"Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!"

Alice's adventures in Wonderland

In Lewis Carroll's book Alice's Advetures in Wonderland, there are several passages that underline speed aspects:

"...Alice think it so very much out of the way to hear the Rabbit say to itself, ‘Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be late!’  [...] but when the Rabbit actually took a watch out of its waistcoat-pocket, and looked at it, and then hurried on..."

(Chapter 1: down the rabbit-hole)





Also when dancing the "Caucus race" on the beach, the rhythm increases and it becomes faster:

"First it marked out a race-course, in a sort of circle, and then all the party were placed along the course, here and there. There was no ‘One, two, three, and away,’ but they began running when they liked, and left off when they liked, so that it was not easy to know when the race was over. However, when they had been running half an hour or so, and were quite dry again, the Dodo suddenly called out ‘The race is over!’ and they all crowded round it, panting, and asking, ‘But who has won?’"

(Chapter 3: a Caucus-race and a long tale)

The pneumatic tube

In postal service

Pneumatic post or pneumatic mail is a system to deliver letters through pressurized air tubes. It was invented by the Scottish engineer William Murdoch in the 19th century and was later developed by the London Pneumatic Dispatch Company. Pneumatic post systems were used in several large cities starting in the second half of the 19th century (including an 1866 London system powerful and large enough to transport humans during trial runs - though not intended for the purpose), but were largely abandoned during the 20th century.



Pneumatic tubes in use at a drive-through bank.
Patent: http://www.freepatentsonline.com/6474912.pdf



Pneumatic post stations usually connected post offices, stock exchanges, banks and ministries. Italy was the only country to issue postage stamps (between 1913 and 1966) specifically for pneumatic post. Austria, France, and Germany issued postal stationery for pneumatic use.

Spirit of Saint Louis US airmail stamp of 1927.

In the American animated science fiction sitcom Futurama this system is usually used to deliver letters:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pneumatic_tube

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postage_stamp
http://www.activesocialplastic.com/2009/01/pneumatic_post_in_paris.html 

Fast and Slow in Cartoons

- Going, going, gosh!, directed by Charles M. Jones

Willy the coyote and Road Runner,
protagonists of many pieces, in which the first tries in vain, to capture the fast volatile.

-  Speedy Gonzales, directed by I. Freleng

The fastest mouse in all Mexico! Speedy's major traits are his ability to run and his comedic Mexican accent.