> This can be a bit annoying if you have your
hands full, but apparently they were specified
that way as a security measure.
>
> For what reason, I don't know.

I'm guessing it's to keep out the evil killer
assassin robots.

The only other thing I can think of is that it
theoretically forces anyone using the elevators
to leave traces of themselves behind. In order
to activate the buttons, they have to use a bare
finger, which leaves behind a fingerprint. But it
seems like a pretty silly "security measure"
that could be gotten around quite easily (by
using, per your example, a piece of metal to
push the button).

Gri"has an alarm clock with buttons like
that"shny