literally: “drive chair” / meaning: elevator
On the website of German TV channel Sat.1, you can find an article about the perfect positions for sex in an elevator. So it seems that there are actually people who are concerned with this topic.
I myself know couples who experienced their first kiss while going up together. I’m a little surprised by that. After all, we all know what Germans prefer to do once the sliding door has closed: keeping quiet, avoiding any eye contact, and staring at the floor display. There is, however, one thing that no normal person would do in an elevator, which is sit down and take a rest.
So why do we call it Fahrstuhl then? The term is probably derived from the so-called “flying chair.” This was the name given to one of the first documented elevators. King Louis XV had it installed in Versailles in 1743 so that his mistress could reach his chambers without the hassle of climbing stairs—possibly in a sitting position. If they had known about the Sat.1 website back then, the two of them would have certainly used the Fahrstuhl together.
https://www.tuev-nord.de/explore/de/erzaehlt/eine-kurze-geschichte-des-aufzugs/
