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People in 1920s Berlin nightclubs flirted via pneumatic tubes (2017)
- foobiekr 3y agoFor RPGers, this is one of the many elements from that time that show up in "Berlin: The Wicked City" for Call of Cthulhu. It doesn't get the attention that it deserves as a module and setting. Weimar Berlin is practically mythos-tastic in and of itself.
- dmonitor 3y agoi can imagine why people aren’t so enthusiastic about role playing early 20th century germans
- rodgerd 3y agoGermany, up until the rise of the Nazis, was a popular destination for Eastern Jews fleeing pogroms, a centre of sexuality research, cutting-edge culture for music and film. We should do a better job of remembering that, because the reason none of that survives is "the Nazis murdered everyone". Particularly given the direct adoption of Nazi-era phraseology in modern political movements.
- jojobas 3y ago[flagged]
- Gabriel_Martin 3y agoWhat point are you making here exactly?
- rodgerd 3y ago"The Holocaust was good because gays, homosexuals, and jazz shouldn't exist" is a very Nazi take.
- jojobas 3y agoThey didn't attract voters by peddling Holocaust, they came to power on the promise of tackling the perceived immorality of drugged-up parties, child prostitution and its contrast with poverty. Yes, "stolen victory" too, but who would care about that if the country wasn't in disarray?
- INGSOCIALITE 3y agoI can’t reply to the post below yours for some reason so I’ll hijack here… In 1923 at the height of hyperinflation the price of a loaf of bread was 100 billion marks, compared to 1 mark just 4 years prior.
- femiagbabiaka 3y agoLuxembergism was the adequate reaction, the Nazi Party, even at that time, was just as corrupt and depraved.
- jojobas 3y agoThe cutthroats who ran the revolution won't cede power to anyone, they didn't risk their lives for that. Every revolution is followed by the spider can where the most ruthless kill the rest.
- femiagbabiaka 3y agoHrm. I think you're right, but my mind has now gone to Ukraine.
- Gabriel_Martin 3y agoEvery other day I hear a reactionary takes on behaviors that would have been called "sexual bolshevism" at the time. Scary times.
- jojobas 3y agoAre you using the term Bolshevism in a positive sense, seriously?
- goos 3y agoI.. don't think that's what they're doing at all. "Sexual Bolshevism" was used in a derogatory sense by the Nazis, criticizing more liberal sexual views and practices by implying it was related to the Russian Bolsheviks. I think what the above poster is doing is comparing similar critique heard today, to what the Nazis were saying back then.
- jojobas 3y agoSo, if the Nazis hated it, it must be good... right?
- goos 3y agoI'm not entirely sure what point you're trying to make – things don't only exist within a spectrum of good and bad. The context of the thread was that, like modern western culture, early 20th century German culture was highly stratified, and as such, increasingly polarizing. So far I think your comments support this comparison.
- Gabriel_Martin 3y agoThe other reply is correct, I'm referencing the Nazi's brand of rhetoric. Today's rhetoric has the charming variety of "exactly the same" to "distinctly similar". Blood libel, for example being exactly the same as what Qanon believer espouse, and reactionary rhetoric about drag performers being distinctly similar to "degenerate art". A 1500 person poll had 50% of Republicans believing in a pedophile cult among democrat Elites[1]. 25% identify as believing in Qanon, which is literally blood libel [2]. So no, not using it in a positive sense, at all. 1: https://today.yougov.com/topics/politics/articles-reports/2022/03/30/which-groups-americans-believe-conspiracies https://today.yougov.com/topics/politics/articles-reports/20... 2: https://www.prri.org/research/the-persistence-of-qanon-in-the-post-trump-era-an-analysis-of-who-believes-the-conspiracies/ https://www.prri.org/research/the-persistence-of-qanon-in-th... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Bolshevism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Bolshevism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_libel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_libel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degenerate_art https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degenerate_art
- Barrin92 3y agoYes, it's sad how little attention that period of German history gets especially abroad. Babylon Berlin is a fantastic German TV production that captures the cultural side of the late Weimar period very well.
- ghaff 3y agoOf course, the musical Cabaret as well. Based on Christopher Isherwood's writings. Unsurprisingly, the film sanitizes things a little bit and makes it into a Liza Minnelli star vehicle--which actually improves on some book problems with the stage version but sort of makes it less interesting overall. Still worth a watch though. The stage version is still playing in London. The play uses the idea of being able to phone another table as well.
- amanaplanacanal 3y agoI just watched this for the first time a couple of weeks ago. Enjoyable film, though I actually cried at the end, knowing what was about to happen there.
- Archelaos 3y agoTo get an insight into the time, I can highly recommend reading the diaries of Harry Graf Kessler.[1] Extensive excerpts are available in English translation under the title: "Berlin in Lights". [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Graf_Kessler https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Graf_Kessler
- treprinum 3y agoI guess its end by hyperinflation followed by nazis is not something people would be proud of.
- boondoggle16 3y agodon't forget the civil war!
- pgreenwood 3y ago
- TRiG_Ireland 3y agoA reminder that the famous photos of Nazi book burnings were mostly burning Hirshfield's research into the lives of trans people.
- zokier 3y ago> It doesn't get the attention that it deserves as a module and setting. Weimar Berlin is practically mythos-tastic in and of itself. I suspect weimar berlin is just pretty difficult setting to utilize; in particular you would be trying to draw inspiration from and evoke art/media of the time, which in this case would be stuff like German expressionist cinema and modernist literature which do not have exactly mass-market appral, compared to e.g. victorian era works.
- TillE 3y agoRPG setting books can be a ton of fun even if you're not into roleplaying per se. I picked up one of the AD&D Lankhmar books as a kid, and while I love Fritz Leiber, reading those books can immerse you in a richly detailed world in a way that Leiber's original work doesn't quite do. That probably applies even more to Lovecraft, who's one of my favorite writers, but I know plenty of people who don't like his writing but are really into Call of Cthulhu and other Mythos stuff.
- butterisgood 3y agoI love getting pneumail!
- FirmwareBurner 3y agoAmazon is announcing the new Pneumail Prime Cannon, it fires your orders directly from the van mounted turret, across your fence and into your living room through your window.
- krisoft 3y agoDelivero have these super unrealistic estimates sometimes. The food is still being cooked at the other side of town but they estimate it might be delivered in a minute. Always makes me think of cannon or ballistic missile based burito delivery. Because even with that the estimate is probably overly optimistic.
- billyoh 3y agoReminds me, there was a nightclub in Newcastle-upon-Tyne way back in the 1980s which had a telephone on each table. If you fancied someone on another table you'd dial their table phone and strike up a chat. Can't remember the name of the club but it was on Market Street somewhere. Good times!
- comprev 3y agoBasically an exchange trading pit but with music :-)
- Luc 3y agoTuxedo Junction
- daggersandscars 3y agoThe US Max & Erma’s restaurant chain had this in the ‘80s as well.
- gonzo 3y agoThe club in Newcastle was Tuxedo Junction. there was a short-lived clone of same in Las Vegas in the early/mid 1980s as well.
- dredmorbius 3y agoStory on TJ/NoT: <https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/newcastle-tuxedo-junction-nightclub-gimmick-11314287 https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife-new...>
- jamiek88 3y agoIs that where the tuxedo princess (the revolving dancefloor boat!) name came from?
- mikrl 3y agoNow you have Digital, in the same complex that houses a biotech research lab (the Life Sciences Centre, formerly the Centre for Life)
- xwdv 3y agoOh yea this is a lot of fun imagine a club where there’s color coded phones on the wall based on what you’re looking for and when you pick one up you are connected to someone else on the other end and you can talk and maybe meet up with them if you like what you hear.
- Mizoguchi 3y agoDu wünschst shakin' das bootie, ja?
- hh3k0 3y agoDas muss das Bootie abkönnen!
- CPLX 3y agoOh yeah? In NYC in the early 2000’s we used crude little close circuit TV things. Anyone remember the Remote Lounge?
- doctorhandshake 3y agoCame here to ask if anybody remembered the name of this place.
- knodi123 3y agoDocpop can remember it for you wholesale: https://docpop.org/2013/10/way-ahead-of-its-time-the-remote-lounge-nyc/ https://docpop.org/2013/10/way-ahead-of-its-time-the-remote-...
- KingMob 3y agoThank you! I was wracking my brain, trying to remember the name of the place. Remote Lounge could have been cooler, but it played up more of the voyeur angle instead of the communication angle, I felt. (Or maybe that was just me, I dunno.) Every booth had a cam and a TV, and you used controls to select other booths' cams, pan them around, and watch other people.
- A6gYPfxNas 3y agoSounds way better tbh
- nicbou 3y agoBerlin 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...
- notahacker 3y agoThis sounds like just the Hyperloop crossover to relaunch er... X with.
- Jun8 3y agoThis is a titillating combination of remote (don’t know the person) and in-person (you can see them right there across the room. Something that’s impossible to recreate with Tender, etc. There are two fatal flaws to the system that’s described in the article and the more recent examples mentioned the comments, though: (1) first call takes all, you wouldn’t know how many people would be interested in you; and (2) denial of date, where your first caller can keep you on the call indefinitely, ruining your chances with others. And what if you receive no calls in a reasonable amount of time, e.g., 10 minutes? In a modern implementation one of these call-less people can be chosen at random and displayed on a big screen, to increase their chances. I would totally go to a club like this, both the 20s Charleston version or a 80s version.
- dumpsterdiver 3y agoRegarding the "fatal flaws" in such a system, the same could be said if someone were to strike up a conversation in-person. If others see that a person is engaged in conversation, they might not be so quick to interrupt (that could come off as rude, and lessen your chances of success). On the other hand, perhaps you are daring, and when you notice the person who is being DoS'ed frown when they answer the phone, you decide to stand up and actually say hello (effectively rescuing them from their attacker).
- sinuhe69 3y agoPerhaps the continue (unfairly) occupation of the phone line would encourage someone to be brave and walk the distance to make a face-to-face conversation? :) Not too bad at all, isn’t it?
- ShadowBanThis01 3y agoThis is easily solved with a call-waiting system, perhaps a display of pending callers. Or a time limit.
- inkcapmushroom 3y ago>In a modern implementation one of these call-less people can be chosen at random and displayed on a big screen, to increase their chances. Oh boy, can't wait for the jumbo-tron to project my failure to attract dates to everyone. Seems like a great idea.
- ethbr0 3y agoThe early Blue Man Group [0] shows off-Broadway (before they were the Intel guys) were billed as "Blue Man/Tubes" They'd run corrugated pipe from each seat in the theater to the waiting hall. Which meant that while you were waiting for the next show, you could talk to someone who was watching the current show. Was pretty neat. PS: Also walked out of the show with a nice black eye, after my pre-teen self went down in the final toilet paper wave and caught the heel of the guy in front of me. Still worth it! [0] E.g. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=R1N_r2J5hek https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=R1N_r2J5hek
- golergka 3y ago> Blue Man/Tubes Google that on your own risk.
- dredmorbius 3y ago<https://feedsee.com/toys/percussion-tubes.html https://feedsee.com/toys/percussion-tubes.html>
- zoklet-enjoyer 3y agoI almost bought one of these at a thrift store the other day. They wanted liked $30 for it though.
- Cthulhu_ 3y agoThat sounds cheap for a pretty unique looking electronic instrument though, although the quality will be pretty meh if it's aimed at children.
- zoklet-enjoyer 3y agoRight, I would probably play with it a couple times and then forget about it. I should have bought it to see if I could circuit bend it
- zwieback 3y agoMy grandpa lived in Berlin in the 20s but I'm sure he was too square to participate in something cool like this. When he was in his 80s, though, he was a early adopter of "Bildschirmtext".
- 10g1k 3y agoHow many guys are now thinking "Will my wife let me build one in the house?"?
- jgalt212 3y agoThe main character in The Innocent meets his love interest in this manner. But the book took place in the 1950s. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6868.The_Innocent https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6868.The_Innocent
- intrasight 3y ago100 years later and with supercomputers in our pockets, we can't do any better - because these devices are so locked down.
- krisoft 3y agoI mean, can’t we? If a place wants to they can just add a wifi network with a captive portal which leads patrons to a table-to-table chat system. Or a QR code per table with a flashing light next to it so you know your table have a message even if you haven’t got your phone out. I bet it will be cheaper and easier to maintain than installing pneumatic tubes to every table too.
- jollyllama 3y ago>captive portal which leads patrons to a table-to-table chat system The unreliability of captive portals across devices aside, they'll make you download some app you'll never use again, or they'll take your email and spam you later.
- krisoft 3y agoThat is not a “we can’t do it” problem. That is a “they don’t want to do it” problem. If you want it and you think it is cool you can have prototypes in a day max. Making it usable enough so even drunk people won’t need help using it will take longer, but it is certainly more manageable than the vacuum tubes as a hobby project.
- intrasight 3y agoNot really possible without Web Bluetooth, which Apple won't do. https://caniuse.com/web-bluetooth https://caniuse.com/web-bluetooth
- krisoft 3y agoWhy would it need web bluetooth?
- gcanyon 3y agoI was very disappointed when I clicked and it wasn't about how people in 1920s Berlin flitted via pneumatic tubes.
- coolandsmartrr 3y agoOne might romanticize how nice it would be to meet dates outside an app again. In Tokyo, there are bars specifically tailored for people who are seeking dates. The bar even has displays outside showing the number of men and women currently in the venue. When you get inside, you get to chat to cohorts of the opposite gender for a given amount of time (e.g. 15 min) before you move to the next round. How do these bars get women to come? The men have to pay for all their drinks. In my only experience (dragged by my friends), the women kept ordering more drinks while chatting amongst themselves. I saw the tab and never went back in again.
- formvoltron 3y agoThis needs to come back.
- imwillofficial 3y agoThis should make a come back
- Jamesbeyond 3y ago[dead]
- cmrdporcupine 3y agoIs it time to bring up the Alameda-Weehawken Burrito Tunnel again? https://idlewords.com/2007/04/the_alameda_weehawken_burrito_tunnel.htm https://idlewords.com/2007/04/the_alameda_weehawken_burrito_...
- tomjakubowski 3y agoSure, if they'll open a spur coming from the city with the best burritos (San Diego).
- Stratoscope 3y agoVirgin America offered a service like this when I flew with them a decade ago. If you saw someone you liked, you could make a note of their seat number and buy them a drink from your seatback display. If they accepted the drink, you could start texting with them. I never got lucky, but it was a fun concept! https://www.usatoday.com/story/todayinthesky/2013/04/25/virgin-america-order-drinks-dating/2112207/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/todayinthesky/2013/04/25/virg...
- hsjqllzlfkf 3y ago[flagged]
- bergie 3y agoChaos Communication Congress often features the “Silk Road” network of pneumatic tubes, powered by regular vacuum cleaners. People obviously send a lot of viagra spam, but I’ve even seen vodka shots delivered through it. You build your own tube capsule that first needs to be “certified” by running through a test track. Lots of detail for example in https://events.ccc.de/congress/2014/wiki/Projects:Seidenstrasse https://events.ccc.de/congress/2014/wiki/Projects:Seidenstra...
- idontwantthis 3y agoWhat on Earth does any of this mean?
- coldtea 3y agoA hacker conference (organized by the Chaos Computer Club I'd guess, a famous hacking club of many decades), runs, during the conference (and surely just for fun) their own "silk road" (a clandestine marketplace, named after the namesake "dark web" online marketplace, where people bought drugs and other illegal services) on top of a pneumatic tube network - a network of connected physical pipes used to send messages pushing them using air (e.g. some paper note inside a container). Pneumatic tubes were a physical "instant messaging" system used in early 20th century offices and large organizational buildings. This "for fun" pneumatic tube network is powered via regular vacuum cleaner motors (as opposed to the air pressure being produced by some dedicated motor). In this network, inside the conference area, people send lots of BS spam messages for fun, and sometimes even vodca shots (inside some container) from one point to another. People attending the conference can build their own tube capsule (their own message/small item container to be transmitted through the tubes), but they first have to show that they can run through a test track (a smaller test pneumatic pipe line), so that they don't stuck/create issues when they put them into the main network.
- purerandomness 3y agoGreat breakdown, just adding to it: > "silk road" (a clandestine marketplace, named after the namesake "dark web" online marketplace...) The dark web marketplace itself was jokingly named after the original "Silk Road", a "network of Eurasian trade routes active from the second century BCE until the mid-15th century.[2] Spanning over 6,400 kilometers (4,000 miles)" [1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk_Road https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk_Road
- eatonphil 3y agoJust happened to read about pneumatic tubes around the world in The Victorian Internet. Even though pneumatic tubes were invented after the telegraph, they didn't suffer the same congestion issues as the telegraph (because you could send messages in bulk, I guess?). And unlike how telegram were charged by-the-word, pneumatic tube messages were charged a fixed price. The book focused more on the Paris pneumatic tube network than the Berlin one. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Victorian_Internet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Victorian_Internet https://parisianfields.com/2018/05/20/les-petits-bleus/ https://parisianfields.com/2018/05/20/les-petits-bleus/
- quaddo 3y agoI had an office job ca. 1985-1988 during which my manager asked me for my thoughts on installing a pneumatic tube system. The office was located on 2 floors, ie, the 18th and the 39th. I don't quite recall her motivation and reasoning, other than to speed up the transfer of paper docs. Up until then, this was mainly the domain of the mail clerk. I think my manager intended for the tubes to transit between the 2 mailrooms on both floors, so the onus would be put on each employee check the tube room for anything that was due to them. At least the mail clerk delivered straight to everyone's desks. I was less enthusiastic about it, and told her so. Ultimately, no tube system was installed.
- TRiG_Ireland 3y agoOne thing not mentioned in the article is whether the semi-anonymous nature of the tubes allowed for safer same-sex flirtation. I must imagine that it did, especially given what I've heard of 1920s Berlin.