Agreed; I use elbows or shoulders if possible. Some doors even have a kick plate that can essentially be stepped on!
Sudden thought: Why aren’t all doors foot operated? A simple pedal latch would be far more hygenic and easier to operate e.g. with an armload of groceries or when wet than the knobs we have most places. I know I’ve seen doors with this feature (does a google on “foot pedal door opener”...) It’s totally a thing! This should be common!
That would be awesome, but more expensive and prone to failure than what we’re using now. I expect this is the primary reason we are still mostly using purely mechanical systems. My “automate everything” is in conflict with my “simpler is usually better” in this case.
I almost made a comment about security (which would be not-very-good given our current technology), but then I realized a couple of things:
I’ve studied lockpicking so I know exactly how secure our current systems are. (It’s shockingly bad, BTW. You’d be hard pressed to actually find something that was more-than-trivially worse than the usual 4-pin tumbler locks.)
You’d need a mechanical backup for when the controller was down due to lack of power (and the fact that they would probably end up all running a full install of Windows for no good design reason. #cinicism) The mechanical backup would probably be exactly as secure as the mechanical systems we are currently using: not at all.
I suspect there is at least as much “cultural inertia” at play as the costs and reliability aspect. I think one might find that type of resistance even for the shift to using a foot petal for open doors. It’s a bit of the out of sight out of mind situation. Oddly, for me, I frequently find myself walking up to a door only to realize it is not opening and I hesitate waiting for it to start before I realize I have to open it myself!
Will be interesting to see if, assuming things do get as bad as everyone seems to be making this to be, we see those types of operational/behavior changes propagating within societies.
I suspect there is at least as much “cultural inertia” at play as the costs and reliability aspect.
That may well be. “But we’ve always done it this way” is one of the most annoying things people say to me on a regular basis. (I often forget where the metaphorical box is that I’m typically presumed by other people to be thinking in.)
Will be interesting to see if, assuming things do get as bad as everyone seems to be making this to be, we see those types of operational/behavior changes propagating within societies.
Agreed. Tho, I plan on examining implementation of foot-operated doors in my home if it turns out to be reasonable, just for the convenience if nothing else. Just because nobody else is doing it right now hasn’t ever stopped me from making improvements on my own if I can!
I’m certain they could be calibrated to require more force than a small dog or baby could apply to operate, or they could be locked by a positive stop mechanism beneath the pedal. Large dogs, some cats, and small children can operate many types of door opener anyway, so I expect we’d find ways around this issue just as we’ve done with what is now a standard doorknob.
Agreed; I use elbows or shoulders if possible. Some doors even have a kick plate that can essentially be stepped on!
Sudden thought: Why aren’t all doors foot operated? A simple pedal latch would be far more hygenic and easier to operate e.g. with an armload of groceries or when wet than the knobs we have most places. I know I’ve seen doors with this feature (does a google on “foot pedal door opener”...) It’s totally a thing! This should be common!
In the 21st century shouldn’t the question be why aren’t all doors smart doors that open and close as needed?
That would be awesome, but more expensive and prone to failure than what we’re using now. I expect this is the primary reason we are still mostly using purely mechanical systems. My “automate everything” is in conflict with my “simpler is usually better” in this case.
I almost made a comment about security (which would be not-very-good given our current technology), but then I realized a couple of things:
I’ve studied lockpicking so I know exactly how secure our current systems are. (It’s shockingly bad, BTW. You’d be hard pressed to actually find something that was more-than-trivially worse than the usual 4-pin tumbler locks.)
You’d need a mechanical backup for when the controller was down due to lack of power (and the fact that they would probably end up all running a full install of Windows for no good design reason. #cinicism) The mechanical backup would probably be exactly as secure as the mechanical systems we are currently using: not at all.
I suspect there is at least as much “cultural inertia” at play as the costs and reliability aspect. I think one might find that type of resistance even for the shift to using a foot petal for open doors. It’s a bit of the out of sight out of mind situation. Oddly, for me, I frequently find myself walking up to a door only to realize it is not opening and I hesitate waiting for it to start before I realize I have to open it myself!
Will be interesting to see if, assuming things do get as bad as everyone seems to be making this to be, we see those types of operational/behavior changes propagating within societies.
That may well be. “But we’ve always done it this way” is one of the most annoying things people say to me on a regular basis. (I often forget where the metaphorical box is that I’m typically presumed by other people to be thinking in.)
Agreed. Tho, I plan on examining implementation of foot-operated doors in my home if it turns out to be reasonable, just for the convenience if nothing else. Just because nobody else is doing it right now hasn’t ever stopped me from making improvements on my own if I can!
I imagine those would make life harder for people with pets or babies crawling around.
I’m certain they could be calibrated to require more force than a small dog or baby could apply to operate, or they could be locked by a positive stop mechanism beneath the pedal. Large dogs, some cats, and small children can operate many types of door opener anyway, so I expect we’d find ways around this issue just as we’ve done with what is now a standard doorknob.