File clerks working at their electric elevator desks in Prague, former Czechoslovakia, 1937.

May 5, 2026 7:40 AM

It still exists. Digitization of all social security records archived there was finished in 2002, but they left that building including equipment inside unchanged as physical archive backup memorial.

https://www.denarchitektury.cz/en/program/prague-machine-filling-cabinet-of-the-cssz/

Oh, that's where my therapists stores all my diagnosis files.

3 months ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Crazy to think all of that fits on USB stick these days.

3 months ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

3 months ago | Likes 9 Dislikes 0

Kafkaesque.

3 months ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 1

Starting to think this is what inspired the bureaucrats desks in Futurama

3 months ago | Likes 89 Dislikes 2

I bet it was since these guys were real nerds and build in so much jokes for nerds futurama was awesome

3 months ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

That's would have been fun to build.

3 months ago | Likes 10 Dislikes 0

Brazil

3 months ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

This would be a perfect place to store all my car and motorcycle parts.

3 months ago | Likes 11 Dislikes 0

As long as none of the dimensions exceed 8" x 8" x 15" or something like that.

3 months ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

Prank idea: Surround your coworker with open drawers

3 months ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

I so need this to store all my crap that I salvage from electronic equipment...

3 months ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

the beta for half-life 2 included a room with typists sitting suspended on I-beams with no safety features atop a thousand foot drop in a room with fast loud piston driven mechanisms. no-one understood the purpose of said room but I see now it may have been inspired by this very invention

3 months ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

3 months ago | Likes 159 Dislikes 1

Immediately where my mind went as well.

3 months ago | Likes 8 Dislikes 0

That's so fitting :)

3 months ago | Likes 11 Dislikes 0

#1 Imperial Archives, M35

3 months ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Did the CCCP basically never develop an OSHA equivalent?

3 months ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

Searching through the meme collection be like....

3 months ago | Likes 6 Dislikes 0

Back then we had file clerks now it is my job to print out every correspondence and put them in a file myself....that's what you get for working more "efficient"

3 months ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

I thought for sure this was going to be from a Terry Gilliam film.

3 months ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Is that the imgur archive?

3 months ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Crazy how they had this in 1936, but for the same job todays today, they would use ladders

3 months ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

3 months ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Franz Kafka would have made a whole novel out of this.

3 months ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Getting a Terry Gilliam vibe here.

3 months ago | Likes 8 Dislikes 0

I was trying to figure out if it was from Brazil.

3 months ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

It FEELS like Brazil. Which is enough.

3 months ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

I did mention Terry Gilliam in my own comment before seeing yours. Interesting that it's so specific, and I don't even know why.

3 months ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

This feels SO TVA

3 months ago | Likes 217 Dislikes 1

Would've said 'Also Fallout' - but it would need more RoboBrains for that.

3 months ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

3 months ago | Likes 44 Dislikes 0

I was thinking of Kafka, but the TVA was designed to feel kafkaesque

3 months ago | Likes 38 Dislikes 0

About as intuitive that's for sure :P haha

3 months ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

🎶 Central Services. We do the work, you do the leasure... 🎶

3 months ago | Likes 5 Dislikes 0

3 months ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

I was thinking Brazil

3 months ago | Likes 20 Dislikes 0

You'd need loose papers flying about and a bunch of wires and sparks to nail that Gilliam aesthetic.

3 months ago | Likes 11 Dislikes 0

Tennessee Valley Authority, indeed.

3 months ago | Likes 25 Dislikes 1

Torsional Vibration Analysis?

3 months ago | Likes 3 Dislikes 0

What does TVA stand for?

3 months ago | Likes 31 Dislikes 0

Time Variance Authority. They are a fictional organization monitoring timelines in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as per the Loki mini series. Though since they scrapped the Kang the Conquer story line I'm unsure if they will surface again.

3 months ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

In this context: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Variance_Authority

3 months ago | Likes 42 Dislikes 0

I don’t hate comic books but I never really showed any interest in them

3 months ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 2

I think most people know the TVA from the MCU (Marvel's cinematic universe). It was introduced to the MCU in the TV show Loki and also played a major role in Deadpool & Wolverine. To call the movie successful and popular would be an understatement. It broke a couple of records, such as that of highest-grossing R-rated film in history.

3 months ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

This is my pet peeve. Don't use initialisms that most people won't know.

3 months ago | Likes 21 Dislikes 6

That's my PP too

3 months ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

It would take less time for you to Google what it meant than to sit and bitch about it.

No one knows what anything means untill and unless you ask questions.

3 months ago | Likes 7 Dislikes 10

Hey asshole, I did exactly that, hence my snarky comment in this thread.

3 months ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 1

The absolute state of the quizzitive minds is boggling.

You have a universe of knowledge available to you, for free, and when someone reminds everyone that it exists, you fuckwits get tilted.

3 months ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 2

Well, Google says tva stands for the Tennessee valley authority, so either you're wrong, or you do in fact need to clarify when using a niche initialism.

There's a reason that almost every legal document starts with a definition/abbreviation section: common knowledge isn't.

3 months ago | Likes 10 Dislikes 1

Yeah, thanks for chiming in and showing you have no critical thinking skills.

3 months ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 8

So that part on the back is because these drawers are like 3 meters long, right? Insane...

3 months ago | Likes 4 Dislikes 0

Just checked - the top photo shows the drawers are as deep as the desk. The wall there prevents them going any further.

3 months ago | Likes 5 Dislikes 0

Not sure how long the drawers are, but that bit is also a counterbalance to even out the weight of the desk and person (so the weight is vertical on the lift mechanism, not pulling off to one side)

3 months ago | Likes 9 Dislikes 0

I looked for more info, says the drawers are 10 ft long, like in Bruce Almighty when he opens the file cabinet, on a smaller scale, lol.

3 months ago | Likes 2 Dislikes 0

Oh, nice find - wonder how they get past the wall behind the desk :)

3 months ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

They go beside. You can see the bottom person in the first pic is going through one that's open alongside the desk.

3 months ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0

It looks like it slides into that counter weight bit. Like a pocket door sort of.

3 months ago | Likes 1 Dislikes 0