Transport
Discover facts about transport. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Transport
Federal Express founder Frederick Smith saved his dying delivery company in the 1970s by taking the final five thousand dollars of corporate funds to Las Vegas and gambling it on the blackjack tables.
Federal Express founder Frederick Smith saved his dying delivery company in the 1970s by taking the final five thousand dollars of corporate funds to Las…
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Lockheed engineers designed the SR-71 Blackbird spy plane with titanium body panels that fit together so loosely on the ground that the aircraft actively leaked jet fuel all over the runway before takeoff.
Lockheed engineers designed the SR-71 Blackbird spy plane with titanium body panels that fit together so loosely on the ground that the aircraft actively…
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Autumn foliage creates a massive crisis for the British railway system every single year, causing thousands of hours in severe train delays.
Autumn foliage creates a massive crisis for the British railway system every single year, causing thousands of hours in severe train delays. When train wheels…
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Dutch authorities are forced to fish approximately fifteen thousand rusty bicycles out of Amsterdam's picturesque canals every single year.
Dutch authorities are forced to fish approximately fifteen thousand rusty bicycles out of Amsterdam's picturesque canals every single year. The city employs…
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William Huskisson holds the incredibly embarrassing distinction of being the first widely reported passenger casualty of a railway accident.
William Huskisson holds the incredibly embarrassing distinction of being the first widely reported passenger casualty of a railway accident. In 1830, during…
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San Francisco's cable cars are the only moving objects on the planet to be designated as National Historic Landmarks.
San Francisco's cable cars are the only moving objects on the planet to be designated as National Historic Landmarks. Invented in 1873 by Andrew Hallidie…
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Albert the bus ran the longest continuous bus route in world history, ferrying passengers from London to Calcutta in 1968.
Albert the bus ran the longest continuous bus route in world history, ferrying passengers from London to Calcutta in 1968. The journey took a grueling fifty…
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Twenty-eight thousand plastic bath toys were dumped into the middle of the Pacific Ocean in 1992 when a shipping container tumbled off a cargo vessel during a severe storm.
Twenty-eight thousand plastic bath toys were dumped into the middle of the Pacific Ocean in 1992 when a shipping container tumbled off a cargo vessel during a…
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Parisian transit authorities maintain a fully functional ghost station called Porte des Lilas specifically for production companies to shoot movies and commercials without disrupting actual commuters.
Parisian transit authorities maintain a fully functional ghost station called Porte des Lilas specifically for production companies to shoot movies and…
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Automobile industry lobbying groups literally invented the crime of jaywalking in the 1920s to shift the legal blame for deadly street collisions away from drivers and onto pedestrians.
Automobile industry lobbying groups literally invented the crime of jaywalking in the 1920s to shift the legal blame for deadly street collisions away from…
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London's Times newspaper predicted in 1894 that every street in the city would be buried under nine feet of horse manure within fifty years.
London's Times newspaper predicted in 1894 that every street in the city would be buried under nine feet of horse manure within fifty years. Over fifty…
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Phantom traffic jams are a documented phenomenon where gridlock appears on a highway for absolutely no discernible physical reason, entirely caused by one driver hitting their brakes just a little too hard.
Phantom traffic jams are a documented phenomenon where gridlock appears on a highway for absolutely no discernible physical reason, entirely caused by one…
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Nylon brushes lining the sides of modern escalators are specifically installed as safety devices to keep passengers' loose clothing, shoelaces, and bags from getting sucked into the machinery.
Nylon brushes lining the sides of modern escalators are specifically installed as safety devices to keep passengers' loose clothing, shoelaces, and bags from…
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Vatican protocol dictates that whenever the Pope travels abroad by air, the specially chartered commercial flight is officially designated by air traffic control as Shepherd One.
Vatican protocol dictates that whenever the Pope travels abroad by air, the specially chartered commercial flight is officially designated by air traffic…
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Airlines serve absolutely massive quantities of tomato juice because the pressurized cabin environment fundamentally alters human taste buds and makes umami flavors highly addictive.
Airlines serve absolutely massive quantities of tomato juice because the pressurized cabin environment fundamentally alters human taste buds and makes umami…
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West Japan Railway Company constructed dedicated micro-tunnels beneath their train tracks specifically to prevent turtles from causing catastrophic commuter delays.
West Japan Railway Company constructed dedicated micro-tunnels beneath their train tracks specifically to prevent turtles from causing catastrophic commuter…
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New York City subway conductors are legally required to point at a black-and-white zebra-striped board mounted on the station wall every single time they pull in.
New York City subway conductors are legally required to point at a black-and-white zebra-striped board mounted on the station wall every single time they pull…
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Volkswagen officially manufactures a pork currywurst sausage that consistently outsells their actual automobiles and even possesses its own official car part number in their catalog.
Volkswagen officially manufactures a pork currywurst sausage that consistently outsells their actual automobiles and even possesses its own official car part…
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Michelin star ratings were originally invented by a tire company strictly as a convoluted scheme to make drivers wear out their rubber faster.
Michelin star ratings were originally invented by a tire company strictly as a convoluted scheme to make drivers wear out their rubber faster. Back in 1900,…
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Building managers introduced mirrors inside passenger elevators during the mid-twentieth century as a psychological trick to distract riders from the agonizingly slow mechanical ascent of early skyscraper designs.
Building managers introduced mirrors inside passenger elevators during the mid-twentieth century as a psychological trick to distract riders from the…
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Federal aviation regulations strictly require all commercial airplanes to have a functioning ashtray in the lavatory door, even though smoking on flights has been globally banned since the late 1990s.
Federal aviation regulations strictly require all commercial airplanes to have a functioning ashtray in the lavatory door, even though smoking on flights has…
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Japanese railway workers consistently employ a safety technique called "shisa kanko," which involves physically pointing at objects and verbally calling out their status to ensure absolute focus.
Japanese railway workers consistently employ a safety technique called "shisa kanko," which involves physically pointing at objects and verbally calling out…
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Crawler-transporters built by NASA to carry the Saturn V rockets and Space Shuttles to the launch pad are still the largest self-powered land vehicles in the world.
Crawler-transporters built by NASA to carry the Saturn V rockets and Space Shuttles to the launch pad are still the largest self-powered land vehicles in the…
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Japanese railway engineers redesigned the bullet train in the 1990s because the original models created a massive, deafening sonic boom every time they exited a tunnel.
Japanese railway engineers redesigned the bullet train in the 1990s because the original models created a massive, deafening sonic boom every time they exited…
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