this post was submitted on 10 Jun 2025
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I mean at the same time we also have very strict building codes and are told to not place stuff where it creates tripping hazards.
In a flight of stairs, if even one step is off 1/8 of an inch or 3mm, it can cause someone to trip. The steps would be very valid to blame, so circumstances matter too.
Not the person who built the step?
Nope. That step deliberately shifted slighty with malice aforethought.
I finally fell down my stairs a few months back. They’re carpeted and each step is a different length and height. Nightmare stairs.
Carpeted as in, the carpet will slide relative to the stair, so it won't matter how good and new your sports shoes are?
Hahaha nahh the carpet is stapled in and doesn’t slide, but the carpet is slippery. Also no shoes indoors, so socks are extra slippery.
From what we know, carpets tend to create static electricity when rubbed, which might happen in situations where it is tread upon, which causes it to get charged. We also know, that since the materials used for carpets are bad conductors of electricity, having them stapled at only certain points won't cause a significant grounding effect.
Now to design socks that use said static charge to ~~electrocute the wearer~~ hold onto the carpet better, reducing slippage.
Well, the onus is on you to prove that bench is not up to code. :)
This situation would be more where it was placed if it wasn’t mounted. Probably not a good place if it’s right outside an exit for example.
I have never in my life been presented with a scenario such as a child tripping over a bench and thought that the bench was in the wrong place.
Kids are ALWAYS in the wrong place, and usually at the wrong speed.
Literally today, my son (3) walked face-first into a freestanding sign. He meant to walk down a hallway to where I was, but instead headbutted a large sign about his height that was flush against a wall. It was not away from the wall, it was not overhanging the hallway at all. Nevertheless, he got distracted well enough to try and walk through it and then looked genuinely confused as to why the sign was even there.
Fatherhood is a daily joy.
I get your point but also I'm a pedantic Lemming, so I want to point out that in the middle-ages, castle would purposefully build uneven steps. People familiar with the castle would soon get used to them and they'd be no bother, but an attacker running upwards will surely trip. And they'll trip because of the stairs. Or will it be their own fault for not looking at each individual step to give your body the information it needs?
Just rhetorical exercise, I don't actually care at all about one side or the other.
(An added stair fact, round staircases would ascend in a clockwise manner, so that right-handed defenders would have the advantage over right-handed attackers whilst fighting in the stairs.)
It’s a little more interesting than this even. Your brain knows the stair riser heights after 2-3 steps, so individual stairs can be different riser heights, 125-200mm (5-8”). Each riser can’t be more than 3mm different in an individual stair. Not uncommon for your upper stairs to be slightly different from the bottom if there’s a landing.
So those people do consciously need to remember step 15 is different or they can trip. The rest would be pretty normal.
Also varied tread depth.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Stumble_steps.jpg/500px-Stumble_steps.jpg
We had some stone steps in the yard of a house I grew up in and I could still run those even in the dark, but I'm sure anyone running after me, unfamiliar with the steps would stumble.
I'm just wondering whether the ingenuity was from someone who actually designed them as such, or someone who did a poor job, almost got a bollocking, but then launched into a rant about how it's actually a defensive feature.
Well next time pay closer attention yourself, they are either firmly mounted, or they are designed to be very noticeable or untribable, like with backs on them.
You haven’t noticed it, because of the codes and standards, but of course negligence can always happen, like someone moving a bench (which shouldn’t be movable in a place with children) and put it where it shouldn’t be.
Also, you think your daycare is gonna admit they moved something and let your kid trip? Nah, they’ll blame the kid instead of wanting their business to look bad. Anyone who’s been around kids know have a very good memory as well, so when they trip over something, it probably wasn’t there 5 minutes ago as well.
I like running up stairs. Specially when there are a lot of them.
When I enter a new building, I go slowly, getting a feel of each rise. If it turns out to be not runnable, I then walk the same way all the time. Otherwise, I get to have fun, starting the next time.
That 1 off-step would make me hate whomever worked on that stair. That would increase by the amount of time I would have planned on staying at that place.