1.41. A man enters the elevator of a high rise
apartment building, takes off one glove, and pushes the button for the tenth
floor. The next day, the same man enters the elevator, puts on one
glove, and pushes the button for the tenth floor. (RA original)

1.41 answer: The man is blind. His first time in the elevator, he’s
wearing gloves; the elevator uses buttons that work by electrical conduction
through the skin; they light up at the slightest touch, but not through a
glove. The man thus has to remove a glove to get the button to work. But
he discovers that first day that as he runs his ungloved hand over the
buttons to find the tenth floor, all the buttons are activated, and the
elevator stops at all the floors. So from then on, he carries a glove with
him; he puts it on when he enters the elevator, finds the right button with
his gloved hand, then uses his ungloved hand to press the tenth-floor
button. (Note that even if the buttons are labeled in Braille, it’s hard to
avoid brushing against a button and sending the elevator to the wrong
floor.)