4 ms·

What would be a modern analogy of this I wonder?

fsckboy 6y ago
trash chutes! tall buildings today, especially in NYC but many other places too, have trash chutes on every floor. It's very satisfying to open the door and hear my bag of kitchen trash hit the sides as it falls 250+ feet and slams into the bottom (which is a chute into a trash compactor) one company that cleans them is called 1-800-CHUTE-ME there is also a button in the elevator called "taxi". if you push it, it lights a red light on the end of the awning over the sidewalk out front. Back in the day, a taxi could notice it and stop. You see them around NYC but the taxis don't really pay attention to them any more.
- Nextgrid 6y ago
  Are trash chutes still a thing? Back in France I've seen the existing ones in the older buildings being sealed, presumably due to hygiene concerns (and they are valid - all the chutes I've seen were disgusting and presumably a breeding ground for all kinds of nastiness) and no modern buildings seem to have them.
  - jbullock35 6y ago
    For more than a decade, I've lived exclusively in modern U.S. buildings (built or fully renovated after 1999). I don't think that I've ever seen a building fitting this description that didn't have a trash chute.
  - waste_monk 6y ago
    I would think it's more to prevent fire from moving easily between floors, and perhaps for HVAC efficiency reasons.
    - fsckboy 6y ago
      the trash chute doors on each floor are spring loaded, close automatically, and have a gasket seal, and they are inspected and kept up to spec. they are also in a closet behind an ordinary "residential" fire proof door like the apartment doors. Sealing in/out odor also stops airflow, happy coincidence. there are other ventilation systems that move air all over the building (they bring it in from outside, filter it, condition it, and pump it into hallways (elevator lobbies) up and down the building; it travels under the apartment front doors, and it is sucked out the bathroom vents; it is called "make-up air") These other fans and vent systems also shut down and seal and seal if heat/smoke/fire is detected. buildings are intricately balanced mechanical engineering systems where all the parts are intertwined

trash chutes! tall buildings today, especially in NYC but many other places too, have trash chutes on every floor. It's very satisfying to open the door and hear my bag of kitchen trash hit the sides as it falls 250+ feet and slams into the bottom (which is a chute into a trash compactor) one company that cleans them is called 1-800-CHUTE-ME there is also a button in the elevator called "taxi". if you push it, it lights a red light on the end of the awning over the sidewalk out front. Back in the day, a taxi could notice it and stop. You see them around NYC but the taxis don't really pay attention to them any more.

Nextgrid 6y ago
Are trash chutes still a thing? Back in France I've seen the existing ones in the older buildings being sealed, presumably due to hygiene concerns (and they are valid - all the chutes I've seen were disgusting and presumably a breeding ground for all kinds of nastiness) and no modern buildings seem to have them.
- jbullock35 6y ago
  For more than a decade, I've lived exclusively in modern U.S. buildings (built or fully renovated after 1999). I don't think that I've ever seen a building fitting this description that didn't have a trash chute.
- waste_monk 6y ago
  I would think it's more to prevent fire from moving easily between floors, and perhaps for HVAC efficiency reasons.
  - fsckboy 6y ago
    the trash chute doors on each floor are spring loaded, close automatically, and have a gasket seal, and they are inspected and kept up to spec. they are also in a closet behind an ordinary "residential" fire proof door like the apartment doors. Sealing in/out odor also stops airflow, happy coincidence. there are other ventilation systems that move air all over the building (they bring it in from outside, filter it, condition it, and pump it into hallways (elevator lobbies) up and down the building; it travels under the apartment front doors, and it is sucked out the bathroom vents; it is called "make-up air") These other fans and vent systems also shut down and seal and seal if heat/smoke/fire is detected. buildings are intricately balanced mechanical engineering systems where all the parts are intertwined