Transport
Discover facts about transport. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Transport
Funicular railways use two counterbalanced passenger cars attached to opposite ends of the same massive cable
Because why fight gravity when you can just use the other passengers as a giant counterweight? Funicular railways, often built on incredibly steep…
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Ancient actors wore giant shoes to look important
Before high heels were a fashion statement, ancient performers strapped giant cork blocks to their feet purely to emphasize their importance on stage. If you…
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The word visa once meant paper seen
Before it was an expensive sticker in your booklet, "visa" was short for the Latin "charta visa," literally meaning a paper that has been seen. It’s…
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Why tow trucks lift cars by their tires
Dragging a completely disabled modern rig by the fragile plastic front bumper is a guaranteed way to rip it completely off. Modern wreckers slide massive…
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Three teachers drove a tuk-tuk around the world
If you complain about legroom on a road trip, direct your apologies to Richard Sears, Nick Gough, and their auto-rickshaw. In 2012, these lunatics decided a…
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Dump truck beds are officially called skips
In the UK, nobody actually uses the term 'dump bed' for that massive hydraulic dirt-thrower on the back of a truck. Calling it a skip makes the violent act of…
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Piggybacking puts flatbeds on flatbeds
In a truly surreal display of laziness, a flatbed tow truck is occasionally used to transport another empty flatbed tow truck. It is heavy transport's version…
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Dunnage secures cargo on flatbed trucks
This elegant word just describes the literal pile of scrap wood, random foam blocks, and cheap mats truckers aggressively wedge between heavy cargo. Its sole…
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How much power the Space Shuttle launch unleashed
NASA doesn't do anything quietly. The three main engines on the rear of the now-retired Space Shuttle combined with the solid rocket boosters to create 7.8…
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Wooden pallets can carry invasive insects across borders
Global trade is an accidental biological warfare delivery system. Because massive cargo pallets are made from untreated scrap wood, they frequently harbor…
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Why passenger planes don’t hand out parachutes
People love to complain about a lack of parachutes on planes, failing to realize human limitations. If a jet is cruising at 35,000 feet at 500 mph, trying to…
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Baggage originates from an old French word for bundle
Before it was synonymous with your unresolved childhood trauma, "baggage" came from the Old French "bague," meaning bundle or pack. It was the collective term…
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Why you sometimes forget miles of driving
Have you ever arrived at your destination and realized you have absolutely zero memory of the last forty miles? Congratulations, you survived highway…
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Why astronauts may be grounded from driving after spaceflight
Re-entering Earth’s atmosphere might be a fiery nightmare, but driving home from the airport is significantly more dangerous for an astronaut. After months of…
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Why cruise ships need city-sized amounts of power
Keeping five thousand sunburned tourists entertained at sea requires an absurd amount of energy. Between the massive propulsion systems, air conditioning,…
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Early elevators needed an operator to line up each floor
Automatic leveling is a massive luxury we take for granted. Originally, paid operators had to skillfully pull a lever to line up the cabin exactly with the…
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When engineers tried to replace trains with hovercraft
In the 1960s, engineers seriously looked at steel tracks and thought, 'What if we just blew a bunch of air under a massive box instead?' The concept of the…
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Why New Hampshire adults aren’t required to wear seatbelts
'Live Free or Die' isn't just a cute license plate slogan; it's an unhinged legislative promise. While the rest of the civilized world universally agrees that…
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Garbage collection trucks achieve terrible fuel efficiency
Stopping every fifteen feet, idling loudly, and hauling literal tons of junk means these urban leviathans get hilariously bad mileage. They basically drink…
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Deep ocean swells transfer energy instead of liquid mass
If you drop a cork in deep water, it mostly just bobs up and down as waves pass. The massive wave is actually a phantom shape of pure energy moving through…
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San Francisco bay ferries connect distant coastal suburbs
Taking the train is crowded, so coastal residents opt for the ferry. It offers a glorious view of the Golden Gate, right up until the intense morning fog…
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Wheelbarrows pivot easily on very narrow footpaths
The single wheel is not just a cheap design choice. By balancing everything on one point of contact, a farmer can navigate highly uneven terrain, extremely…
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Turkmenistan banned black cars
Dictatorships are known for quirky laws, but outlawing a color takes the absolute cake. The authoritarian regime of Turkmenistan banned all black cars from…
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Why moving walkways make you slow down
You hop on that flat escalator at the terminal thinking you're going to reach your gate at superhuman speeds, but science says otherwise. Studies show that…
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