On Thu, 13 Jun 2002, Ralph Walter wrote:

> Holy shit, there are people weirder than us out there.  And just how is it
> that these people come to YOU, Mr. Kestenbaum?

She came to me because I have an elevator web page,
http://potifos.com/elevators/

Okay, yeah, I like elevators.  Always have.

> When I first came to NY (this woulda been the fall of 1976) there was a story
> in the Sunday Times magazine about how safe elevators are, and that for the
> jillions of miles they travel, they are by far the safest means of
> transportation there is.

Yup, it's true.  But that wasn't the case in the old days.  This page from
the Chicago Public Library reports hundreds of elevator accident deaths in
early 20th century Chicago:

http://www.chipublib.org/004chicago/disasters/20thelevator_accidents.html

> I don't suppose that their underwater record per mile (or fraction
> thereof)  traveled is as good, however.

The Houston incident turns out not to be so dramatic, and shouldn't really
count as an elevator accident death.  See the links I put on my elevator
page.  Her body was found in the elevator, but she was outside the
elevator when the accident happened.  Apparently on one side of the
underground parking garage, a cinder block wall was the only thing holding
back a tremendous amount of flood water.  The wall suddenly breached, and
a huge wave of water roared into the space (three levels brlow ground) and
swept her back into the elevator.  Others who were there at the time ran
the other way, and survived.

                              Larry

---
Lawrence Kestenbaum, [log in to unmask]
Washtenaw County Commissioner, 4th District
The Political Graveyard, http://politicalgraveyard.com
Mailing address: P.O. Box 2563, Ann Arbor MI 48106

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