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 ...

All of the buzz about Elon Musk's Hyperloop has Gizmodo and the Times remembering the original underground compressed air-based transportation idea—Alfred Ely Beach's Pneumatic Tunnel, built in 1869.

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 ...

Let’s say you’re in San Francisco, and suddenly decide, “Hey, let’s have dinner at Spago in L.A. tonight!” The fastest way to get there is a 1.5-hour flight, which isn’t exactly convenient. Unless ...

José Brenes/Daily. Buy this photo. The University of Michigan Hospital will be expanding its pneumatic tube system across its campus after being approved at the Sept. 22 Board of Regents meeting. The ...

New Yorkers have a history of experimenting with pneumatic tubes—both for mail delivery (seen above) and public transit—but only one version ever really stuck: An automated vacuum trash collection ...