the.com/stairway
A machine for cheating gravity, one little victory at a time.
means A set of steps connecting different levels of a building, usually flanked by a handrail.
from A plain English compound: "stair" plus "way." The "stair" half traces back to Old English "stæger," tied to a Germanic root meaning to climb or mount — a cousin of the same family that gives us "sty" in the sense of rising up. "Way" is the ancient Old English "weg," a path or road. So a stairway is, quite literally, a climbing-road.
ideal stepRiser plus tread roughly equals one human stride
spiral logicCastle stairs curved clockwise to favor right-handed defenders
escher's revengePenrose stairs climb forever yet go nowhere
hidden dangerStairs cause over a million injuries yearly
sacred ascentMany temples stack steps as a path toward gods