14 DAY TRIAL // Over the weekend, on Saturday, Japan experienced an earthquake with a recorded magnitude of 7.8. The earthquake struck at 11:23 UTC at a depth of about 677 kilometers (421 miles).
USGS researchers documented its epicenter in the Pacific, at a distance of roughly 874 kilometers (543 miles) south of Tokyo, Japan's capital city.
It was in the aftermath of this shake that the representatives of the Japanese infrastructure ministry and the country's elevator industry got together and decided to put toilets in elevators.
Wait for it, it all actually makes sense
Reports say that, following the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that rattled Japan this past May 30, some 19,000 elevators in Tokyo and adjacent prefectures came to a halt.
Since the earthquake didn't exactly send a card announcing itself, a handful of guys and gals were inevitably trapped in some of the elevators put out of order by the shake.
Japan Times tells us that, all in all, people had to be rescued from 14 lifts. Further, one of the rescue missions took over an hour, during which time the folks stuck in the stubborn elevator had nothing to drink and could not use a bathroom.
To make sure nobody ever again has to go through such an ordeal, Japan's elevator industry and its infrastructure ministry are now thinking about installing toilets in lifts. To keep people hydrated, they also plan to install drinking fountains.
Naturally, the toilets and the drinking fountains would only be used in times of emergency. Specifically, when an earthquake or some other disaster strikes and elevators stop working.
Other measures will also be implemented
To better prepare the country for dealing with earthquakes, Japanese officials also want to coach building management companies into coming up with better plans to evacuate people.
By the looks of it, this is because, in the aftermath of Saturday's tremor, people at the upper floors of condo buildings were left stranded when the elevators stopped working.
