Down the Up Escalator: Navy Story

USS Kitty Hawk anchored off the shores of Perth Australia. As an assigned tour guide, I led a group of about twenty Australians onboard the huge aircraft carrier.
Over a thousand feet long, with a crew of five thousand, I was allowed to show them only five of the fifteen decks.
I thought a five-story escalator would be fun for these eager Aussies. I had forgotten that while in port the escalator wasn’t operational. They wanted to climb the stairs.
The next thing I failed to take into account was that after having enough people on a shut-off escalator it would run backwards.
Put twenty people on a shut-off escalator that’s running backwards and the tendency is to run faster.
The group ascended and descended faster than a Bunge jumper. The faster backwards it went the faster forward we ran. Like a hamster on a spinning wheel, we made quite a spectacle. I made it to the top and viewed the scene: A huge pile up at the bottom.
We discovered that a powerless escalator had only one way up –one-by-one. I thought I would be in huge trouble, but the smiles of the Australians melted any fear. I suspect they’ve told the story many times over like I’m telling the story right now.
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