The headline is a bit wrong: the tubes don’t seem to be returning, it’s mostly talking about an industry they never left: hospitals. They are fancier now, though.
I remember seeing these Costco tubes as a kid in the 90s. Thought it was the coolest fucking thing, the vertical pipe going up from each cashier and making a maze of pipes all heading somewhere on the ceiling
We used to use them for the same thing in Kmart (Australia) when I worked there 20 years ago. They were used to clear the float so you didn't have too much cash in the register. Now that 90% of transactions are on card I bet they don't use them anymore.
As computers and credit cards started to become more prevalent in the 1980s, reducing paperwork significantly, the systems shifted to mostly carrying lab specimens, pharmaceuticals, and blood products. Today, lab specimens are roughly 60% of what hospital tube systems carry; pharmaceuticals account for 30%, and blood products for phlebotomy make up 5%.
I initially thought it's because of IT-security and the hospital hacks.
The Hyperloop was very successful, it prevented billions of dollars of investment in mass transit, then evaporated before it could reduce the market for cars.
"grisly results". Are you sure? I think the pressure failure of the Titan submarine was closer to "grisly". Transit tube failure scores lower on the pressure failure scale. /jk
I want one to get beer from the fridge to the couch. I could move the fridge next to the couch, but if a pneumatic system is an option, I assume I don't have to explain which would be the better choice by a land slide. Cool beers on the couch, in the garden, in the bath tub, etc. I could fire my wife.
Of course I'm joking, I would never exchange my wife for a pneumatic tube system. I don't have a wife.
When I was young I remember that banks often had large drive-thrus with pneumatic tube systems at each car stall.
There would only be one teller but they could serve quite a few lanes.
If you wanted a cash withdrawal, you might put your ID and your withdrawal slip in the tube, and a few minutes later it would come back with cash in it.
It was pretty rad. But ATMs seem like a better bet overall.
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