A staircase is a way for people to walk to a different height. They can be pretty, but they don't need to be clever, cool, or artful. They need to be safe! Just ask anyone who's ever fallen down a flight. The stairs above are carpeted, but there was no need to use a striped pattern that changes direction randomly. You can't just shut your eyes and hold the handrail, either, since the stairs themselves change direction close to the landing. Or do they? A staircase is the last place you want optical illusions. Other stairs can be dangerous because they lack handrails for the sake of style, or they won't accommodate your feet. Then there are ancient staircases that were built to access places that are just too steep.
(Image credit: Felipe Muniz)Sure, the angle probably makes these look worse than they really are, but I would be holding onto the chain rail for dear life. Bored Panda has a ranked list of 50 such confusing, scary, wacky, and/or dangerous stairs. Nice to look at, but you don't want to use them.