4.1 Future Technology and Their Failures

Rocketmail was one of those wild, almost cartoonish inventions that actually made it past the idea stage. The concept was simple in theory: launch mail across a distance inside a rocket, then have it float back down to the ground with a parachute. In practice, it was far less practical than it sounded. The idea first appeared in 1810 when German writer Heinrich von Kleist proposed firing mail in artillery shells to speed up delivery. Of course, the technology of the time could not handle the precision or safety needed