A closer look
Harrods department store in London installed England's first moving staircase in 1898, designed by Jesse W. Reno as an inclined conveyor belt made of woven leather that transported nervous shoppers to the upper floors. Because Victorian citizens were absolutely terrified of this demonic, self-propelling contraption, the store's management had to station employees at the top to offer patrons complimentary shots of smelling salts and brandy just to calm their shattered nerves. Imagine a world where your daily commute up to the second floor of a shopping mall was considered such a harrowing brush with death that you were medically prescribed hard liquor upon arrival. Sadly, modern building codes and corporate stinginess mean you now have to ride escalators completely sober, left alone with your existential dread as you slowly drift toward the food court
