆ”khistos khrĆ³nos)Ā 'shortest time'), or curve of fastest descent, is the one lying on the plane between a point A and a lower point B, where B is not directly below A, on which a bead slides frictionlessly under the influence of a uniform gravitational field to a given end point in the shortest time. The problem was posed by Johann Bernoulli in 1696. > The brachistochrone curve is the same shape as the taut... ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2017, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-stairs/776304/37 "2017-01-06T20:44:04Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Donā€™t be ridiculous! > > You want frictionless ramps shaped like _cycloids_. That way, no matter which floor you get onto it at, it takes you the same amount of time to get where youā€™re going. And itā€™s the shortest possible time. > > [Brachistochrone curve - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brachistochrone_curve) Actually the ramps would be Mobius strips topographically, so you can always slide down to any level by getting onto any ramp. ---
**Author:** ![smokey78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@smokey78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smokey78)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2017, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-stairs/776304/38 "2017-01-08T20:20:28Z")
In a recent National Geographic History issue about Native American history they had a pictorial of what a dwelling looked like for one tribe (Hopi? Anasazi?) There was an attic-like space for the bedroom headquarters, reached by a ladder. And with escalators being a new invention, think I did see a Victorian age illustration of an exposition fair of folks riding an escalator upwards to a platform, and then at the top having to come down to the ground via, a staircase. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2017, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-stairs/776304/39 "2017-01-08T20:31:28Z")
Actually, it was a genius inventor way ahead of his timeā€¦and his name has long since been lost to the ages. But as genius as he was lack of a reliable energy source thwarted him. So he said bump this crap and renamed his invention, the escalator, the staircase and called it a day. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2017, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-stairs/776304/40 "2017-01-08T22:17:43Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Answering Idaho Banks > > ā€¦ > > Iā€™ve never built a staircase. Thatā€™s specialized work done in a workshop. They bring it to the job site and install them. Not really, except in the sense that building contractors sub out many jobs and this is a common one since it is a bit specialized and as has been pointed out, must be quite exact to be safe. Simple stairs are essentially a pair of heavy supports like 2x16s with triangular notches cut into them to accept a tread and riser, with one end on the lower floor and the other fastened to the next floor up, at an acceptable angle. When we built our house we cut the notches in the rough supports and erected them and then bought pre-made oak treads for them, since that is precision cabinetry work that we didnā€™t have the skill or machinery for. The amusing thing is that most people who havenā€™t built houses donā€™t realize that a staircase is an entire two-story room inside your house. Amateurs who draw up their own house plans tend to not allow for this . . . Living in a mountainous forest, I am familiar with cutting a set of steps up a very steep bank, usually this is just one foothold per step up. This is so intuitive that I canā€™t believe anyone with a modern human brain and something to dig with wouldnā€™t have hit on it pretty soon. The Anasazi who only used ladders not stairs to get into their kivas I believe did this as protection from enemies, not because they didnā€™t know about stairs. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-stairs/776304.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-invented-stairs/776304.md?page=3)