Saturday Puzzle Time

Here is a puzzle which was not on my list but one I handled many years ago. Many thanks to Shalu in Chennai for sending it to me.

There is a man who lives on the top floor of a very tall building. Everyday he gets the elevator down to the ground floor to leave the building to go to work. Upon returning from work though, he can only travel half way
up in the lift and has to walk the rest of the way unless it's raining!

Why?

(This is probably the best known and most celebrated of all lateral thinking puzzles. It is a true classic. Although there are many possible solutions which fit the initial conditions, only the canonical answer is truly satisfying. )

(Left to right) Ritesh, Santosh, me, Prof. Mohanan,
Vamsi, Joanna


Ritesh takes a picture of (right to left)
Vamsi, Dr. Mohanan, Santosh and me
at Nallikari Beach at midnight, Thursday

Also, thanks to Ritesh for sending me these two pictures of our Thursday Findians get-together in Oulu.