Transport
Discover facts about transport. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Transport
Rental cars may be tracking you
Fleet-tracking hardware sends a rental car’s location back to the company, helping staff find vehicles and coordinate returns. Your vacation ride has a very…
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Gondola train cars lack roofs completely
Open-top gondola cars let loaders drop bulky cargo in from above and unload it with cranes or grabs. A roof would just stand between the freight and the…
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Why submersibles can get stuck in ocean mud
Soft seabed mud seals around a submersible’s hull like a suction cup. Its thrusters then have to pull the whole vehicle free while fighting that grip—less an…
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Some emergency exits leave you holding the door
A removable overwing hatch has to be lifted out of its frame before passengers can escape. Where it should go depends on the aircraft and its instructions;…
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Early roller skates had no way to stop
Early roller skates had wheels but no brake, so stopping meant finding something sturdy to hit—or mastering a turn the design barely helped with. They…
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Why you can't escape a drive-through lane
A drive-through works by keeping cars nose-to-tail until they reach the exit. Curbs and tight turns block an easy U-turn, while the next car blocks reverse;…
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Soyuz 11 was the only mission where people died in space
The three-man crew died in 1971 when a faulty valve depressurized their capsule during descent. They remain the only people to have died in space.
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Pup trailers measure exactly 28 feet long
Pup trailers keep to 28 feet so trucking companies can link two of them behind one tractor. Each short trailer follows the other through turns—like a freight…
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Steep ziplines rely purely on gravity and wire friction
The slope does the pulling: gravity draws the rider and trolley downhill along the cable. A brake squeezes the trolley or cable to turn speed into heat,…
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Duck stance angles snowboard bindings outward
Duck stance points both snowboard bindings outward, letting the rider face either direction without twisting into an awkward posture. It makes riding switch…
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The giant rubber pads beneath elevated highways
Rubber bearings sit between the bridge deck and its supports, cushioning vibration and letting the structure shift as temperatures change. The highway gets…
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Wingsuits can't land without a parachute
A wingsuit lets pilots glide, but it can't bring them to a safe stop; every flight ends with a parachute deployment.
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Prime movers pull heavy trailer loads
The tractor supplies the engine and the driven wheels; the trailer supplies most of the cargo space. Gears multiply the engine’s turning force, while the…
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Rolling stock means anything on rail tracks
“Rolling stock” means the vehicles that move on the railway: locomotives, passenger cars, and freight cars. Tracks, bridges, and signals belong to the…
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A tank turret has to rotate a shield, a gun and a workplace
Armor protects the crew while the gun, mounting and other equipment move with the turret. In a heavy tank, this is a massive rotating assembly rather than a…
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Velomobiles are fully enclosed tricycles
The rider pedals a three-wheeler inside an enclosed body, which smooths the airflow and keeps off rain and wind. Think tricycle meets tiny aerodynamic…
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The airport where trains cross the runway
The railway at Gisborne Airport cuts across the runway, so train and plane movements must be coordinated before either crosses. It’s a level crossing where…
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Fire engines are frequently painted brightly colored yellow
A fire engine has to be seen through traffic, smoke, and visual clutter. Fluorescent yellow grabs the eye in daylight—subtlety has never put out a fire.
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Some Japanese freight trucks have chandeliers inside
The chandeliers are part of dekotora, Japan’s culture of extravagantly customized trucks. Drivers turn work vehicles into personal displays, layering the…
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Why old Honda Accords are so easy to steal
Older Accords lack the electronic engine immobilizers that make modern cars check for a coded key before starting. A basic key and simpler locks leave fewer…
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Hawaii has interstate highways that cross no states
Hawaii’s interstates are federally designated highways, even though they don’t connect states, and they receive federal highway funds.
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Why Soviet drivers carried their windshield wipers indoors
In a place where spare parts were scarce, leaving wiper blades on a parked car invited trouble. Soviet drivers detached them and carried them indoors. The…
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How airplane contrails shade the ground
Jet exhaust leaves ice crystals in cold air; those crystals spread into wispy clouds that reflect incoming sunlight. They also slow heat from escaping back to…
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Roof racks create horrible whistling sounds at high speeds
A roof bar disrupts smooth airflow, sending pulses of air past the car. At highway speed, those pulses make a high-pitched whistle—the rack’s tiny concert,…
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