If you die in an elevator, be sure to push the ‘up’ button.

Levenson’s line is a compact piece of dark, urban humor that turns a mundane modern setting—the elevator—into a stage for a final, absurd choice. The joke hinges on a last gesture of agency: even in death, one can “choose” direction, and the ‘up’ button wryly suggests ascent, hope, or heaven. It also parodies self-help optimism by pushing it to an impossible extreme, implying that attitude and symbolic action matter even when outcomes are fixed. The quip’s durability comes from its blend of mortality, everyday technology, and a punchline that converts fear into a small, defiant laugh.