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Berlin 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 Roh
by nicbou 3y ago
Berlin 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 disastrous attempts to conquer the German market.
- notyourwork 3y agoShucks, I was in Berlin last week, I wish I'd known this. Next time I'll try to take this tour!
- OfSanguineFire 3y ago> 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.
- pests 3y agoHypermarkets?
- phs318u 3y agoIt’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.
- the_third_wave 3y ago> I’ve yet to see an ultramarket though. Amazon (et al) using VR equipment comes to mind...
- grishka 3y agoAlso "гипермаркет" in Russian
- dredmorbius 3y agoEU variant of the US "big box store", usually w/ integrated groceries / supermarket + department store. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypermarket https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypermarket>
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- resonantjacket5 3y ago(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 'hypermarkets' including fuel, groceries and more. Though, the trend isn't always to ever larger stores. There's Walmart Neighborhood Market and even say small Ikea stores nowadays.
- mohn 3y ago> For example Target used to not include groceries until recently. There was a span of time where many of them didn't, but I was surprised to learn recently that the first ever Target store included groceries. See this 1962-05-03 advertisement[0] for the grand opening. [0] https://i.imgur.com/vayeLPV.jpg https://i.imgur.com/vayeLPV.jpg
- worklaptopacct 3y agoAs 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.
- brnt 3y agoDepends a bit on where you are. In France it's definitely a thing if you live outside of the major cities. In the Netherlands, active government intervention stopped these car-only hypermarkets ("weidemarkten"). Gotta say though, Poland has both, but indeed has a full range from small Zabkas to Auchans at the edge of town (probably not a coincidence it's French brands operating the hypermarkets).
- OfSanguineFire 3y agoPolish hypermarkets, at least in my experience, were never car-only. They were always within the city enough that one could easily use public transportation to shop there. What is car-only in Poland are wholesaler shops like Makro, which are often located well outside cities, but those are not meant for ordinary consumers.
- morkalork 3y agoDepartment stores in the past had this in Canada. Afaik they were used to send money from tills to the backoffice periodically after a certain level of cash in the drawer was reached.
- golem14 3y agoCostco in the bay area had those as well, as recently as 10-15 years ago.
- Cthulhu_ 3y agoI'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.
- DropInIn 3y ago"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." What an interesting way to frame criminality....
- TheSpiceIsLife 3y agoI haven’t been paying much attention recently, and we tend to use bugger all cash here these days, and there are still companies servicing vacuum cash transfer systems here in Australia. I recall seeing such systems in supermarkets and bottle shops, fairly certain the closest supermarket still has a system.
- tempsy 3y agoDoesn't every Costco have this?
- lotsofpulp 3y agoI have never seen it in a Costco in the US.
- tempsy 3y agoI grew up going to Costco in the US and it was definitely a thing long ago.
- pseudosavant 3y agoI’ve seen it in most/all Costco’s I’ve been to.
- rx_tx 3y agoThe one I go to these days (US-CA) discontinued used of the tubes, but they're still present in the ceiling.
- insaneirish 3y agoNew York City had it, too: https://untappedcities.com/2017/10/03/an-illustrated-history-of-nycs-pneumatic-tubes/ https://untappedcities.com/2017/10/03/an-illustrated-history... 27 miles of tubes.
- rplnt 3y agoPrague has/had over 50 km. Was used up until early 00s. Loads of it still exists, it's the last surviving municipal tube system, though not functional at the moment. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_pneumatic_post https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_pneumatic_post
- jaclaz 3y agoA page dedicated to these (city wide) pneumatic networks: http://www.douglas-self.com/MUSEUM/COMMS/pneumess/pneumess.htm http://www.douglas-self.com/MUSEUM/COMMS/pneumess/pneumess.h...
- testtestabcdef 3y agoInteresting you mention this. I remember that the old Kaufland and Real where I usually went to, when I was still living at my mom's place, had them for a very long time. But both stores have been rebuilt, so I guess they got rid of it.
- ant6n 3y ago>> A (highly recommended) Berlin Unterwelten tour covers it. This tour: https://www.berliner-unterwelten.de/en/guided-tours/public-tours/dark-worlds.html https://www.berliner-unterwelten.de/en/guided-tours/public-t...
- weinzierl 3y agoThe largest still in use system is allegedly in a hospital in Munich (Großhadern Clinic). Also the largest German electronics store (think German version of Radio Shack) had such a system in their main store in Hirschau. I was endlessly fascinated about this as kid when the containers with my BC547s, 1N4001s and NE555s where popping out of the tubes.
- MiddleEndian 3y agoI wish the postal system were replaced with a request-only series of pneumatic tubes. Then I would simply never request mail, and life would be slightly more convenient!