Around the turn of the century, when this device was first used at Harrod's department store in London, brandy was served to people who felt faint after using it. What was it?

When the world's first commercial "moving staircase" was installed at Harrod's department store in London in 1898, it was a public spectacle. The experience of stepping onto a staircase that moved on its own was so novel and disorienting that many customers were overcome with anxiety. The sensation of vertigo or the fear of falling was a common reaction to this strange new technology. To calm the nerves of these shaken shoppers, store attendants were famously stationed at the top of the landing to offer them a complimentary glass of brandy.

This early device, technically an "inclined elevator," was the invention of an American named Jesse W. Reno. The model at Harrod's was an elaborate affair, constructed from woven mahogany and featuring silver-plate glass paneling. The name we use today was actually a trademark from a rival design by Charles Seeberger, which was later acquired by the Otis Elevator Company. The term "escalator" eventually became the generic name for all moving stairways, a once-frightening invention that has since become an unremarkable part of daily life in malls, airports, and subway stations around the globe.