The Secret History Of The Revolving Door

The revolving door is most often thought of today, if at all, in connection to the various forms of workplace-related dread it has come to be associated with. As the entranceway to office buildings it’s the cause of pavlovian groans (Christ! Here I am again at this hell-hole). As metaphoric short-hand it’s a stand-in for conflicts-of-interest, matters of ethical oversight, and corruption. Like snapshots from your last colonoscopy, or a multi-million dollar Damien Hirst painting, the images conjured aint pretty. The revolving door has, of course, not always been saddled with such negative connotations. There was a time, not so very long ago, when it was a shining symbol of modern man’s ingenuity- evidence of an energized drive toward the future. Yet surprisingly, even in the glow of the revolving door’s youth, when it was being enthusiastically installed in buildings the world over, few people were aware of its true origins.

01.11. filed under: history. lies. people.


I’m with Abigail - we can’t let these standards slip. Personally I’m still standing beside a handkerchief I dropped in 1995, waiting for a gentleman to pick it up.

posted on 01.12 at 06:03 PMEmma


Brilliant. I don’t care if it’s not true - it ought to be.

posted on 01.14 at 03:35 PMsimon


My late mother LOVED revolving doors but we never talked the history!
She would have loved this!
Thanks:-)

posted on 01.20 at 08:06 PMachilles3


if it’s on the internet then it must be true!  but i must say i don’t quite agree with abigail’s mother, “Manners are the measure of a man!” ... “More so than his inseam, rest assured!” Ha!

posted on 01.26 at 04:00 AM.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)


I knew I’d read this before on the Nonist. I’ve been a little remiss about the re-design since the beginning, and I’d find it a crying shame were you to re-work/abolish all the remnants of the old site.

posted on 02.03 at 07:50 PM.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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