Bet you weren’t expecting this…

The revolving door has been around for a long time, but not many know the reason the revolving door was invented. The invention of the revolving door started with a simple notion of being polite to other pedestrians.

It sounds a little over the top but it’s true. American inventor Theophilus Van Kannel would find himself in a predicament when using a traditional door, the never-ending game of being polite playing “no you go” when going through a door with other pedestrians.

Van Kannel started designing a door that would be optimal for pedestrians and would help guide pedestrians while helping other pedestrians get where they need to go. Though the invention was thought of with common manners in mind, this invention also helps buildings conserve energy.

The revolving door actually saves the building from using extra energy by using weather strips on the edges, saving buildings 30% energy costs. The revolving door also helps the building maintain their indoor temperature and lowering the costs of running heat or air conditioning.

Though this invention has been around since 1888 not many people utilize this modern stroke of genius with a study showing only 50% of people using the revolving door over a traditional door. If more people know about the energy conservation ability of the revolving door, hopefully, more people will start using them over traditional doors.

To learn more check out the video above.