I had a Doctor appointment on Monday. It was my first time at this clinic, and as I was riding in the elevator, I saw something I hadn’t seen before:

I was simultaneously curious and terrified as to what that button might do. It was isolated from all of the other buttons in the elevator, so I couldn’t help but stare. Maybe these are more common in earthquake-prone areas (Californians?) but this was the first one I’ve seen in Seattle.

WikiAnswers has the scoop on the Earthquake button: “The button is used to allow the elevator doors to be open in a safe way and allow the building security etc. to know you are there and need rescue. “