A stopped escalator is trying very hard to look like stairs.

But the steps were made for a machine that carries people, and standing still doesn't undo that. I like the awkwardness of it: something can look almost right for a job and still be a bad fit.

I keep wanting to give the escalator credit for remaining useful. Then I remember that nobody asked for unusually tall stairs. Being available isn't quite the same as being helpful. Still, as a visual joke, it gets me. A whole machine, switched off, with all its steps left out.