Inventor of Elevator

Ever notice the name "OTIS" when you are using the elevator??..

It is the surname of its inventor, ELISHA GRAVES OTIS..

Following are some information on the inventor:

Elisha Graves Otis

The American manufacturer and inventor Elisha Graves Otis (1811-1861) was one of the inventors of the modern elevator and founded a company for their manufacture.
Elisha Otis was born near Halifax, Vt., where his father was for many years a justice of the peace and a state legislator. He received a common education in his hometown and at the age of 19 moved to Troy, N.Y., where he went into the construction trade. Poor health caused him to turn to hauling goods between Troy and Brattleboro, Vt. In a pattern that he was to repeat several times in his life, he saved enough money to start his own operation, in this case a small gristmill.


About 1845 Otis was again forced by ill health to change jobs. He moved to Albany, N.Y., where he became a master mechanic in a bedstead factory. Eventually he opened a small machine shop in that city. Again he was forced to give it up and became a master mechanic in a factory in Bergen, N.J. His son, Charles, then just 15 years old, was so proficient at machine work that he was made an engineer with the same firm.

In 1852 the firm sent Otis to Yonkers, N.Y., to supervise the installation of machinery in a new factory, and there he made some improvements in the elevator with which he was working. He showed the improvements in New York and applied for a patent on the device. The elevator consisted of a platform which was raised by a rope between two vertical posts. On the inside of each post was a rack designed to catch two pawls set in the platform frame when the lifting stopped. In 1854 it was reported that "the pawls are prevented from bearing against the racks during the upwards movement of the frame, and much friction is obviated thereby, and if the rope should break, or be loosened from the driving shaft, or disconnected from the motive power accidentally, the platform will be sustained, and no injury or accident can possibly occur, as the weight is prevented from falling."

Scientific American called the device "excellent" and said that it was "much admired" in New York. Receiving several orders for elevators, Otis again set up his own shop and with the aid of his son began their manufacture. He continued to invent and patent other devices, but his elevator business grew only slowly and was still rather small when he died, a comparatively young man. His son carried on the firm. With the growth of cities and the introduction of the apartment house and the skyscraper in the years after the Civil War, Otis elevators came to lead the field. (source: http://www.answers.com/topic/elisha-otis)

Still Thought 3 August 2007

Aim For The Cup Or Coffee

A group of graduates, highly established in their careers, got togetherto visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned intocomplaints about stress in work and life.

Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups -porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive,some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leavingbehind the simple and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to wantonly the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems andstress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee.

In most cases, it is just more expensive and in some cases even hideswhat we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup,but you consciously went for the best cups... Then you began eyeing eachother's cups. Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money andposition in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold andcontain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define, nor changethe quality of Life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating on the cup, wefail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us. Enjoy your coffee!."

The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything. The happiest people in the world are not thosewho have no problems,but those who learn to live with things that areless than perfect.

1. Live simply.
2. Love generously.
3. Care deeply.
4. Speak kindly.
5. Leave the rest to God.

You are the miracle, my friend;
Your life either shines a light OR casts a shadow!
Shine a light & Enjoy the Coffee!!! :)