Transport
Discover facts about transport. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Transport
Fighter jets turn with a tiny squeeze
A small stick input moves the jet’s control surfaces, rolling the wings so their lift points sideways. That sideways lift bends the flight path; the pilot’s…
Discover more
The Mustang was once marketed as a practical car for women
Ford marketed the 1964 Mustang to young, single working women as a stylish, affordable car that was cheap to maintain. Its muscle-car image came later, after…
Discover more
Why British drivers call speed bumps sleeping policemen
A speed bump lies across the road like a policeman sprawled in your path: hit it quickly and your car pays for the hurry. The nickname “sleeping policeman”…
Discover more
Traditional dumbwaiters strictly isolate internal noises
A dumbwaiter travels inside an enclosed shaft, with doors separating it from the rooms it serves. The walls contain the clatter of dishes and pulleys, letting…
Discover more
Why babies cry during plane flights
As a plane climbs or descends, cabin pressure changes. Babies’ ears have small Eustachian tubes that equalize pressure, and swallowing helps open them; a baby…
Discover more
Jet bodyboards are motorized floating planks
A jet bodyboard’s motor drives a water jet backward, pushing the board and rider forward across the surface. It’s a surfboard with its own tiny engine room—no…
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.
A fully loaded airplane snack cart can weigh 200 pounds
Packed with soda cans, ice, and duty-free liquor, it can become a serious hazard to passengers’ toes if it rolls into them.
Discover more
Why paratroopers land with a roll
The roll turns a sudden landing into a longer, smoother motion. Instead of one ankle or knee taking the whole jolt, the force spreads across the body as the…
Discover more
How a van becomes a minibus
The cargo space gets refitted with passenger seats, windows and proper restraints. The van keeps its shell but changes jobs: the boxes get evicted, and…
Discover more
Space stations are assembled piece by piece in orbit
The station’s parts are too large to launch as one giant structure, so rockets carry them up in separate modules. Astronauts bolt the pieces together in…
Discover more
Packing cubes revolutionized modern suitcase organization
Packing cubes divide a suitcase into zipped compartments, so shirts, chargers, and socks stop migrating into one giant textile mystery. They don’t create more…
Discover more
Montreal’s subway brakes are made of oiled wood
When the motors lose their braking bite at low speed, wooden blocks press against the wheels to finish the stop. The blocks are treated with oil and…
Discover more
Hand truck P-handles allow one-handed steering
The broad P-shaped handle gives your hand a large grip, so you steer and tilt the hand truck with one hand while the other steadies the load or opens a door.…
Discover more
Wearing excessive metal jewelry guarantees a pat-down
A metal detector spots metal, not jewelry. Load it with bracelets and chains and the alarm gives security a reason to check you by hand; the machine has no…
Discover more
Why Greenwich became the world's longitude zero
In 1884, delegates chose Greenwich as the prime meridian, the line marked zero for measuring longitude. Britain’s charts and maritime influence helped make…
Discover more
Dual-sided car keys allow insertion without looking
A double-sided key presents the same working cuts whichever face points up, so it slides into the lock without a visual check. It’s a small mercy for anyone…
Discover more
The woman who drove across America in 1909
Alice Huyler Ramsey and three companions spent 59 days driving from New York to San Francisco in 1909. Their Maxwell faced rough roads, tire trouble, and a…
Discover more
Lincoln's funeral train crossed the country in black
The train carried Lincoln’s body from Washington to Springfield, and its black paint and mourning drapery made the journey a rolling public memorial. At stops…
Discover more
Massive steel ships float by displacing heavy water
A ship floats because its hollow hull pushes aside enough water to weigh as much as the ship. The steel itself is dense, but the hull holds a huge volume of…
Discover more
Hertz paid $168 million to settle false-arrest claims
In December 2022, the rental company settled with 364 people over allegations that they had been wrongly detained or arrested after cars were reported stolen.…
Discover more
Why matter forms a ring around black holes
Gas near a black hole still has sideways motion, so it orbits instead of falling straight in. Collisions and friction drain that motion, heating the gas as it…
Discover more
Aristocrats refused to share carriages with lower classes
Aristocrats used separate carriages to avoid sharing close quarters with poorer travelers. Even on the move, status needed its own seat—and apparently…
Discover more
Freight container corrugated walls maximize rigidity
Those wavy container walls aren’t decoration: each fold stiffens the thin steel against bending. The corrugations make a big box sturdier without making it a…
Discover more
Camel milk contains its own antimicrobial proteins
Lactoferrin binds iron that some bacteria need, while lysozyme attacks bacterial cell walls. These proteins help explain researchers' interest in the milk's…
Discover more