@Gargron

On the one hand, some people can't operate them, and that blows

On the other hand neither can dogs and cats and that's honestly a relief

@Gargron

The best doorknobs I have ever "handled" are at the #gevangenismuseum in #veenhuizen in the #netherlands . These handles look and feel like the handle of an expensive knife. They installed them all over the building, and they are a joy to use. Obviously they are not knobs as such. But indeed why, oh why, would anyone choose a knob instead of a perfectly normal handle? What knobhead would do that?

@Gargron My Aunt's house in the UK has a doorknob in the bathroom that has been successfully trapping small children inside for at least 26 years and counting at this point.

@Gargron Joking aside, however, I've long suspected that modern-style smooth doorknobs are at least partly conceived with small children in mind, to promote their safety. Small kids and some pets can understand their principle, but have a hard time operating them.

@Gargron Through most of history, most doorknobs were textured in some way to make them easier to manipulate. Check out the knurled metal jobs in great old buildings, or the decorative 'crystal' designs in many older homes. Some of the oldest ones aren't even knobs, but rotating levers. Modern smooth ones are only about a hundred years old, if that, and are apparently the product of 'modernist' sensibilities by psychos.

@Gargron

You're making Aunt Clara cry!

@Gargron
Just wait until you bang your thigh into one. Leaves a real mark!

@Gargron
Yes! And:
Toilet doors should never require pulling open when leaving; that just concentrates dirty/wet hands touching the same places.
Pull to get in, push to get out.

@Gargron I replaced front exterior door hardware with a lockset that has a knob on the outside for safety and lever on the inside for accessibility - yes, you can buy them with that configuration. Back door has a number pad deadbolt and non-locking lever. If I need help (I'm disabled) and can't get to a door, trusted folks can get in the back door with their programmed personal code. No need to hand out keys. Also good for when my husband locks himself out of the house.

@Gargron so you’re saying, Eugen 0 Doorknob 1?

@Gargron

our house came with these:

they're pretty great when your arms are loaded, you can still fumble your way in

one closet hides behind it a giant bag of dry cat food

our cat watches intently from down the hall when we refill their bowl from this closet

the cat is perfectly physically capable of operating the handle

but it hasn't figured it out yet (or it knows we exist to serve it)

@Gargron Doorknobs are made of brass for it's antibacterial properties, and designed to maximise contact before anyone has to shake hands. Levers are easier to operate, but should only be used if your visitors will have already been thoroughly scrubbed.

@Gargron Taking a smug look at my door handles.

@Gargron
Doorknobs should only be used on the kind of latch that's basically a roller on a spring so pulls to open without turning...

@Gargron we have handles on all the critical, exterior doors on the inside leading out and knobs on the side leading in. Apparently spouse retrofitted two knob sets for safe egress, but didn’t want to spring for full replacement and says knobs are harder to force open.
Now looking and interior doors (that mostly stay open) have salvaged antique interesting knobs. And one has a cool salvaged lever opener.

@Gargron Time to replace them! Very easy task. Maybe 10 min a door. Future residents needing to use the door will thank you. Instantly makes the door feel "new" and "fresh."

@Gargron The first thing I did when I bought my house in 2007, was replace all the doorknobs with handles.

@Gargron living in a house where it's been "upgraded" for seniors and every single knob is now a lever that snags everything that passes makes me wish for knobs.

@Gargron Given that we typically do not hear such vitriolic statements coming from you, I am trying to imagine what horrific struggle occurred that prompted this strongly worded toot. 😅

@Gargron Real world user interface design is a fascinating subject. VAST numbers of shop doors with a pull handle that must be pushed - it is there for 1 use a day - to pull the door shut when the shop is shut.

@Gargron Well, in other parts of the world, doors have handles not knobs. You can open them with an elbow :)

@Gargron
Am I wrong in assuming the world can be divided in geographical areas based on whether doors in that area have knobs or handles? And maybe there are areas where both are equally used?

This assumption stems from the fact that I've yet to encounter a single door knob here where I've been living for over 40 years. We only have handles here.

Further yet, it would be interesting to learn what, if any, cultural factors are at play behind this phenomenon.

@Gargron Wait until you hear of the relationship between diabetics with insulin pumps and doorknobs...

*walks by door*
*insulin pump tube somehow gets caught*
*insulin pump and infusion site get yanked*

@Gargron With 40+ years of experience in opening doors, I'm ready to campaign for automatic sliding doors everywhere

(wheelchair user here 😂)

@Gargron They are really good for keeping cats from opening doors, though.

@gargron which is why we don't have them in use here.

@Gargron No knobs in my house.

@Gargron Did your cat hijack your account?

@Gargron Certainly a violation of accessibility guidelines.

@Gargron @WeirdWriter has a good text about them: https://sightlessscribbles.com/posts/doorknob-hostility/