Transport
Discover facts about transport. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Transport
Where your lost luggage ends up
There is a massive retail store that exclusively sells the weird items people forget at baggage claim. From iPads to incredibly expensive snowboards, your…
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Valet attendants sprint frantically to fetch parked sedans
To maintain the illusion of instant luxury service, these folks casually take your keys, walk calmly out of sight, and then immediately sprint like Olympic…
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Why a million-mile car can reset its odometer
Even though there are no physical dials turning anymore, digital car screens still awkwardly reset if you somehow manage to drive a million miles. It is…
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Why hood ornaments once measured engine heat
Before they became shiny status symbols designed to get stolen by teenagers, hood ornaments actually had a highly stressful day job. Early vehicles had…
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Why glow sticks can be a flight security problem
If you plan on turning your red-eye flight into an underground rave, you better check your neon inventory. The glowing juice inside those plastic tubes is…
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When an emergency vehicle needs rescuing
Driving incredibly fast with blaring sirens makes everyone around you violently panic and swerve. The massive emergency truck heading to save a life…
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Chocks prevent parked vehicles from rolling
After parking 40,000 pounds of metal, trusting the parking brake alone is a game of pure roulette. Drivers are forced to kick simple, aggressively shaped…
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How truckers check tires with a thump
Because bending over to check eighteen individual tire gauges is utterly exhausting. Truckers aggressively bash their tires with a wooden club; a sharp thwack…
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London once considered trains pulled by underground cables
Imagine trusting your life to a really long piece of string. Before settling on steam and later electricity, early planners for the Tube considered a system…
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Tuk-tuk drivers steer enclosed cabins using handlebars
Sitting inside a fully covered vehicle with a roof and doors naturally implies you will be greeted by a standard steering wheel. Instead, the driver sits dead…
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Sound waves move energy without transporting matter
When someone yells at you, the air molecules don't actually fly into your ear. They just bump into each other like a panicked mosh pit, passing the annoying…
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The oldest globe leaves out the Americas
Created in 1492, the Erdapfel (Earth Apple) is the oldest surviving globe. Hilariously, because news of Columbus hadn't made it back yet, the globe entirely…
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A freight train can need a mile to stop
If your car breaks down on a railroad crossing, get out immediately. A fully loaded freight train moving at 55 miles an hour has so much kinetic energy that…
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How a spiral lifts water uphill
A giant rotating spiral catches liquid in its pockets and forces it uphill as the entire apparatus turns. It is a hilariously simple concept that stubbornly…
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Why Lenin traveled in a locked train car
Smuggled like highly volatile human cargo. To get him back to Russia to start a revolution, German authorities essentially sealed Lenin in a train carriage,…
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The floating hotels where offshore workers live
Working in the middle of the ocean means you can't just drive home. Companies provide massive barge-hotels that offer all the bleak comfort of a cheap motel,…
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Why Victorian carriages had secret compartments
Paranoia heavily ruled the day, as elite travelers built hidden, velvet-lined compartments directly into their wooden carriages, desperately hiding their…
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Why armored cash vans can keep driving after a blowout
If you are driving a rolling vault full of actual currency, a flat tire is the perfect opportunity for an ambush. Armed transit vans utilize immensely thick,…
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Why the ISS has a tiny acoustic guitar
Hauling mass into orbit costs thousands of dollars per ounce, which makes acoustic instruments a hilariously bad investment. Regardless, a custom-built,…
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Riser pads increase clearance between the deck and wheels
A brilliant solution to the terrifying phenomenon of the deck biting the wheels. Riser pads are simple plastic or rubber rectangles wedged between the board…
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Straddle carriers drive over their cargo
Instead of picking up a shipping container from the side, this horrifyingly tall, spider-like vehicle literally drives its massive arched body directly over…
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Barcodes were first used on railroad cars
Before they were used to violently scan a can of beans at the self-checkout, barcodes were a heavy-duty industrial solution. In the 1960s, the railroad…
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Why Kim Jong-un travels in an armored train
Dictators love heavy armor, even if it means moving at a glacial pace. To avoid the vulnerabilities of flying, he slowly crawls across continents in a heavily…
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Why pop-up headlights were aerodynamic nightmares
Those incredibly cool folding headlights that flipped up out of the hood were aerodynamic nightmares. You were basically deploying tiny wind-blocking sails…
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