Mailing a Cat via Pneumatic Tube

Sending a cat through a series of tubes sound like a modern internet thing, but this story is from 1897. The New York City Post Office started sending mail across town through a system of pneumatic tubes, which would last until 1953. When the service was instituted, a public ceremony was held, after which postal inspectors and other employees were given a demonstration of the pneumatic system. They saw an artificial orange, a suit of clothing, and a black cat sent through the system. The cat was not happy about it, but it survived. And that was the first of a series of animals eventually sent by mail in this manner. Read the whole story at the Atlantic. Link