Do you ever see or experience something and think “I really have no idea how the world works?” It could be finally discovering the inside of an ATM, or realizing that the internet is really just a hair-thin cable. This viral TikTok is just another one of those instances, proving that elevator phones are another one of those great mysteries of the universe.
Sydney Utendahl was minding her own business in an elevator when she heard some sort of voice from above. She realized that someone was speaking through the intercom, and after she responded, they asked if they were speaking with the United States Department of Education. When she said no, and told him he was speaking with an elevator, he was shockingly chill with it. She proceeded to tell him that she had no idea how to hang up so he ended the call, leaving her in disbelief.
Commenters are just as confused as Sydney, delighting in her reaction to having to play receptionist for the Department of Education. One person even joked that that particular elevator may as well be the Department of Education in the United States. Several people even had some advice on how to hang up, should that ever happen to her again somehow. They told her to hit the “Call Cancel” button, to which she responded that she was already overwhelmed by her new unpaid receptionist gig, and she wasn’t about to tackle elevator buttons too. Viewers also heavily sympathized with the man who made the call, imagining him working up all of his courage to dial the number and ending up with an elevator. “The way I wouldn’t ever make a phone call again,” one commenter said.
According to responses on a Reddit post about elevator phones, they have to have designated phone lines so that they can contact emergency services in the event that there is a fire, it gets stuck, or there is some other kind of incident. Because they can’t simply have a direct connection to 911, elevators work like any other type of phone, but only have buttons to contact dispatchers. Apparently, this means that people can mistakenly call elevators, but people in elevators can’t call anyone but the police.
If you ever find yourself in a situation like this one, at least now you know exactly what is going on. You may even get the opportunity to have some fun of your own with a caller who is searching for the Department of Education or a doctor’s office.