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How do you open the refrigerator?
At my new job there is a refrigerator
where employees
put their lunches. The first time I tried to
open the refrigerator I didn't see
a handle on the front, but I found
one on the left side of the door. (See arrow.)
I pulled on the handle, but the door would not open.
I thought maybe the refrigerator door had a really
strong seal, so I pulled harder. I pulled so hard the whole
refrigerator started moving! Someone standing nearby
told me, "It opens from the other side.
I had the same problem when I first tried to
open it."
I looked on the right side of the refrigerator and sure enough, there was a handle there too! When I pulled on that handle, the refrigerator door opened easily.
Apparently, the refrigerator door was designed so it could be hinged on either the left or the right side. Thus, handles were put on both sides. However, people only expect to see one handle on a refrigerator door. When the handle doesn't work, they assume the door is stuck or locked.
Design suggestion
It would be best to put a handle on the front of a refrigerator door so that it can be easily seen. On a reversible door with handles on both sides of the door, there should be a way of removing or concealing the handle on the hinged side. There should not be visible handles on both sides!
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Copyright © Michael J. Darnell 1996-2010. All rights reserved.
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