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Berlin Key

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Re: Berlin Key

#131

Post by robk »

eternalny1 wrote: post #118
atoav wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Berlin key ("Berliner Schlüssel") was mostly used in tenements with multiple backyard houses with a common front gate that should be closed at certain times. These kind of arrangements were mostly used in Berlin, hence the name. The other German names for the key describe different aspects of it: "Durchsteckschlüssel" translates to "push-through-key" and "Doppelschlüssel" translates to "double-key". If you are mo…

Please contribute to the Wikipedia page, you seem to have some better information than is there currently.

It would be reverted immediately. Requires external sourcing.

Re: Berlin Key

#132

Post by stevekemp »

Sharlin wrote: post #60
username90 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Most homes where I grew up in Europe had two locks, one which you could open without a key from inside and one which requires it from both sides. Not sure why it was like that, but it feels normal to me.

Around here (Finland) basically all homes have locks that open without a key from the inside, plus optionally an extra lock that needs a key on both sides, for those who desire more security. I presume those extra locks are more common on house doors than apartment doors.

Yeah that's the same as the UK-setup as the parent described.

99% of the time most people use the latch, which would be a Yale lock in the UK, or a Abloy in Finland. You'd usually use the extra-lock if you went on holiday, or something similar. Most of the time it would be unused.

Re: Berlin Key

#133

Post by empressplay »

yesenadam wrote: post #111
School-Cotton wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, TIL. Never realized this was a US-specific thing.

It's not. Same in Australia, I've never seen a house here you need a key to get out of.

If you lock a security / screen door from the outside, you generally cannot open it from the inside without a key

Re: Berlin Key

#134

Post by masklinn »

decebalus1 wrote: post #15
esrauch wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As an American living in Switzerland one thing that has consistently surprised me is the difference in fire safety rules: not having any smoke alarm or fire extinguishers in homes is common, and it's also common to be able to lock people inside rooms/apartments/buildings so that they can't leave without having a key. It's possible to lock someone in my apartment even if they have the key if the door is locked with th…

Don't know about Switzerland, but as an European living in the US, I think the American fire safety rules are what they are mainly because most houses here are basically matchstick houses built from prefab low quality wood which would get devoured by flames in minutes. And the fire-resistant building materials are super toxic when they actually burn. So fire is a very big deal... Anecdotal, we had a fire in my buildi…

> Don't know about Switzerland, but as an European living in the US, I think the American fire safety rules are what they are mainly because most houses here are basically matchstick houses built from prefab low quality wood which would get devoured by flames in minutes. And the fire-resistant building materials are super toxic when they actually burn.

Also US electric plugs are inherent fire hazards, much more so than anything you find in europe.

Re: Berlin Key

#135

Post by nstom »

simias wrote: post #32
7373737373 wrote: post #5

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mengenlehreuhr

Why are you posting this? It doesn't appear related to the OP insofar as they are both encountered in Berlin. Also this clock design seems unnecessarily inefficient. Why divide 24 hours in multiple of 5 hours instead of the much more natural 6? This way it would be a lot easier to decode AM/PM. I realize that it's about art more than practicality but I don't really understand why that encoding was chosen.

I think it has to do with design. They wanted to make the two top rows have the same amount of lights. Using 6 would mean one row of 6 lights and one of 4. 5^2 is the smallest square that provides enough values to fit 24 hours.

Re: Berlin Key

#136

Post by Schmazo »

I'm reminded of an old Weekly World News article in which a man tiring of losing his keys so often took the drastic step of having a surgeon implant keys at the end of of his fingers, so he could never lose a key again!

The photo they used to accompany the outrageous story was hilarious. Nowadays, that doesn't seem as far-fetched of an idea, with somewhat similar futuristic key implant methods becoming more readily available.

Re: Berlin Key

#137

Post by barking »

It's kind of confusing but easier to understand when you consider the primary goal which is to force people to lock the door.

This is achieved by only allowing the key to be inserted or removed when it's in the locked position. The push through is to allow them to lock the door on either side.

1: it's a key that can only be inserted or removed when in the locked position.

2: It can be only be pushed from one side to the other when in the unlocked position

Therefore you can unlock the door on one side to let someone in, lock the door on the same side and remove your key again. Alternatively you can unlock the door then push the key to the other side, lock the door on the other side and remove your key.

Re: Berlin Key

#138

Post by twic »

peteretep wrote: post #126
briandear wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An extra 2800 people out of a population of 380 million? Statistically meaningless.

The victim death count from 9/11 was 2,977, and that appeared to have at least some effect on the American psyche

The deaths didn't. The news coverage of the deaths did.

Re: Berlin Key

#139

Post by cyborgx7 »

My father lives in Berlin, and before his last move a few years ago he had one of these for his house key. Never knew they were so specific to Berlin.

Re: Berlin Key

#140

Post by twic »

blattimwind wrote: post #114
jotm wrote: post #106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can replace the lock with one of these: https://5.imimg.com/data5/EI/SP/MY-3690463/hardwyn-hcl-301-2...

I don't think I ever saw these used in a residential setting. Commercial buildings are a different story.

I have locks like this in my home. I got a new front door and locks when i moved in [1], and the locksmith offered me the option of these (it's called a thumbturn lock here), which of course i took, because it means you don't need a key to hand to open to door to let someone in, or to escape a fire.

[1] because the previous owner's tenants had broken the door down at some point, and he had replaced it with an internal door, in which for some reason he had installed the lock upside-down

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