People Share the Worst Thing You Can Say in an Elevator Full of People

A common trope in fantasy books and TV shows is the idea of time travel. It’s something that has always fascinated us because the idea of being able to travel to the past or future is something we feel we may never actually be able to do.

If you saw this happen, the rational side of your brain would tell you that that person was a weirdo. But, there’d be a little tiny part that always wonders if you really had seen a time traveler that day.

College is such a strange time. It’s a bunch of young adults who barely know how to function on their own suddenly being thrown into independence and shared-living situations. So college students are some of the least likely to converse in an elevator.

From that moment on, any time any of his building mates saw him get on an elevator, they waited for the next one. He became known as “that weird chatty guy” and was ostracized from his campus. He dropped out, and no one knows where he is today.

Elevators are basically big boxes attached to a pulley system with lots of thick cables that help pull them up and down. The cables are inspected frequently to make sure that the elevator stays safe for use.

Most people don’t really think about that, though, so hearing someone say this would be horrifying — especially if you’re getting on with a bunch of other people! Quick, everyone cross your fingers, close your eyes, and desperately hope that “last cable” doesn’t snap!

There are some jokes that have been going around on the internet for so long that they’ve lost their funniness. One of those involves something you say inside a crowded elevator.

If anyone had a stranger say this to them in real life, they’d probably just roll their eyes, because that’s how tired this joke is. So, in a way, it is one of the worst things that you could say to someone in an elevator!

There are some creatures that just freak out a good majority of the human population. It’s not that they necessarily did anything wrong, but we just don’t like them anyway. Snakes and sharks are good examples of this phenomenon.

Another one is spiders. There’s nothing more horrifying than the idea that someone has dropped a box of those little creepy crawlies in a confined space!

Weight limits in elevators exist because, surprise, they’re not magic carpets! They won’t defy physics just for your shopping spree or robust physique. So, be careful about cramming too many people into one elevator.

The thing is, though, that pointing something like this is a super impolite thing to do, which is why it’s definitely one of the worst things to say in an elevator. You’ve both made people worry and made them self-conscious.

We’ve all been there. You get a phone call from a mysterious number. You debate whether to even answer, but you do, and it’s some random person claiming your car has an extended warranty.

They’ve decided that cold calling just isn’t enough, though, so now they’re invading public spaces by going up to people in parks and elevators… taking their scam one step further. It’s a tough world out there if you’re a car owner.

Taco Bell is a great fast food option, but there’s a running joke that consuming it is going to give you terribly smelly gas, cause urgent trips to the bathroom — or, if you’re unlucky, both.

Getting that gas in a public place like an elevator just makes it worse, because everyone’s stuck in this little box breathing in your toxic post-lunch fumes. Maybe you should opt for a nice salad next time you go out to eat with coworkers.

No one wants to end up in a crisis situation when they’re out and about, and they particularly don’t want to when they’re in an elevator. So if someone says some certain things, it would really freak you out.

This is one of those things. What’s going to happen? Are they going to burst out into song? Release some smelly gas? Spray paint something tacky on the wall? We don’t know, and we don’t want to find out.

There are some cities where everyone knows to be careful with their pockets and their bags, because a certain kind of person runs rampant there — the pickpocket. An elevator isn’t usually a place you’d be thinking about them, though.

If you weren’t before, you would be after this comment! You’d also be questioning why in the world this person would feel the need to announce something like that to an elevator full of people. At least you’d watch your belongings more closely after that.

Wearing contact lenses is such a convenient way to deal with bad vision. You’re free to wear sunglasses and do other things that glasses can get in the way of. But sometimes you rub your eye a bit too hard, and suddenly half of your vision is blurry.

It would suck to have that happen in an elevator, but let’s be real — would you really want that lens back after it’s been on a dirty elevator floor? Probably not.

Jumping in an elevator is one of those things that we all know we shouldn’t do, but no one really knows why. They say it’s dangerous, but what do they know? You’ve got to live life on the edge.

You don’t exactly want everyone in the elevator to jump at once, though, because then the mysterious danger is multiplied by however many people there are! It turns out doing this may trip a sensor, stopping the elevator and making the wait to be rescued super awkward.

Everyone has that one friend or family member who always releases super-smelly gas. No matter how they change their diet or how regular they are, they can stink up a space in no time.

These people always seem to be like this father-in-law, using their horrible fumes to play pranks on those around them. Don’t they know that when you fart in public, everyone has to pretend like they don’t notice it or smell it?

When it comes to scary movies, there are different aspects that make them scary. Some people like gore, while others like supernatural creatures. Then there’s perhaps the most scary of all — the threat that you never actually see.

This is like those kinds of scary movies. Someone indicates that there’s a reason to panic, but you never actually find out what it is. In a way, it’s even more panic-inducing, which is probably the point!

Have you ever thought about how dirty elevators must get? After all, one elevator carries an average of 20,000 passengers per year! That’s a lot of spilled coffee, muddy shoes, and so on.

But what if you were in one and someone implied that something much, much worse happened and then just left you wondering what it was? Your imagination would run wild, and it probably wouldn’t be imagining nice scenarios like a couple of little girls dropping their ice creams or something.

Earbuds are a great invention, because they make listening to music way more convenient, especially when we’ve got a lot of stuff in our hands and don’t want to get tangled up in wires. But, they also make it hard to know who a stranger is talking to.

This is the kind of thing that you would see in an action movie, and not in a good way. You’d be asking yourself, “Am I the target? The target for what? A prank reality TV show, or something much worse?”

How often an elevator is inspected depends on a lot of things, like how old it is, how often it’s used, and the type of elevator. It’s definitely at least once every few months, and often as frequent as once a month.

Hearing this, rationally you would know that a “test ride” would never be done with passengers on board, as that’s just dangerous. But, the irrational side of your brain would be crossing your fingers and praying you made it to your floor!

Job interviews are nerve-wracking, whether they’re online or in person. And when people are nervous, sometimes they act in unusual ways, like shutting down completely or cracking weird jokes.

If the guy in the suit had a sense of humor, then it was probably a great interview. But if he was uptight, then that poor person went through 30 minutes of grumpiness and blank stares. Let’s just hope this person didn’t try to compensate for the elevator moment by being even weirder.

Surrogate pregnancies are a great way for people who can’t have children for many reasons to be able to have biological children. It’s a long process that involves choosing someone to carry the baby.

This person shouldn’t even bother trying to explain. They should just smile and say something like, “Yep, it’s true!” and leave the nosy people in the elevator to draw their own strange conclusions. That’s better than sounding like you’re telling an elaborate lie.

There are a lot of myths surrounding lice, but if there’s one thing everyone can agree on about the little insects, it’s that no one wants to deal with the process of getting rid of them.

A lot of people believe that lice can jump from head to head, and while that isn’t true, it’s a common enough myth that the other people in that elevator probably pulled their jackets over their heads in fear.

Things don’t happen in elevators. Elevators exist purely to transport people from point A to B, and they’re meant to be quiet, uncomfortable spaces — especially if it’s an elevator in a really tall building and you’re just desperately trying to go home at the end of a long work day.

Before what starts, exactly? That meeting about the car’s extended warranty? An impromptu dance number? A group chant? There are so many things it could be, and none of them involve normal elevator behavior!

Which way do you face when you’re in an elevator with strangers? Do you stand facing them, awkwardly trying not to make eye contact? Do you face the door, like many people do? Or are you Dave?

Dave here faces the wall and talks to himself, because Dave likes to worry people with his creepy mumbling. Dave is right; they don’t know anything, and they definitely don’t want to while they focus on trying not to look at him.

A brain fart is when your genius brain briefly goes on vacation to Bermuda, leaving you with a “duh” moment. It’s like going from a graceful swan to a clumsy baby duckling, and it’s great for producing embarrassing moments like this one.

This person could be thanking them for many things, like not having noisy phone calls, not farting while the doors were closed, or not cramming too many people in. Whatever it was, the other passengers probably shrugged and went about their days.

Elevators can be great for people-watching, because if you’re subtle enough, you can examine everyone else in there with you, guessing at their lives and wondering where they’re going and why without creeping them out.

This may sound like something sinister, but it could be totally innocent! Maybe they’re recruiting models and they thought everyone in the elevator was beautiful. It’s unlikely, but you never know! You have to remain positive after hearing something so strange.

One of the worst things a person can experience is being in public and desperately needing to use a toilet, only to discover that there aren’t any around. If you suffer from something like IBS, it can be a fine line between needing the bathroom and disaster.

If we heard this in an elevator, we aren’t even sure how we’d react! We’d probably just pretend we hadn’t heard them say that and subtly try to plug our noses until we got off.

There are some things that you just don’t want to witness in public. One is people using a toothpick to clean out their teeth. Another is someone taking their shoes off. And one of the worst is someone singing really, really badly.

This is another situation where you’d be worried that the person was going to do something dangerous, only to realize that what they were “about to do” was to break out in a really horrible rendition of “My Heart Will Go On” at the top of their lungs.

Have you ever been in a situation where a stranger manages to insert themselves into your conversation in the most perfect way possible? That’s what happened to this family while riding an elevator on vacation.

This has got to be one of the smoothest things that’s ever happened. That man must have felt so proud of himself for being in the right place at the right time to land the perfect joke.

Some people are really negative and bring down those around them. They’re always making little self-deprecating comments, or complaining about life and every single bad thing that happens to them.

Anyone who heard a comment like this on an elevator would instantly start trying to think of other reasons the person said this, like maybe they just got married or adopted a puppy. They’d try their best to convince themselves that it had nothing to do with the elevator.

A common theme in sci-fi movies and books is that some sort of alien or parasitic creature comes to Earth and uses human bodies as “hosts” so that it can go around and wreak havoc or whatever it is that aliens do.

If someone heard this and wasn’t a fan of sci-fi, they’d write it off as a weird comment. But anyone who’s watched a sci-fi movie would immediately rant about how they can’t even get up a flight of stairs without heavy breathing so that they aren’t chosen as a host!

An elevator will always go at the same speed. It has lots of censors and other fancy-pants technology to make sure it’s consistent and safe. So if your elevator is suddenly going faster than usual, it’s probably not a good sign.

No one wants to hear this! It would make a sane person want to get off at the next floor, even if that wasn’t their destination. Then the person who said it smirks, because now they have the elevator to themselves.

Many people have participated in a study at one point in their lives. Some people do them in college with the psychology department. Others do studies run by those random “clipboard people” on the street.

Apparently, some also do them in an elevator without even knowing it! To be fair, an elevator would be a very interesting place to study the behavior of people when in a tight space with strangers. We’d like to see the results of that one.

There are some things that society just universally agrees on, and one of those is what to do if someone in your vicinity lets out some really smelly gas. So, what do you do? Nothing.

You don’t react, you don’t acknowledge the gas, and you don’t ask who dealt it. You definitely don’t make a comment like this, because no one is going to respond, “Aw, don’t worry! It happens to the best of us!”

Personal space is that little invisible bubble that we all have around ourselves, and if there’s anyone who isn’t allowed to invade our personal space, it’s strangers — especially strangers on an elevator. So, imagine how horrible it would be if this happened to you.

Group hugs are even awkward with friends, so we definitely don’t want to be doing one with people on an elevator. Although maybe for some people, it’d be the only physical contact they get that day!

There are some things that are always really cringy to joke about, and one of them is cannibalism. No one likes the idea of it, and making jokes about it just isn’t funny. It makes everyone uncomfortable.

This poor person learned that the hard way. How could you think people stuck in a really hot, packed elevator would have a sense of humor like that? This person severely miscalculated their comedic timing.

Having to go about your day with a stomach ache can be really difficult. It may make you feel nauseous, and it’s just a really uncomfortable, nagging feeling that may make it hard to focus on what you’re supposed to be doing.

If someone heard this on an elevator, they’d probably be worried that the person was getting motion sickness, and they’d also be desperately wishing that elevators had sick bags like airplanes do!

There’s a social faux pas that’s so bad, it’s made its way into several TV shows and movies. It’s seeing someone you haven’t seen in a while, looking at them, and thinking they’re pregnant when it turns out they’ve actually just put on a little bit of weight.

There are two reasons Marta is upset — the first is that he thought she was pregnant when she wasn’t, and the second is that her name is Marta and he called her Martha. This is why you never comment on someone’s appearance.

Scabies are sneaky little mites that throw a party on your skin. These microscopic troublemakers burrow in and cause intense itching, especially at night. It’s like having a non-stop rave under your epidermis, which isn’t as fun as it sounds.

Scabies is mostly spread by long-term skin-to-skin contact, but tell that to strangers in an elevator listening to a conversation like this one. Scabies isn’t any better than rabies in this particular situation.

Pregnant women may be dealing with a lot of discomfort, but many still have a good sense of humor and are often able to use their big bellies as a source for jokes. That’s what this woman’s mom did, after all.

The elevator ride would have been much more fun if her dad had played along, saying something like, “What my wife doesn’t know won’t hurt her” and staring down anyone else on the elevator who dared give him dirty looks.

There’s a game that some people apparently like to play in elevators. It involves coming up with a line that sounds like the end of a story, and saying it as soon as someone walks in.

That way, the person starts questioning what they could have been talking about. The weirder the better, as you can see by the line this person’s dad likes to use. To be fair, anyone who hears that would definitely be asking themselves what they missed.

Countdowns can be both good and bad, depending on the context. Is it New Year’s Eve? Then, the countdown to midnight is great and full of possibilities. Is it an action movie with people launching something in another country? Then, the countdown is much scarier.

A countdown in an elevator definitely falls into the “scary” category. What could the person possibly be counting down to? Do they just happen to know exactly how long it takes the elevator to get to their floor?

Being lactose intolerant is a dairy disaster. Enjoying milkshakes turns into a gassy afternoon, and ice cream indulgence leads to tummy turmoil. Thanks to lactose-free options, you don’t have to completely say goodbye to dairy, though.

Lactose intolerance is usually a lifelong condition, but that doesn’t stop people from trying cheese or ice cream here and there anyway, hoping that their symptoms will magically disappear. If you were stuck in an elevator with this person, you’d quickly learn that the gassiness definitely doesn’t go away.

Family reunions can be a chaotic yet heartwarming mix of hugs, laughter, and stories about the crazy things your cousins did when they were little. Some families are so big that the members don’t even know who all of their cousins are.

This gives us “something really cringy and sketchy happened between these two cousins” vibes, like something straight out of a comedy film. Lucky for this person, most people these days don’t go to family reunions anyway.

Picture this — you’re in the elevator with your side chick on the way up to a work party, and some colleagues get in. One of them asks if the girl is your wife, only for her to be shocked that you’re married.

This sounds more like something that would happen in a romcom than in real life, but we wouldn’t be surprised if someone somewhere was really dumb enough to bring someone who wasn’t their wife to a work event!

Sometimes, you’re one of the unlucky people in the world who gets stuck in an elevator. If you’re even more unlucky, you’ll be stuck with tons of other people, some of whom are probably freaking out.

This is pretty irrational since it’s not like you’re in a sealed space like an airplane, but tell that to someone who’s already anxious and stressed from being stuck in a little suspended metal box. Everyone would be holding their breath after this comment!

Some buildings are so tall that it’s impractical to get around without using the elevator. But, what this means is that those awkward elevator rides with strangers are even more drawn out, and silence is truly golden.

This gives us Buddy the Elf vibes, and not in a good way. The only way this wouldn’t be excruciating was if it was an adorable little kid who barely knows how to count doing it, and even then, it’s pushing it.