Transport
Discover facts about transport. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Transport
Standard tractor-trailers have 18 wheels
Just in case you thought your sedan's four tires were a hassle to maintain. Heavy transport relies on this absurd barrage of rubber to evenly distribute up to…
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Unicyclists are legally classified as pedestrians
If you thought rolling down the street on one wheel made you a vehicle, think again. The law simply views you as a very tall, incredibly unbalanced pedestrian…
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When one arm stops swinging as you walk
If one of your arms stops swinging while you walk, your brain might be failing. This minor locomotion hiccup is often one of the earliest visible symptoms of…
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Victorians feared trains would melt their bodies
Leave it to nineteenth-century doctors to invent the most metal fake disease in history. When passenger trains were first introduced, medical 'experts' warned…
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Paris once endured a 109-mile traffic jam
Combining thousands of vacationing French motorists with a sudden, localized winter storm results in a historical transportation collapse. In February 1980,…
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Why airplanes have swept-back wings
Straight wings are fantastic at slow velocities, but they perform terribly when approaching the sound barrier. Angling the wings sharply backwards fools the…
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Unicycle saddles feature heavily curved designs
Hook: Sitting on a regular bike seat with no handlebars would instantly throw you off the front. Explanation: Unicycle seats resemble a massive banana shape,…
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Why road crews need so many cones
A small pothole repair apparently requires a battalion of fifty glowing orange cones to establish a perimeter. They slowly migrate across the lane, claiming…
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Luxury sport utility vehicles contain separate climate zones
Because wealthy families are fundamentally incapable of agreeing on an acceptable ambient temperature. Standard systems blast a uniform breeze everywhere, but…
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How bicycles save millions of gallons of gas
As much as it pains the average driver to admit, the guy in spandex blocking the intersection is actually saving the planet. By choosing pedal power over…
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The Red Baron painted his plane bright red
Camouflage is only useful if you actually fear your enemies. Manfred von Richthofen painted his Fokker triplane blindingly bright red simply to ensure Allied…
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Why ordinary helicopters can't rescue climbers on Everest
At 29,000 feet, the air is so catastrophically thin that helicopter rotor blades literally have nothing to grab onto to generate lift. While a few insane,…
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How fighter jets refuel in midair
Because landing to refuel is highly inconvenient during a mission, massive tanker aircraft unravel enormous rigid booms or long flexible hoses. Fighter jets…
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Gravity painfully dragging dirt down hillsides
Even a gentle slope is secretly attempting to flatten itself if you wait long enough. Soil creep is the incredibly slow, downward transport of earth…
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Why hearses can be stretched-out station wagons
It is basically just a luxury family wagon stretched awkwardly to comfortably fit a wooden coffin. The final luxurious ride you ever take is entirely inside a…
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Why London’s Tube escalators move so fast
Because London commuters operate on a baseline of simmering rage and simply do not have the patience for a leisurely ascent. The escalators in the Tube are…
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When wealthy passengers brought their beds on trains
Bringing your own massive, heavy mattress onto a train was the ultimate aristocratic power move. The wealthy flatly refused to sleep on standard transit…
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Yield signs mean nobody stops unless physically forced
Approaching a merge with an inverted triangle is universally treated as a chaotic game of automotive chicken. Rather than completely stopping, drivers merely…
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Why anyone would ride a unicycle through the mountains
Riding one wheel on flat ground was evidently too mundane, so people decided to take them into the wilderness. Mountain unicycles are equipped with massive,…
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Why the President's helicopter flies with decoys
Good luck guessing which flying machine has the President. To thwart attacks, the designated helicopter always flies in a high-stakes shell game with…
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When battleship guns rode on armored trains
Sticking giant battleship cannons onto a train sounds like a child's drawing, but it was highly effective. Nations in both World Wars built massive armored…
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Why hot-air balloon burners sound like flamethrowers
To keep a massive canvas sack floating, pilots blast a literal flamethrower into the opening. The sheer roar of the fire terrifies every bird in the sky while…
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The Beetle used its spare tire to wash the windshield
Instead of wasting precious money on an electric fluid pump, Volkswagen engineers decided to weaponize the air in your spare tire. The classic Beetle routed a…
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Why escalator handrails never quite match the steps
It’s not broken, it’s just designed to annoy you into staying alert. The rubber handrail loops around a different set of pulleys than the heavy metal stairs,…
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