Number 13

The hospital building where I work has over 13 floors. To avoid unpleasant feelings toward number 13 that visiting patients and their family members might have, hospital has named the 13th floor as MR floor where Medical Record department resides. The elevators got renovated a few years ago to have the floor numbers displayed on an overhead board and announced by a female voice from a hidden speaker. Red MR will be displayed each time the elevators pass or stop at the MR floor. One day a boy about seven years old rode an elevator up with his mom. His face showed curiosities each time an announcement was made. Finally he cried out, “Mom, mom, the elevator can talk,” which brought out laughs from everyone inside.