To talk or not to talk?

Where to look?

How near are you allowed to stand to someone else? 

(With all these questions, the assumption is that there is at least one other person in the lift with you)

actually there are 2 things:

i say talk away (regardless of whether there is someone in the lift or not)

you may ask "is it crazy to talk to yourself"?  to which i say "no as long as you dont reply" 

by the way the "2 things" are sort of intertwined as one blob in there

Pushing the emergency stop button with a full house will always get a few laughs.

or a few beatings...

Sri - don't encourage me.... I'm always talking to myself as it is!

hey you know even einstein talked to himself (so did hitler)

So I'm either brilliant or a psychopath....

I can live with that! 

or both

i liked how you conviniently overlooked the lack of fashion sension in both the entities!!!

I'd prefer both....

lack of fashion sension in both the entities

Eh? 

well i dotn think either of them were renoweed for palatable fashion sense were there?

oh right..... yes....

I've always liked Einstein's hair actually.... 

not a hair person myself (dont need it coz i dont hide nothing!!)

hahahaha what could one possibly have to hide on one's head?!

exactly....  you dont want to know... but seeing so many people with hair it does make you wonder doesnt it!!!  (shudder) scary thought

*scratching head*

If I am in a less social mood I smile at the lift companions and then look intently at the levels being lit up at the top of the lift.

If I am in there with Oliver I am usually telling him not to press the Stop button. He has pressed the alarm once before and was told off on the microphone. He has also got his finger stuck in a lift at Singapore airport so anytime I am in one with both boys, Henry gets quite flustered - worried Ollie is going to either press the alarm or injure himself! 

I always think it's funny how funny we are when we are in lifts! It's like everyone's personal space is being invaded and they desperately try to ignore each other. 

Yeah..... frankly, I never felt it was odd until I started working....

Maybe its just the inhabitants of this building...

its in the lift that usually realise that my toenails and fingernails could use a fresh coat of lacquer....otherwise i'm usually having the dun f with me face....again. (i have been told i look unfriendly and snobbish at the first glance - in case u were wondering)

I know every curve n contour of the lift at work....

it's actually been explained in psych 

that it's invasion of personal space 

the more crowded a lift gets, the more invaded a person feels and the less they look around as a result 

so if there are fewer people in the lift - there is a higher chance of them being more friendly.

but then again we all knew that. the interesting thing is that they did this test - where they put in an actor who would break the norm and smile at people and this actor was getting good response until it started getting crowded - at that point the actor was considered a nuinsance rather than friendly and people actually collectively started bearing down (frowning) on this actor to get him (and her) to get them to comply with the norm of shutting up and looking down

even when a sexy gal who's flirting with a guy and the guy is of course flattered by the attention but then gets concerned about the attention as the lift gets crowded. our lecturer was telling us this back in uni - that was one funny lecture - we were cracking up

with all the funny things that people did and the funny ideas the experimenters came up with to change things

i wonder if they have done any follow up work - it'll be good gag for that "just for laughs/candid camera" kinda shows

Well, whenever I am in lift I act "YAY! I AM IN A LIFT!!" it's fun!

What a funny experiment. We humans are creatures of habit with predictable behavioual responses! Just like in the wild.

Well, I was referring to being in the lift with ppl you know or see all the time.... so not just strangers

Actually, I feel more comfortable with strangers. Nothing is expected of me 

And what do to when someone gets in and just stares at you the whole way up/down?

Fun Things To Do In An Elevator

1. Make race car noises when anyone gets on or off.
   
2. Blow your nose and offer to show the contents of your kleenex
   to other passengers.
   
3. Grimace painfully while smacking your forehead and muttering:
   "Shut up, all of you just shut UP!"
   
4. Whistle the first seven notes of "It's a Small World" incessantly.
   
5. Sell Girl Scout cookies.
   
6. On a long ride, sway side to side at the natural frequency of
   the elevator.
   
7. Shave.
   
8. Crack open your briefcase or purse, and while peering inside
   ask: "Got enough air in there?"
   
9. Offer name tags to everyone getting on the elevator. Wear
   yours upside-down.
   
10. Stand silent and motionless in the corner, facing the wall,
    without getting off.
    
11. When arriving at your floor, grunt and strain to yank the
    doors open, then act embarrassed when they open by themselves.
    
12. Lean over to another passenger and whisper: "Noogie patrol
    coming!"
    
13. Greet everyone getting on the elevator with a warm handshake
    and ask them to call you Admiral.
    
14. One word: Flatulence!
    
15. On the highest floor, hold the door open and demand that it
    stay open until you hear the penny you dropped down the
    shaft go "plink" at the bottom.
    
16. Do Tai Chi exercises.
    
17. Stare, grinning, at another passenger for a while, and then
    announce: "I've got new socks on!"
    
18. When at least 8 people have boarded, moan from the back:
    "Oh, not now, motion sickness!"
    
19. Give religious tracts to each passenger.
    
20. Meow occasionally.
    
21. Bet the other passengers you can fit a quarter in your nose.
    
22. Frown and mutter "gotta go, gotta go" then sigh and say "oops!"
    
23. Show other passengers a wound and ask if it looks infected.
    
24. Sing "Mary had a little lamb" while continually pushing buttons.
    
25. Holler "Chutes away!" whenever the elevator descends.
    
26. Walk on with a cooler that says "human head" on the side.
    
27. Stare at another passenger for a while, then announce "You're one
    of THEM!" and move to the far corner of the elevator.
    
28. Burp, and then say "mmmm...tasty!"
    
29. Leave a box between the doors.
    
30. Ask each passenger getting on if you can push the button for
    them.
    
31. Wear a puppet on your hand and talk to other passengers "through" it.
    
32. Start a sing-along.
    
33. When the elevator is silent, look around and ask "is that your
    beeper?"
    
34. Play the harmonica.
    
35. Shadow box.
    
36. Say "Ding!" at each floor.
    
37. Lean against the button panel.
    
38. Say "I wonder what all these do" and push the red buttons.
    
39. Listen to the elevator walls with a stethoscope.
    
40. Draw a little square on the floor with chalk and announce to the
    other passengers that this is your "personal space."
    
41. Bring a chair along.
    
42. Take a bite of a sandwich and ask another passenger: "Wanna see
    wha in muh mouf?"
    
43. Blow spit bubbles.
    
44. Pull your gum out of your mouth in long strings.
    
45. Announce in a demonic voice: "I must find a more suitable host body."
    
46. Carry a blanket and clutch it protectively.
    
47. Make explosion noises when anyone presses a button.
    
48. Wear "X-Ray Specs" and leer suggestively at other passengers.
    
49. Stare at your thumb and say "I think it's getting larger."
    
50. If anyone brushes against you, recoil and holler "Bad touch!"
    

# 17 is the pick of them. I'm going to try that one. 

I lived with a guy who did maintenance for Schindlers Lifts. He never heard the end of it.

... and I work for a co called Gilbert and Sutherland. I never hear the end of it. 

hehehehe

I'd like to be there when you try 17!! 

It would certainly give someone something to talk about afterwards.

I think there should be more things in a lift.... A widescreen with the days news or something would give me something to look at as an alternative to the floor or my nails

And what do to when someone gets in and just stares at you the whole way up/down?

Spooky. Maybe do the same back? 

Well, I was referring to being in the lift with ppl you know or see all the time.... so not just strangers

It is different for both. I hadn't thought about that. I remember working somewhere with a life and it was I had my most banal small talk. It kind of encourages that and is (mostly) always awkward 

sigh

Lift etiquette. very interesting. My bug bear is when the lift is full when it gets to the ground floor, and all the guys stand back to let you out, even though you are wedgedway in the back. I am all for chivalry, but boys, come on, just exit the lift already!

Another time I walked in a lift and stood next to a guy (I think it was a guy), and he walked over to the other side of the lift! How rude! I guess I invaded his personal space...

hahahaha Yeah! I agree with you KC.... the point is to make things easy..... not a pain for everybody! hahaha

And this happens oh so often if they let you in first.... how in the world are you supposed to exit first? So funny! 

Oh....I feel odd if I'm the only one in a lift and someone enters and stands too close to me.... that or when the stand facing me directly...

odd.... too odd 

There is a phrase Dek... "A w--ker magnet" coined by a good friend of mine who had a 7-day stint of two flashers! She felt the need to label herself as such as it was so unusual to have so many wierdos attracted to her in such a short period of time!

"A w--ker magnet" .....I like that term. Much better than "weirdo magnet" which is the term my colleagues have given me for my tendency attract the truly questionable characters!!!

I think it's because w--ker rolls off the tongue so well.

And is a much better description

A literal one in many instances (well, those of my friend anyhow)!

hahaah i loved those "fun things to do in a lift" list some are really funny

we also learnt about conformity in society and our psychology lecturer told us to do something that is non conforming so that week in uni you saw people getting in lifts and not turning around and staring at people then when it was their stop they walked out back wards it was really funny seeing them do that, others just sat in the lift and stared up at people.

hahahahaha

I think your prof has come across the perfect way to get back at his students

hahahaha - i remember those uni days of experiments!!! Great fun!

I like the backwards walk - particularly useful in sterile ole Westfield...