Transport
Discover facts about transport. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Transport
High altitude balloonists must constantly wear oxygen masks
At high altitude, the air thins until each breath delivers too little oxygen. A mask feeds oxygen straight to the balloonist’s lungs, turning a spectacular…
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Scooters were a hit long before rental apps
The early Autoped scooter used a small gasoline engine to drive its front wheel. Leaning the steering column forward engaged the motor; pulling it back…
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Metallic car paint contains tiny flakes of aluminum
Metallic paint gets its shimmer from tiny aluminum flakes mixed into the coating. Light bounces off those flakes at different angles, so the car seems to…
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New York Water Taxi moves impatient locals around Manhattan
A water taxi swaps Manhattan's stop-and-go streets for open water. It slips past road traffic, then drops passengers near where they need to be—basically a…
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Oxygen masks react to the cabin's altitude, not the plane's
A pressurized cabin has the air pressure of a much lower altitude than the aircraft outside. If that pressure falls too far, passenger masks deploy…
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San Francisco cable cars borrow power from underground
Motors at the powerhouse keep cables moving beneath the streets. A car's grip clamps onto a cable to be pulled along; releasing the grip disconnects that…
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Britain's early speeding case involved an 8 mph car
In 1896, Walter Arnold drove at about four times the town limit of 2 mph. A police officer pursued him on a bicycle, and Arnold was fined a shilling plus…
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Kim Jong-il’s luxury train had live chefs
The train carried a kitchen and chefs who prepared meals during the journey, bringing restaurant service onto the rails. Even a private luxury train needs…
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Why a nautical mile equals one minute of latitude
A nautical mile matches one minute of latitude: travel north or south by that slice of the globe, and you’ve covered one nautical mile. Sailors get a distance…
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Norwegian fjord ferries act as critical highway extensions
A fjord turns the road into a dead end, so ferries pick up the cars and carry the route across the water. The ferry is basically a floating bridge that also…
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Hand truck stair climbers feature continuous belts
A stair-climbing hand truck uses continuous tracks that grip several stair edges at once as the load is tipped back and pulled upward. Instead of bumping one…
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Artificial skeleton props require separate screening
On an X-ray, a pile of artificial bones makes a busy pattern that’s hard to inspect among clothes and cables. Pulling the prop out gives screeners a clean…
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Steinway built pianos for troops in World War II
The compact Victory Vertical was designed to bring music to service members far from concert halls. Its robust construction and protective shipping…
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Recycling plants use fast spinning discs to separate cardboard
Rotating discs lift and toss the waste as it moves along; their gaps let smaller pieces fall through while broad cardboard rides onward. It’s a sorting line…
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Portland made shared scooters finish their trips with a lock
Its 2024 rules required riders to lock scooters to approved street fixtures rather than simply leave them standing. The aim was to stop badly parked or…
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Narrowboats are built to plug British canals
British canals have narrow locks, so narrowboats are built to fit inside them with room to spare. Their slim hulls turn a tight waterway into a route instead…
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Seat cushions detach using simple Velcro
Hook-and-loop fasteners hold the cushion down during flight and release when someone lifts it. That simple attachment turns a seat pad into a removable…
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Telemark skiing mandates lunging motions to initiate turns
With the heel free, a Telemark skier turns by bending one knee deeply and sliding the other ski behind. That lunge shifts weight onto the edges and guides the…
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Musical keyboards are officially permitted in cabins
Cabin rules focus on whether the keyboard fits safely in the carry-on space, not whether it makes music. A small instrument rides like luggage; the overhead…
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More than half of the London Underground is above ground
About 55% of the network’s tracks run above ground, mostly in the outer suburbs, where surface rail avoids the expense of digging tunnels.
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Reindeer make clicking sounds with their legs
As the animals walk, tendons move over bones around the ankle, producing audible clicks. Alaska wildlife officials even recommend listening for the noise when…
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How wingsuits turn falling people into gliders
A wingsuit stretches fabric between the arms, body and legs, giving falling air a much bigger surface to push against. The wearer turns some downward speed…
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Plant phloem heavily transports created sugars downward
Leaves load sugar into phloem tubes, drawing in water and building pressure that pushes the sugary sap toward roots and storage tissues. The tree runs a…
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Gondola systems utilize backup diesel motors during outages
If the main drive loses power, a backup diesel motor turns the cable slowly enough to bring gondolas to a station. It’s not a second high-speed ride; it’s the…
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