Why Do Elevators Have Mirrors?

Power Connectors

Sep 2

2 min read

You step into an elevator, turn around, and there you are.

Maybe you check your hair. Maybe you inspect your teeth. Maybe you pretend not to look at the stranger behind you while absolutely looking at the stranger behind you.

But the mirror isn't there simply because elevator designers correctly predicted that humanity would eventually need somewhere to take selfies.

It actually solves several problems at once.

For starters, elevators are weird little rooms. They're small, windowless, and often occupied by strangers who have collectively agreed that everyone should face the door and pretend the next 23 seconds aren't socially bizarre. Mirrors make that enclosed space appear larger than it really is, which can make the ride feel less confining.

They also give us something to do.

Waiting feels longer when we're paying attention to waiting, and mirrors provide an extremely cheap distraction. Look at yourself. Adjust your jacket. Check the floor indicator in the reflection. Casually investigate what everyone else is doing while maintaining plausible deniability.

The idea that mirrors can reduce perceived elevator waiting time has been around for decades. There's even a popular story that building managers discovered that putting mirrors near elevators could distract passengers while they waited and was considerably cheaper than making slow elevators faster.

It's a wonderful story.

Unfortunately, its historical origins are difficult to verify, so file that part under “possibly true, suspiciously perfect.”

The practical benefits of mirrors inside the elevator, however, are real. A mirror increases visibility inside the car, allowing passengers to see behind themselves without turning around. That's useful for general awareness, and it can also help someone using a wheelchair see the doorway while backing out of an elevator where there isn't enough room to turn around comfortably.

So that mirror is doing considerably more work than it appears to be doing.

It can make the elevator feel bigger. It can make the ride feel less tedious. It can improve visibility. It can help someone navigate the space.

And, sure, it can also tell you that your hair has looked like that for the last three hours.

Some problems remain outside the elevator industry's jurisdiction.

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