Stampers* is the foot version of the Clapper, that thingy where you can turn the lights on with a clap of your hands. With stampers, you stamp your foot really hard and the lights come on. These kinds of lights are installed all over here in stairwells and hallways of buildings. It's actually a good feature, it saves electricity when no one has walked through for a while. After you stamp your foot really hard two or three times, the lights stay on for 10 minutes or so, enough time to let you walk through the area with full light.
But the other night I got into my apartment and started stamping my foot to turn on the lights in my apartment; I don't have stomper lights in my apartment, I have to actually hit the light switch. I had a little laugh to myself when I realized what I was doing. I am going to come back to the U.S. and stomp my feet in dark places out of habit! Just call me Thumper.
*I made this word up.
Ok Thumper :)
ReplyDeleteAnd are you sure that's a feature and not just loose wiring that you're wiggling with your stomping?
Matt, it's certainly a possibility it's loose wiring, but if so, it's designed that way because this feature is consistent in buildings all over the place. The lights in the hallways and stairwells aren't normal lights, they are these special contraptions that look different from regular ceiling or wall lights. So I think they are meant to function this way as energy savers.
ReplyDeleteP.s. I don't know if they are noise or vibration activated, so maybe clapping hands would work too! I'm going to try it out. But I was taught to stomp my foot, that's what everyone does.
ReplyDeleteI had a stamper in college. The upstairs neighbors would use the "stamper" and yell, "turn down that damn music." And the music would turn down. I guess we were ahead of the times.
ReplyDeleteHe he! Make sure to rent a top-floor appartment so that you can drive your neighbors crazy in the process :-D
ReplyDeleteHey - when is your tour of duty over?
Jene, haha. The low-tech stamper.
ReplyDeleteTechno, haha! Good plan! I am here until August 2010. About 16 months to go!
Stamp on. Stamp off. Stamp on Stamp off, the Stampper. (Stamp Stamp)
ReplyDelete