Over the past couple of decades, ATMs and online accounts have just about killed the drive-thru window at the bank. That’s been bad for the companies that sell pneumatic tubes — you know, canisters ...

Pneumatic tubes were supposed to revolutionize the world but have fallen by the wayside. Except in hospitals. Pneumatic tubes were touted as something that would revolutionize the world. In science ...

Elon Musk is not the first inventor to put his hopes into vacuums. Respect to the Hyperloop, but pneumatic tubes have a centuries-long history -- in both human infrastructure and in the minds of ...

“N.Y. Post Office Pneumatic Tube” c. 1912. Photo via Library of Congress Today, we’ll show you where some remnants of the system are and where pneumatic tubes are still used in the city. Not only is ...

It takes work to go upstairs, but it doesn’t have to. That’s why elevators were invented. If you want an elevator in your home, though, it takes some serious construction. Why not travel through ...

In our "Weekly Innovation" blog series, we explore an interesting idea, design or product that you may not have heard of yet. Do you have an innovation to share? Use this quick form. When Jeff ...

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our ...

This is the 20th in a 24-part series looking at every episode of “The Jetsons” TV show from the original 1962-63 season. “We may take it for granted that every well-equipped business office will be in ...

Once it’s swallowed up by a series of pneumatic tubes, the canister embarks on a dark, shadowy journey unseen by the human eye. But now we have GoPros, and now we can see exactly what the inside of a ...

Hyperloops burst onto the scene in 2013. Elon Musk detailed a new type of train service in a low-pressure tube that would reach speeds up to 760 mph. The train would float on a cushion of air and be ...