Transport
Discover facts about transport. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Transport
Automatic wipers can spot rain by watching light escape
A sensor sends infrared light into the windshield and measures what reflects back. Water on the outside changes that reflection, letting the car detect…
Discover more
Armored personnel carriers feature massive sloped plates
Angling armor makes an incoming round meet more metal and encourages it to glance away instead of hitting square-on. A sloped plate gets extra protection from…
Discover more
Dubai's D5 license plate sold for about $9 million
Businessman Balwinder Sahani paid 33 million dirhams at a 2016 auction for the D5 plate. A short, distinctive registration is scarce and visible every time…
Discover more
Habal-habal passengers lean carefully to keep bikes upright
On a habal-habal, passengers lean with the driver so their combined weight stays over the bike’s tires through a turn. Everyone becomes part of the steering…
Discover more
Why hot-air balloons prefer freezing mornings
A balloon rises because its heated air is lighter than the surrounding air. On a cold morning, that contrast grows, giving the burner more lifting power; dawn…
Discover more
A steering-wheel cover needs to grip the wheel as well as your hands
If a poorly fitting cover slips independently, turning the covering does not reliably turn the wheel beneath it. Thickness can also change the driver's grip.…
Discover more
STACKY FOR IPHONEA bigger world.
One discovery
at a time.
Keep discovering with Stacky. Interesting facts in an app that is always within reach.
Why agents tear open wrapped gifts
Gift wrap hides the contents from a quick inspection. When airport screeners need a closer look, they open the package—and the ribbon loses its job security…
Discover more
Narrow parking lot lines guarantee constant door dings
Parking lines pack cars into a lot, but they don’t shrink car doors. In a narrow space, an open door swings into the neighboring vehicle before its owner has…
Discover more
Some ziplines make a gloved hand part of the braking system
On courses designed for hand braking, a reinforced glove applies friction to the cable to slow the rider. Other systems brake automatically or use different…
Discover more
Why security agents swab some books for explosives
A swab collects traces from an object's surface, and a detector checks the sample for substances associated with explosives. Books, bags, and other ordinary…
Discover more
Baggage handlers utilize long conveyor belts to load planes
Long conveyor belts move baggage toward the plane while handlers sort and load it along the way. Without them, every suitcase would need its own personal…
Discover more
Kickstands rely on a precarious leaning angle
A kickstand props the bike at an angle, with the tires and stand making a three-point base. Keep the bike’s weight inside that triangle and it stays up; lean…
Discover more
Red gladhands supply emergency air lines
The red gladhand connects the trailer’s emergency air-supply line to the truck. That air fills the trailer’s reservoir and releases its spring brakes; if the…
Discover more
Helium balloons float by being strictly less dense than air
Helium is less dense than air, so a balloon displaces air that weighs more than the balloon and its gas. The difference supplies the lift, letting a party…
Discover more
Racewalking's defining rule depends on what a human eye can see
Athletes must avoid a visible loss of contact with the ground, and the advancing leg must stay straight from first contact until it passes beneath the body.…
Discover more
Invisible forces dictating fluid movement
Fluid flow is a tug-of-war: pressure differences push, gravity pulls, and viscosity resists like syrup on a cold morning. The winner decides where the water…
Discover more
Giant tail fins keep airplanes pointing strictly forward
If an airplane yaws sideways, air pushes against its tail fin and nudges the nose back into line, like a weather vane turning into the wind. The big fin is…
Discover more
Spinning metal pockets dropping fine powders
As the metal pockets spin, each one carries a small dose of powder around and releases it as it turns. Instead of dumping a heap, the device meters out a…
Discover more
Sled dogs sweat exclusively through their paw pads
Sweat glands sit in a dog’s paw pads, releasing a little moisture where paws meet the ground. It’s a modest cooling feature, not a set of furry radiator…
Discover more
A temporary spare trades long-term use for space in the trunk
A compact spare is narrower and lighter than the normal wheel-and-tire combination, leaving more room in the vehicle. Its limits on speed and distance reflect…
Discover more
An offensive T-shirt can get you denied boarding
Airline rules give crew authority to refuse passengers whose clothing is offensive or disruptive. In a packed cabin, a T-shirt is not just a private opinion;…
Discover moreGoofy was surfing on screen in 1937
Disney's Hawaiian Holiday sent Mickey and friends to the beach, where Goofy's attempt at surfing became a sequence of physical comedy. The ocean refuses to…
Discover more
A platform ticket let you travel only as far as goodbye
Railways sold admission to the platform to people who were not taking the train. That let relatives help with luggage or see a traveler off without buying a…
Discover more
How sailboats move against the wind
A sail works like an airplane wing: moving air creates a force across it, while the keel resists the boat’s sideways shove. The boat turns into the wind,…
Discover more