Hi, we're here from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter in just a few minutes.

I'm Cody Gough.

And I'm Ashley Hamer.

Today you learn about the weird reason why revolving doors were invented,

why people who can admit what they don't know, tend to know more, and why a thought experiment called the trolley problem may be more relevant than ever.

Let's satisfy some curiosity.

Legend has it that revolving doors were invented for a weird reason and the way we use

them these days might be just about as strange. So let's talk about the guy who

invented revolving doors Theophilus Van Canel.

According to the podcast 99% invisible, he came up with the idea because, quote,

there was nothing he despised more than trying to walk in or out of a building and locking horns with other men in a game of

oh you first I insist unquote yeah he basically just didn't want to deal with figuring out

who should open the door.

So in 1888 he patented the first revolving door, which he called a storm door structure

and included weather stripping to prevent energy loss.

In 1889, the first revolving door was installed at a Times Square

restaurant called Rectors. Revolving doors actually do solve a lot of problems.

They help regulate temperature and air pressure which can save up to 30% of energy costs.

An MIT study also found that they exchange eight times less air than traditional doors.

Sounds great, right? Well, unfortunately, that same MIT study

found that only 20 to 30 percent of people actually use revolving doors, while the

rest head for the traditional doors.

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