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A Series of Tubes

99% Invisible

00:00

Pneumatic Tubes Are Magic

The biggest pneumatic tube systems had problems that required some creative troubleshooting Paris had an interesting mechanism in case there was a blockage Someone would fire a gun Into the tube and be able to figure out to within I guess two meters or so where the blockage was. The thing that put them out of business in the United States Was the invention of the truck  in 1912. Trucks are fine at all, but they just don't capture the imagination like a massive pneumatic tubes network as silly as such a thing might seem today.

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