What the hell?

Doors in Finland.
What appears to be isn’t.

Door handles operate in additional modes compared to the doors in the U.S. (Or at least the doors my limited bubble-world has allowed me to see.) There is the standard ‘closed’ and ‘open’. To be sure we’re on the same page, ‘open’ usually occurs left-to-right, or right-to-left. The significance of this was realized in Irene’s world late June. (a.k.a. when I should have been posting but was too otherwise occupied to do so;)

I was helping strip wallpaper from Terttu’s (Tarja’s aunt) apartment when I decided a bit of fresh air was in order. Not thinking, I reached out and turned the balcony door handle. The door appeared to fall. I caught it.

What I saw was the top part of the door coming down upon me. (A lot like the story from my days working at the Law School at UD. A file cabinet fell on me the first day. A big one.) To avoid the humiliation of the Oikarinen famiily rushing out to find me pinned underneath a heavy glass door, (not to mention the expense and mess of breaking glass), I quickly reacted and pushed up on the door. Breathing a sigh, I figured the door was still in construction (like the rest of the bare apartment) and would be fixed at a later date. Didn’t think to ask at the time and forgot about it.

Last week Tarja and I stopped by Terttu’s (now finished) apartment for fresh strawberries, ice cream, and coffee. (Editor’s note: That combination was really, really good.) When Tarja casually propped the door open, the shock registered on my face. Apparently (duh) doors are made with hinges so only the top is open. Using two side hinge/arms, the door ‘leans forward’, (the bottom stays, the top is open 6 inches) to allow air to circulate.

To add to my wrong-isms, I was wrong in my assumption that the door was created that way to help keep the snow out.
The hinges are made by a company called Fasal, German origin.
Weird. Or have other people seen this before?

posted by irene @ 7/02/2002 07:37:00 AM