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I have been following with intrest the exchange on ergonomic design
initiated by the designer, Mark. Yes, I heartily agree that many products
designed for nonstandard human beings would be helpful for all.
 
For you science fiction fans, remember the little Watchmaker Moties in
"The Mote in God's Eye"? They came in a variety of sizes, so that they
could get inside any machine, they were obsessively motivated to improve
things, and they were geniuses at fitting a given tool to its individual
owner. I often long for their services when I am brushing my teeth and
trying to get a grip on that skinny handle.
 
Back to doorknobs: My mother is the parinsonian, but I live in a modern
apartment where every door is fitted with smooth glossy round doorknobs.
If the action is the least bit stiff (my bedroom door, unfortunately) I
have to lick the palm of my hand to get enough friction to open the door.
I ask you! There is a reason why old doorknobs were oval, or of faceted
glass .. you could get a grip. I lust after the wonderful ergonomic door
openers I see at design shows (Cooper-Hewitt had a wonderful one some
years ago). But we need ergonomic design at the LOW END of the economic
scale .. so that there will be ergonomic doorknobs in public housing,
tract housing, etc.
 
SO HAS ANYONE DEALT WITH SUCH A DOORKNOB PROBLEM? Covering the knob w bits
of masking tape worked for a while, but is hardly an elegant solution. Is
there some general solution? Some kind of putty? does someone have a
favorite CATALOG of easy-use design? The aids for the disabled I have seen
(as, at Museum of Modern Art) are unbelievably expensive.
 
MARK THE DESIGNER, why so shy about describing or at least categorizing
your product? Unless there are patent-protection reasons, I'm sure we
are all panting to know what solutions you have come up with.