Transport
Discover facts about transport. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Transport
The London Necropolis Railway carried coffins and mourners to Brookwood Cemetery from 1854.
The London Necropolis Railway carried coffins and mourners to Brookwood Cemetery from 1854. London needed burial space, and the large cemetery lay well…
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A corned-beef sandwich got a NASA mission in trouble.
A corned-beef sandwich got a NASA mission in trouble. John Young carried the unauthorized snack aboard Gemini III in 1965. When Gus Grissom tried it, crumbs…
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Cleveland tackled traffic chaos with an electric signal in 1914.
Cleveland tackled traffic chaos with an electric signal in 1914. Cars shared the streets with horses, wagons, bicycles, and pedestrians, while police officers…
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Walking on a stopped escalator causes a bizarre neurological glitch in the human brain known as the broken escalator phenomenon.
Walking on a stopped escalator causes a bizarre neurological glitch in the human brain known as the broken escalator phenomenon. After riding moving stairs,…
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Paris authorities commandeered roughly six hundred civilian Renault taxis in September 1914 to rush French reserve troops straight to the front lines during the First Battle of the Marne.
Paris authorities commandeered roughly six hundred civilian Renault taxis in September 1914 to rush French reserve troops straight to the front lines during…
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Late nineteenth-century bicyclists actually launched the original campaign to pave American roads, spearheading the Good Roads Movement decades before automobiles even became a common sight on the streets.
Late nineteenth-century bicyclists actually launched the original campaign to pave American roads, spearheading the Good Roads Movement decades before…
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British railways helped make neighboring towns agree on the time.
British railways helped make neighboring towns agree on the time. The Great Western Railway adopted London time in 1840, replacing different local clock…
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United States Postmaster General Arthur Summerfield utilized a Navy cruise missile submarine in 1959 to fire a nuclear-capable Regulus missile loaded with three thousand letters directly at a naval station in Florida.
United States Postmaster General Arthur Summerfield utilized a Navy cruise missile submarine in 1959 to fire a nuclear-capable Regulus missile loaded with…
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Robert Timm and John Cook kept a Cessna 172 airborne for more than 64 days, from December 1958 to February 1959.
Robert Timm and John Cook kept a Cessna 172 airborne for more than 64 days, from December 1958 to February 1959. A truck drove beneath them to transfer fuel…
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Greyhound's first 'bus' was a car carrying Minnesota miners.
Greyhound's first 'bus' was a car carrying Minnesota miners. In 1914 Carl Eric Wickman used a Hupmobile to transport workers between Hibbing and Alice. The…
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Honda's early motor business put surplus engines on bicycles.
Honda's early motor business put surplus engines on bicycles. In postwar Japan, Soichiro Honda used small engines originally intended for radio generators to…
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A swimmer paid 36 cents to pass through the Panama Canal.
A swimmer paid 36 cents to pass through the Panama Canal. Travel writer Richard Halliburton completed the canal swim in 1928 and paid a toll for the passage.…
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The 747's hump keeps the cockpit out of the cargo's way.
The 747's hump keeps the cockpit out of the cargo's way. Raising the flight deck allowed freighter versions to open their nose and load long cargo straight…
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A nuclear submarine can outlast its food supply on one reactor core.
A nuclear submarine can outlast its food supply on one reactor core. The reactor generates heat without drawing oxygen from outside, and the vessel can make…
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LEGO made 381 million tires in a single year.
LEGO made 381 million tires in a single year. Guinness records that total for 2010. Each solid-rubber tire was tiny, but tire counts measure individual units…
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A space toilet has to replace the one part of plumbing Earth supplies free.
A space toilet has to replace the one part of plumbing Earth supplies free. Without ordinary gravity pulling waste down, spacecraft toilets use airflow to…
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Cornelis Drebbel built the world's first working submarine in 1620 and successfully tested it by rowing a modified, leather-covered wooden rowboat submerged under the River Thames for three hours.
Cornelis Drebbel built the world's first working submarine in 1620 and successfully tested it by rowing a modified, leather-covered wooden rowboat submerged…
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During World War II, the United States military built an entire fleet of cargo ships out of reinforced concrete because traditional steel was in extremely short supply.
During World War II, the United States military built an entire fleet of cargo ships out of reinforced concrete because traditional steel was in extremely…
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Automotive manufacturers in Sweden developed a highly specific driving evaluation known as the moose test to ensure their vehicles could successfully dodge massive woodland creatures without flipping over.
Automotive manufacturers in Sweden developed a highly specific driving evaluation known as the moose test to ensure their vehicles could successfully dodge…
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Elevators are statistically the safest and most heavily used form of public transportation in the entire world, carrying billions of passengers every single day without incident;…
Elevators are statistically the safest and most heavily used form of public transportation in the entire world, carrying billions of passengers every single…
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Airline safety cards try to work without a shared language.
Airline safety cards try to work without a shared language. Their diagrams need to show actions passengers can recognize quickly, from fastening a belt to…
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Brooklyn features a fake townhouse located at 58 Joralemon Street that actually hides a massive subterranean ventilation shaft for the New York City subway system.
Brooklyn features a fake townhouse located at 58 Joralemon Street that actually hides a massive subterranean ventilation shaft for the New York City subway…
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London's first Underground ran on steam.
London's first Underground ran on steam. The Metropolitan Railway opened in 1863, putting steam locomotives beneath the city. Ventilation openings and engines…
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The modern roundabout changed who had to wait.
The modern roundabout changed who had to wait. Britain's 1966 give-way rule required entering drivers to yield to traffic already circulating. That helped…
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