Just happened to read about pneumatic tubes around the world in The Victorian Internet. Even though pneumatic tubes were invented after the telegraph, they didn't suffer the same congestion issues as the telegraph (because you could send messages in bulk, I guess?). And unlike how telegram were charged by-the-word, pneumatic tube messages were charged a fixed price. The book focused more on the Paris pneumatic tube network than the Berlin one.
People in 1920s Berlin nightclubs flirted via pneumatic tubes (2017)
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Re: People in 1920s Berlin nightclubs flirted via pneumatic tubes (2017)
#102Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hypermarkets?
It’s a common European direct translation. In Greece they’re called υπεραγορά. Which translates directly to hypermarket. And I’m pretty sure that ultra > hyper > super in the general case. I’ve yet to see an ultramarket though.
Also "гипермаркет" in Russian
Re: People in 1920s Berlin nightclubs flirted via pneumatic tubes (2017)
#103Virgin America offered a service like this when I flew with them a decade ago. If you saw someone you liked, you could make a note of their seat number and buy them a drink from your seatback display. If they accepted the drink, you could start texting with them. I never got lucky, but it was a fun concept! https://www.usatoday.com/story/todayinthesky/2013/04/25/virg...
What an awful idea.
Re: People in 1920s Berlin nightclubs flirted via pneumatic tubes (2017)
#104Berlin had one of the largest pneumatic mail systems in the world. A (highly recommended) Berlin Unterwelten tour covers it. There is still a big, beautiful Rohrpost building in Mitte close to the big Synagogue. The Real store at Leopoldplatz has a pneumatic tube system that reaches every cash register. You can see the tubes go up and along the ceiling. I believe that it's one of the failed Walmart stores from their…
> The Real store at Leopoldplatz has a pneumatic tube system that reaches every cash register. Isn’t this pretty common in hypermarkets? I’ve seen systems of pneumatic tubes running from the registers at Auchans or Carrefours in multiple European countries. I imagine that people don’t notice them just because pneumatic tubes are now so little a part of everyday life that one doesn’t even expect to see them.
I've seen them in DIY stores in the Netherlands as well, mainly used to send larger cash sums to the safe... safely.
Most stores will have a lockbox at cash registers where any cash amount over a certain amount is stored in. I'm not sure if these lockboxes have a plain lock or a time lock and are only moved to the safe after closing time though. But most stores also discourage the use of cash, because it puts them at risk of robberies and counterfeits.
Paying with cash is still attractive though, because cash is tax free. That is, no paper trail if you pay for a job by cash and the person doing it doesn't log anything. Very popular with tradespeople.
Re: People in 1920s Berlin nightclubs flirted via pneumatic tubes (2017)
#105Earlier quoted context omitted.
https://feedsee.com/toys/percussion-tubes.html >
I almost bought one of these at a thrift store the other day. They wanted liked $30 for it though.
That sounds cheap for a pretty unique looking electronic instrument though, although the quality will be pretty meh if it's aimed at children.
Re: People in 1920s Berlin nightclubs flirted via pneumatic tubes (2017)
#106Earlier quoted context omitted.
(Mainly usa context) Most of what people commonly call "us supermarkets" are also "hypermarkets". But basically it's combining not only department stores but also with grocery stores. For example Target used to not include groceries until recently. For Walmart it's the difference between their 'regular' Walmart and the Walmart Supercenters. (Target also has their SuperTarget variant) Most of Fred Meyer's are 'hyperma…
As a Pole, I don't think I've heard the term "hypermarket" in like 10 years. There was a boom for all that exaggerated Western-style consumerism, but this kinda died down as medium-sized discount stores took over the majority of the market. Family trips to a shopping center might be a thing of the past - but also I'm not a kid anymore.
Yeah. 15 years ago going to Auchan, Carrefour, Tesco or Real was all the rage. Right now Tesco and Real are dead, and everyone just walks to the nearest Lidl/Aldi/Biedronka
I do miss it. Tesco Value Beer was great.
Re: People in 1920s Berlin nightclubs flirted via pneumatic tubes (2017)
#107Virgin America offered a service like this when I flew with them a decade ago. If you saw someone you liked, you could make a note of their seat number and buy them a drink from your seatback display. If they accepted the drink, you could start texting with them. I never got lucky, but it was a fun concept! https://www.usatoday.com/story/todayinthesky/2013/04/25/virg...
That's pretty uncomfortable, also since 99% of that will be men offering it to women.
Re: People in 1920s Berlin nightclubs flirted via pneumatic tubes (2017)
#108100 years later and with supercomputers in our pockets, we can't do any better - because these devices are so locked down.
I mean, can’t we? If a place wants to they can just add a wifi network with a captive portal which leads patrons to a table-to-table chat system. Or a QR code per table with a flashing light next to it so you know your table have a message even if you haven’t got your phone out. I bet it will be cheaper and easier to maintain than installing pneumatic tubes to every table too.
>captive portal which leads patrons to a table-to-table chat system
The unreliability of captive portals across devices aside, they'll make you download some app you'll never use again, or they'll take your email and spam you later.
Re: People in 1920s Berlin nightclubs flirted via pneumatic tubes (2017)
#109Earlier quoted context omitted.
What on Earth does any of this mean?
A hacker conference (organized by the Chaos Computer Club I'd guess, a famous hacking club of many decades), runs, during the conference (and surely just for fun) their own "silk road" (a clandestine marketplace, named after the namesake "dark web" online marketplace, where people bought drugs and other illegal services) on top of a pneumatic tube network - a network of connected physical pipes used to send messages…
Great breakdown, just adding to it:
> "silk road" (a clandestine marketplace, named after the namesake "dark web" online marketplace...)
The dark web marketplace itself was jokingly named after the original "Silk Road", a "network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century.[2] Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles)" [1]
Re: People in 1920s Berlin nightclubs flirted via pneumatic tubes (2017)
#110Earlier quoted context omitted.
What on Earth does any of this mean?
A hacker conference (organized by the Chaos Computer Club I'd guess, a famous hacking club of many decades), runs, during the conference (and surely just for fun) their own "silk road" (a clandestine marketplace, named after the namesake "dark web" online marketplace, where people bought drugs and other illegal services) on top of a pneumatic tube network - a network of connected physical pipes used to send messages…
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