Local Hospital has elevator doors with lights that flash green when they're opening and red when closing.
I'm done with afternoon rounds. I get in the elevator to leave.
The elevator stops on the 6th floor and a lady and her little kid get on.
Little Kid: "Mommy, why do the elevator doors have those green and red lights?"
Mom: "So blind people know which way the doors are moving, honey."
Just shoot me. She was pregnant, too.
Not mine...I think.
ReplyDelete;)
My niece thinks the numbers are for counting how many people are on the elevator.
ReplyDeleteReminds me of an exchange my mum had with an American lady here in England. We have traffic light controlled pedestrian crossings which beep, as well as show a green man, when people can cross.
ReplyDeleteLady: Why is the crossing making that strange noise?
Mum: That's so blind people know when the lights have changed.
Lady: Oh? In America we don't let blind people drive!
Sure she wasn't running for public office?
ReplyDeleteSounds like the worst case of "pregnancy brain" ever.
ReplyDeleteGreen lights and red lights on elevator doors, wow we really do live in a nanny state.
ReplyDeletePacker- they've been there since they revamped the elevators in 2002.
ReplyDeleteAs long as they're not color-blind.
ReplyDeleteIn California we have "Braille Dots" glued on the highways for the blind drivers, lol
ReplyDeleteI dunno, I don't think this one is so bad. She had a brain fart; she meant deaf people. It happens. Amusing, but not 'shoot me' level :)
ReplyDeleteNote: my captcha is elammo. El ammo. Heh.
"Mommy, why are there those little dots under the numbers on the elevator buttons?"
ReplyDelete"That's for the deaf people, so they can hear what floor they're pressing"
Did she also have her name on her necklace, on her right hand ring, tattooed on her left forearm, tattooed on her right ankle, and on a left toe ring?
ReplyDeleteReminds me of the Braille dots on the keys of the drive-through ATMs.
ReplyDeleteHey man, never underestimate the power of the cerebro-uterine shunt.
ReplyDeleteShe was probably exhausted from being pregnant and hauling a preschooler around, and just made up some shit story without giving any thought. Lord knows I do that sometimes.
::snicker:: I recall a similar situation many years ago with one of my children (can't remember now if it was the 15 or 17 year old). We were doing something and they asked why X was occurring. I quickly replied, "Oh, that's so that blind people can FITB*" Right next to us an adult male went, "Really?? I've always wondered about that!" Fortunately whichever child it was had already learned not to be impolite to strangers but they gave them a seriously weird stare. One of those which says, "Um, mom? Why does that adult not know that?"
ReplyDeleteAnd then there have been times when they either explained or corrected adults about such things as beeping signals, braille signs, flashing lights, vibrating... At least they do so in a polite voice, even at this age. Although I do admit it kinda freaked people out having a six year old do that. Generally the adult would get sympathetic, "Ooooh! Do you have a FITB in your family??" whereupon my child would give them a puzzled look and say, "No, I was just taught what they were there for."
*Fill In The Blank (for those who haven't encountered this before)
Actually, it's for their dogs.
ReplyDeleteAhh! The gene pool at its finest!
ReplyDeletewv hyper you with wart picking coumidin(?) taking patient
There is a woman that really shouldn't be allowed to drive. Or operate an elevator. Or procreate.
ReplyDeleteAnd here I thought you could tell when elevator doors are opening or closing by looking at them and seeing if they're opening or closing.
ReplyDeleteClearly I am some kind of moron.
Good for your job security...
ReplyDeleteJust a few weeks ago, my nine year old daughter had an ear infection and I was so tiered from being up with her for several nights, I kept asking the pharmacist and doctor about the "eye" drops for her ear, I got some weird looks. So being pregnant and with a young child, I think she should just be excused for not thinking right, I know I more then likely have said dumb things when pregnant also...
ReplyDeletewow. i first read that as "So people know which way..." I guess I blocked out the 'blind' part because my brain refused to believe someone would think that.
ReplyDeletethe brain is an amazing thing.
I always advocate the lecture stle of parenting. Never let a good question go to waste. Info dump at every possible opportunity. You never know--some of it might actually sink in.
ReplyDeleteBut even I must admit that there are some parents who really should keep their mouths shut to avoid totally losing their children's respect.