Good to know, thanks for the add! But I got to ask, were you opposing me like "its social so it got nothing to do with capitalism"? Or "its Czech so it got nothing to do with it"? Or just adding? My autism doesn't let me read between the lines
Your first idea is pretty close. It was built for the government, not some corporation and its purpose was to facilitate social benefits reaching people more reliably and quickly.
The whole thing turned out to be insanely inefficient, but back then, efficiency expert was an actual job and they kept thinking up stuff like this and putting offices IN elevators and stupid shit that everyone hated actually using. The modern analog would be office decorators today as they all end up with the exact same open floor plan short/no wall design, glass fishbowl-style meeting rooms that everyone hates.
What are you on about? This needed 5% as much workers as a normal filing system and was much faster. It worked well, it was very efficient and it was in use for decades because it worked so well.
The offices of the Central Social Institution of Prague who distributed pensions and other forms of social security. It contained the largest vertical letter file cabinets in the world consisting of cabinets arranged from floor to ceiling covering over 4,000 square feet, allowing each desk to access 625 drawers. They are still in use as an archive
I've found this Czech-language video, sadly without any subtitles: https://youtu.be/HOWkzt_rjDE It shows the entire operation, the movement of the cabins, the backside of the drawers and the electrically opened, three meter long drawers in action.
This was state of the art. There wasn't a more efficient system in 1937. This system was not a proof of concept, but stored a massive amount of data for Czechoslovakia's social security system. Instead of 400 workers, only 20 were needed to access this information.
This would be the easiest functional safety risk assessment ever because after 5 minutes describing the intended design everyone would say "don't" and walk out.
I can't help but think there would be a way to make a much more compact counterbalance. Unless this is just for the fun of booping your colleagues' skulls.
Aha, they're needed by design, and aren't really much of a counterbalance. Seems the drawers are three metres deep! The drawers come out electrically and slide into the big long channel.
hogeyegrex
Gives “desk jockey” a whole new meaning.
AtsaMattaForMe
mystik42
https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/vertical-files-prague-czech-republic/ huh!
haki23
This would look good in a Lu Besson future fantasy, with hints of Moebius for flair
bikingbinks
came here for the futurama comments.
LadyGreybird
UNLIMITED IN-TRAY
Jennandjuice17
How future corporations will force their workers to not take bathroom breaks.
seanmccorkle
Needs this music for when its moving https://youtu.be/RHZ80ezXCpA?si=zcR5-BvNziZ4qvzm
hetherweaversmagic
It's pronounced Prague
mercbrit
Individually those words have meaning. When put together with this photograph they create questions.
TheBlueMuppet
I'm glad those things are gone, I hear they used to drive people up the fuckin wall.
taez555
And here I thought Wall-e was fiction. :-(
circlebreaker
Pictured: The search bar helping me find the memes I need.
yesdearmetoo
zweifel
Kafkaesque.
Vicissitude
Well, that idea went right out the window
MutteringMisanthrope
"Electric Elevator Desks in Prague"................That's Kraftwerk's 2nd best album..........
bekindtoanimals
Like Prague isn’t weird and cool enough
BeenThereSeenThat
I was todays year old when I learned that Prague was in Brazil.
idalacn
same country earlier in the century Thomas Bata made is office in an elevator to manage its business in the highiest building in Europe
lelevup
Requisition me a beat!
cptwott
Kids would have loved going to school if they got desks like this
GravyEducation
School nurse is treating fall injuries left and right but the kids are very receptive
happenedtomeonce
grandtheftjimbo
MacForker
That just raises further questions!
Dimension09
RhymingEverything
sweet silverback gorillas that chill back in manilla!
SophieClockwise
AutomaticCordonBleu
Are your ducts old and tired?
javadad60
javadad60
ExplosionFish
Re-used this setting (the feel of) in his catastrophic Zero Theorem
KittyKlimt6
Ah, management, bureaucracy and capitalism aesthetically combined
DdCno1
This was built for and used by the Czechoslovakian social security system for decades.
KittyKlimt6
Good to know, thanks for the add! But I got to ask, were you opposing me like "its social so it got nothing to do with capitalism"? Or "its Czech so it got nothing to do with it"? Or just adding? My autism doesn't let me read between the lines
DdCno1
Your first idea is pretty close. It was built for the government, not some corporation and its purpose was to facilitate social benefits reaching people more reliably and quickly.
KittyKlimt6
Ah ok, thanks! Did it work?
zaazi
ZiggyMundo
Research, dude, for research.
DdCno1
20 workers could do the same work as 400 and much more quickly. This stored the data of the country's social security system.
Nuttsy
Excel was still 50 years away.
spitfires2000
How often did not fully closed drawers cause mayhem?
Richels
once
Nacon
Yes.
quietwalker
The whole thing turned out to be insanely inefficient, but back then, efficiency expert was an actual job and they kept thinking up stuff like this and putting offices IN elevators and stupid shit that everyone hated actually using. The modern analog would be office decorators today as they all end up with the exact same open floor plan short/no wall design, glass fishbowl-style meeting rooms that everyone hates.
hetherweaversmagic
Read the book Kaizen!
DdCno1
What are you on about? This needed 5% as much workers as a normal filing system and was much faster. It worked well, it was very efficient and it was in use for decades because it worked so well.
chronicbionictonic
straight to jail, right away
DdCno1
They are electrically operated and three meters long. These are not your usual manual file drawers.
davebeastly
marthafarquar
The offices of the Central Social Institution of Prague who distributed pensions and other forms of social security. It contained the largest vertical letter file cabinets in the world consisting of cabinets arranged from floor to ceiling covering over 4,000 square feet, allowing each desk to access 625 drawers. They are still in use as an archive
TK421isAFK
...and now all of that entire library fits on a 6cm hard drive platter.
rotzverpopelt
mm. This fits on a SD card
TK421isAFK
There's always someone who has to try to one-up everyone.
wfo87Stang
Thank you. This post finally makes sense
OliverOtter
Those counterweights seem like almost as much of a hazard as the desks.
MarcUK
I wonder if Tom Scott did a video about this...
MarcUK
Sadly that's a no. He's done a few elevator videos, just not these.
DdCno1
I've found this Czech-language video, sadly without any subtitles: https://youtu.be/HOWkzt_rjDE It shows the entire operation, the movement of the cabins, the backside of the drawers and the electrically opened, three meter long drawers in action.
MarcUK
Oh I see, the whole 3m long drawer fits inside and is supported as the operator looks for the files. Very nice technology from the 1930's. :-)
Ankylosaur
desolatorx
Ah ok I was wondering if they could go side to side as well
CheshireCad
It's probably just a proof-of-concept, but it feels like there are *way* more efficient ways to store and rapidly access that amount of file-boxes.
DdCno1
This was state of the art. There wasn't a more efficient system in 1937. This system was not a proof of concept, but stored a massive amount of data for Czechoslovakia's social security system. Instead of 400 workers, only 20 were needed to access this information.
Nuttsy
Well, I'm guessing there might have been one in development, but...well, IBM might be a bit skittish if you ask.
DdCno1
IBM's system still required the punch cards to be stored somewhere, in filing cabinets like these (although they were usually not three meters long).
tanebot
This would be the easiest functional safety risk assessment ever because after 5 minutes describing the intended design everyone would say "don't" and walk out.
Smayds
I can't help but think there would be a way to make a much more compact counterbalance. Unless this is just for the fun of booping your colleagues' skulls.
Smayds
Aha, they're needed by design, and aren't really much of a counterbalance. Seems the drawers are three metres deep! The drawers come out electrically and slide into the big long channel.
JonesColorDog
Ahh back when humans were the computers
datphone777365
Back when the juice stained the lips.
Camelspotting
And people built cool shit just because they could.
FastF0x
What are those big dildoes on the back of the elevator? Can't be counterweight because both are down on the right..
Jawesome19
That's to kill your coworkers with
ariania
its actually counterweights, its needed even at lower elevation as these desks are never flat on the ground.
HeadJamistan
Platforms for the video game protagonist to jump on.
AllMaktAtTengilVarBefriare
Need to raise and lower them in the right order to be able to jump to the next area.
MarcUK
Just to balance out the weight on either side of the columns I guess. Very dangerous walking about.
BillandTedsUnremarkableTripToCostCo
That’s preposterous. The Crushinators are perfectly safe.
MarcUK
It turns out that those drawers are 3m long. When it comes out at full length, it gets supported inside the "crushinator". So double purpose. :-)