the.com/turnstile
A revolving bouncer that lets you pass only one stubborn quarter-spin at a time.
means A mechanical gate of horizontal arms that rotates to admit people one at a time, often after a fare or ticket.
from A plain English compound that does exactly what it says: "turn" plus "stile." A stile was originally a set of steps or a barrier letting walkers cross a fence or wall while keeping livestock penned in — the word is old English, related to the root for "climb" or "mount." Add "turn" and you get a stile that spins instead of one you step over: the same idea of letting a person through while blocking everything else, now mounted on a pivot.
- first patent
- Patented in 1888 for Coney Island crowds
- original job
- Invented to control cattle, not commuters
- fare evasion
- NYC loses over 100 million yearly to jumpers
- counting clicks
- Built to tally heads, not just block them
- name meaning
- Literally a stile that turns
new york subway turnstile — iconic rotating gate in nyc subway system, installed since 1953, prevents fare evasion with each swipe
band turnstile — american heavy metal band from brooklyn formed in 2010, known for albums 'pressure to succeed' and 'gutter'