Early Innovations

Who knew that In the late 1940’s, to me, the most interesting thing in the J.C. Penney Store was not the merchandise, but their "Rube Goldberg" method of handling money? When making a sale, the clerk would put the ticket and money in a small wheeled carrier which traveled on a wire. A sharp tug on a rope would propel the carrier to the cashier on the mezzanine. Change would be returned to the clerk by letting the carrier roll down the wire by gravity. There were multiple sales stations, each connected to the cashier by such a system. Watching the carriers speed back and forth was fascinating. Below is a 1917 ad for a similar system. Submitted by Ray Harding.