Transport
Discover facts about transport. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Transport
Goodyear built an airplane you could inflate in minutes
The 1956 Inflatoplane used pressurized fabric to hold its aerodynamic shape. It was intended to be dropped to a stranded pilot, who could prepare it and fly…
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Walking on a highway median guarantees a citation
A highway median is part of the controlled-access roadway, not a walking path, and traffic rushes past on both sides. Step onto it and you’ve turned a…
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An empty logging truck can give its own trailer a piggyback ride
Some logging rigs carry the unloaded trailer on the truck for the trip back to collect another load. Once logs fill the combination, the trailer runs on its…
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Why mail trucks put the steering wheel on the right
The driver sits on the right so a postal worker can reach curbside mailboxes without stepping into traffic. The steering wheel is on the side that turns…
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An empty inspection run can go ahead of the day's passengers
A train sent over the route before passenger service gives staff a chance to check the line under operating conditions. Keeping it empty separates that check…
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A motorcycle turns by first creating a lean
At normal riding speeds, a brief steering input opposite the intended turn helps tip the motorcycle into the turn. Once leaned over, the bike follows a curved…
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Why your car visor leaves sunlight's worst gap
The visor pivots down from the roof, but sunlight also slips in from the side beside the door frame. That gap sits right where a low sun loves to aim. Some…
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Why airships dump water to climb
Helium or hydrogen supplies the lift, while water ballast adds weight. Release the ballast and the airship becomes lighter than the air it displaces, rising…
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Early car radios needed their own battery
Early vacuum-tube radios needed more voltage than a car’s electrical system supplied, so manufacturers added a separate battery pack. The radio brought its…
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Ancient Roman roads are still used by cars
A road’s hardest problem is finding a practical path through hills, rivers, and towns. Roman routes solved that puzzle, and later roads reused many of the…
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Unicycle saddles feature bulky bumpers on both ends
The front and rear bumpers protect the saddle when the unicycle tips over, and the raised ends give a rider something to grab during tricks. Even the seat…
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Why a mile means 1,000 Roman paces
The Roman mile, mille passus, meant 1,000 paces—but a pace counted a full stride from one footfall to the next, not a single step. Romans packed two steps…
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White remains the universally most popular car paint color
White reflects more sunlight than dark paint, so a parked white car absorbs less heat. It also stays neutral when tastes change, making it the safe wardrobe…
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Balloon envelopes consist of specialized ripstop nylon
A balloon envelope needs to be light, but a small tear should not become a giant exit. Ripstop nylon uses thicker threads in a grid to contain damage—tiny…
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Queen Victoria set a slower speed limit for nighttime rail travel
The Royal Collection records a limit of 40 miles per hour by day and 30 by night for her journeys. She was also said to have a signal through which a footman…
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A unicycle makes your feet do the balancing
Leaning changes where your weight falls relative to the wheel. Pedal corrections move the wheel back underneath you, so balance is an ongoing adjustment…
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London cable car transports commuters across the dark Thames
A motor keeps the overhead cable moving, and the cabins ride it across the Thames. No road bridge, no traffic queue—just a suspended shortcut over water that…
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Ancient Chinese wheelbarrows could carry passengers
A wheelbarrow’s big wheel takes much of the load, so the person pushing lifts less than they would carrying the weight. Make the tray large enough and it…
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Hang gliders rely entirely on shifting human body weight
The pilot hangs beneath the wing and shifts their weight against the control bar. That moves the glider's balance point, tipping the wing into a…
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Hand trucks use basic leverage to move massive boxes
The hand truck’s axle acts as a fulcrum: tilt the handles and the wheel lifts the box’s weight, so your arms move it instead of carrying it. That little wheel…
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Some skydivers can break the sound barrier
Air high in the atmosphere is thin, so a falling person initially encounters much less resistance than near the ground. Felix Baumgartner exceeded the speed…
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Why walking on sand takes more effort
Sand shifts under each step, so your foot sinks instead of pushing off a firm surface. Your muscles spend energy moving grains and lifting your leg back…
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The airport bigger than Manhattan
Denver International Airport covers about 53 square miles, more than twice Manhattan’s land area. Most of that sprawl is open land around the runways, leaving…
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Your motorcycle helmet may expire after five years
A helmet’s foam liner and adhesives take a slow beating from heat, sunlight, sweat, and ordinary wear. The five-year guideline is the industry’s way of saying…
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