--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was like falling down an elevator…" description: "\"It was like falling down an elevator shaft and landing in a pool full of mermaids.\" — Hunter S. Thompson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/560/hunter-s-thompson-278_elevators_it-was-like-falling-down-an-elevator-sha_1535460.jpg" --- # It was like falling down an elevator shaft and landing in… ![“It was like falling down an elevator shaft and landing in a pool full of mermaids.” quote by Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/560/hunter-s-thompson-278_elevators_it-was-like-falling-down-an-elevator-sha_1535460.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/560/hunter-s-thompson-278_elevators_it-was-like-falling-down-an-elevator-sha_1535460.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/560/hunter-s-thompson-278_elevators_it-was-like-falling-down-an-elevator-sha_1535460.jpg) > “It was like falling down an elevator shaft and landing in a pool full of mermaids.” [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A chaotic, surreal experience feels both terrifying and enchanting, like falling into an unexpected, fantastical world. **In simple terms:** A wild, strange event can be both scary and beautiful. Key Takeaway Embrace the unknown, even when it feels unsettling. Themes surrealism adventure danger beauty Mood intense curious playful Type metaphorical literary When to use this quote - creative writing - nightlife - personal crisis - psychedelic trips Key Concepts existential dread wonder contradiction Questions to Reflect On - What unexpected beauty have you found in a frightening situation? - How do you balance fear and fascination? A Different Perspective The metaphor may exaggerate, obscuring practical reality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Elevators](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elevators/) [Fall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall/) [Falling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falling/) [Falling down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falling-down/) [Falling Elevator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falling-elevator-2598689/) [Landing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landing/) [Like Falling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-falling/) [Mermaid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mermaid/) [Mermaids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mermaids/) [Pool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pool/) [Pool Mermaids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pool-mermaids-5707320/) ## Related quotes > [“Thompson was inundated with fan mail and phone calls, which he said was like "falling down an elevator shaft and landing in a pool…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/thompson-was-inundated-with-fan-mail-and-phone-calls-which-he-said/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“But it could also be an enslavement, a hell , to keep searching for the enchanted , keep plunging down, down to the lonely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marisha-pessl/but-it-could-also-be-an-enslavement-a-hell-to-keep-searching-for-the/) [Marisha Pessl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marisha-pessl/) > [For a time, I believed not in God nor Santa Claus, but in mermaids. They seemed as logical and possible to me as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/for-a-time-i-believed-not-in-god-nor-santa-claus-but-in-mermaids-they/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“Are you going to distract me by playing footsie?" "Absolutely, princess," he says with a wink. "Then I won't remember a thing." "It's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tera-lynn-childs/are-you-going-to-distract-me-by-playing-footsie-absolutely-princess/) [Tera Lynn Childs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tera-lynn-childs/) > [I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. I do not think that they will sing to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-heard-the-mermaids-singing-each-to-each-i-do-not-think-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“No I am not Prince Hamlet nor was meant to be Am an attendant lord one that will do To swell a progress start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/no-i-am-not-prince-hamlet-nor-was-meant-to-be-am-an-attendant-lord/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [“Even if they are fictional, I always thought that mermaids were beautiful creatures. Of course, they don’t compare to you, but still…”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniele-lanzarotta/even-if-they-are-fictional-i-always-thought-that-mermaids-were/) [Daniele Lanzarotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniele-lanzarotta/) > [Aye, tough mermaids are, the lot of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blackbeard/aye-tough-mermaids-are-the-lot-of-them/) [Blackbeard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blackbeard/) > [I think every little girl is fascinated with mermaids whether you are familiar with 'Splash' or 'Little Mermaid' or things like that. I did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jojo/i-think-every-little-girl-is-fascinated-with-mermaids-whether-you-are/) [JoJo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jojo/) > [“And strange were the tales of the pond in the meadow, And eager we listened with eyes opened wide To Those tales often told…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-withers/and-strange-were-the-tales-of-the-pond-in-the-meadow-and-eager-we/) [J.R. Withers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-withers/) > [“...either I’m losing my mind, or I saw mermaids." --Alec Costner, The Mermaid Coast”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-woolcott/either-i-m-losing-my-mind-or-i-saw-mermaids-alec-costner-the-mermaid/) [Robert Woolcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-woolcott/) > [Oh love, rose made wet by mermaids and foams, fire that dances and climbs up the invisible stairs and awakens the blood in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/oh-love-rose-made-wet-by-mermaids-and-foams-fire-that-dances-and/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [“You'll do fine." "What, you're psychic now?" "Didn't you know?" he asks seriously. "Must be an aftereffect of the bond.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tera-lynn-childs/you-ll-do-fine-what-you-re-psychic-now-didn-t-you-know-he-asks/) [Tera Lynn Childs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tera-lynn-childs/) > [The other day when we were reading The Little Mermaid again, at the part where it says that only human souls can go up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ekaterina-gordeeva/the-other-day-when-we-were-reading-the-little-mermaid-again-at-the/) [Ekaterina Gordeeva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ekaterina-gordeeva/) > [Old ladies in wheelchairs with blankets over their legs, I don't think so...retired mermaids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-jones/old-ladies-in-wheelchairs-with-blankets-over-their-legs-i-don-t-think/) [Milton Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-jones/) ## More by Hunter S. Thompson > [“There was also the fact that sending a penniless writer to get $135 worth of beer was — as Khrushchev said of Nixon —…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/there-was-also-the-fact-that-sending-a-penniless-writer-to-get-135/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“Cases of champagne and scotch lay broken in the street, and everyone I saw had a bottle. They were screaming and dancing, and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/cases-of-champagne-and-scotch-lay-broken-in-the-street-and-everyone-i/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [No music + Bad TV = Bad mood & no pages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/no-music-bad-tv-bad-mood-no-pages/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [By disgracing and degrading the presidency of the United States, by fleeing the White House like a diseased cur, Richard Nixon broke the heart…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/by-disgracing-and-degrading-the-presidency-of-the-united-states-by/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [No one holds command over me. No man. No god. No Prince. What is a claim of age for ones who are immortal? What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/no-one-holds-command-over-me-no-man-no-god-no-prince-what-is-a-claim/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“The person who doesn't scatter the morning dew will not comb grey hairs”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/the-person-who-doesn-t-scatter-the-morning-dew-will-not-comb-grey/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Hope rises and dreams flicker and die. Love plans for tomorrow and loneliness thinks of yesterday. Life is beautiful and living is pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/hope-rises-and-dreams-flicker-and-die-love-plans-for-tomorrow-and/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [If we get chased out of Iraq with our tail between our legs, that will be the fifth consecutive Third-world country with no hint…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/if-we-get-chased-out-of-iraq-with-our-tail-between-our-legs-that-will/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [At age 22 I set what I insist is an all-time record for distance hitchhiking in Bermuda shorts: 3,700 miles in three weeks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/at-age-22-i-set-what-i-insist-is-an-all-time-record-for-distance/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [Paranoia is just another mask for ignorance. The truth, when you finally chase it down is almost always far worse than your darkest visions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/paranoia-is-just-another-mask-for-ignorance-the-truth-when-you/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“No doubt they all Got What Was Coming To Them. All those pathetically eager acid freaks who thought they could buy Peace and Understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/no-doubt-they-all-got-what-was-coming-to-them-all-those-pathetically/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“For several months they'd been drifting toward political involvement, but the picture was hazy and one of the most confusing elements was their geographical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/for-several-months-they-d-been-drifting-toward-political-involvement/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [He wandered into the Newsroom and asked for a job the same way he’d walk into a barbershop and ask for a haircut, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/he-wandered-into-the-newsroom-and-asked-for-a-job-the-same-way-he-d/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [There's no point in getting into politics at all unless you plan to lash things around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/there-s-no-point-in-getting-into-politics-at-all-unless-you-plan-to/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [There’s a lot of things wrong with this country, but one of the few things still right with it is that a man can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/there-s-a-lot-of-things-wrong-with-this-country-but-one-of-the-few/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) [Explore all 765 Hunter S. Thompson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) ## More Elevators quotes > [The elevator to success is out of order. You'll have to use the stairs... one step at a time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-girard/the-elevator-to-success-is-out-of-order-you-ll-have-to-use-the-stairs/) [Joe Girard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-girard/) > [Every time I get in an elevator, the operator says the same thing to me: 'Basement?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-dangerfield/every-time-i-get-in-an-elevator-the-operator-says-the-same-thing-to/) [Rodney Dangerfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-dangerfield/) > [Almost all of us have an elevator or two in our lives somewhere. We wait for them, we ride on them. We're annoyed by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-rooney/almost-all-of-us-have-an-elevator-or-two-in-our-lives-somewhere-we/) [Andy Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-rooney/) > [The elevator shaft was a kind of heat sink. Hot food was cold by the time it arrived. Cold food got colder. No one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-elevator-shaft-was-a-kind-of-heat-sink-hot-food-was-cold-by-the/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [(At the back of the cave, Phoebe placed her hand against one of the stones where a spring release opened an elevator door. Chris…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/at-the-back-of-the-cave-phoebe-placed-her-hand-against-one-of-the/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [Life tells you to take the elevator, but love tells you to take the stairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/life-tells-you-to-take-the-elevator-but-love-tells-you-to-take-the/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [As a kid, I knew I wanted to be either a cartoonist or an astronaut. The latter was never much of a possibility, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/as-a-kid-i-knew-i-wanted-to-be-either-a-cartoonist-or-an-astronaut/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [I'm afraid of elevators, because they are an enclosed space, but I get in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-lindhout/i-m-afraid-of-elevators-because-they-are-an-enclosed-space-but-i-get/) [Amanda Lindhout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-lindhout/) > [After seeing 'Big,' I wanted an elevator that opened directly into my apartment, just like Tom Hanks did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/macaulay-culkin/after-seeing-big-i-wanted-an-elevator-that-opened-directly-into-my/) [Macaulay Culkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/macaulay-culkin/) > [Before, I would play a little hoops, a little tennis. Now it's more yoga, Pilates, stretching, some light weight work, push-ups, sit-ups, resistance things.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-roberts/before-i-would-play-a-little-hoops-a-little-tennis-now-it-s-more-yoga/) [Robin Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-roberts/) > [You may cut off the heads of every rich man now living--of every statesman--every literary, and every scientific authority, without in the least changing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/you-may-cut-off-the-heads-of-every-rich-man-now-living-of-every/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [We have a weight limit for elevators but not for leggings. Why damn why?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/we-have-a-weight-limit-for-elevators-but-not-for-leggings-why-damn-why/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [I'm not a drinker, my body won't tolerate...eh...spirits, really. I had two martinis New Years Eve and I tried to hi-jack an elevator and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/i-m-not-a-drinker-my-body-won-t-tolerate-eh-spirits-really-i-had-two/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [Standing facing the door in an elevator and pretending you're the only person there, no matter how crowded it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/standing-facing-the-door-in-an-elevator-and-pretending-you-re-the/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I'm gonna be so mad when my mood elevators wear off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-walker/i-m-gonna-be-so-mad-when-my-mood-elevators-wear-off/) [Karen Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-walker/) [Browse all 231 Elevators quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elevators/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It was like falling down an elevator shaft and landing in a pool full of mermaids.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Hunter S. 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