Transport
Discover facts about transport. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Transport
Your train may rely on Victorian-era signaling
While you scroll TikTok on the train, the infrastructure keeping you from colliding with another locomotive is likely older than your great-grandparents. Many…
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Freight container corner castings bear all the weight
The giant corrugated sides of a steel shipping box are practically useless for bearing loads. Every ounce of crushing pressure is channeled directly into the…
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Why early steamships still carried sails
Crossing the Atlantic Ocean with a massive iron boiler full of pressurized boiling water terrified 19th-century sailors, and rightly so. Early steam engines…
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The squirrel-hair brush behind Rolls-Royce's pinstripes
Because using synthetic bristles would just be too terribly middle-class. Every single pinstripe on a custom Rolls-Royce is painted completely by hand by…
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Why cleats ruin hard floors
Wearing plastic spikes is brilliant for digging into grass and moving sharply, but wearing them on a hard surface is a disaster. It turns the wearer into an…
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Why helicopters can't fly through the Lincoln Tunnel
In what is perhaps the most hilariously unnecessary piece of legislation ever penned, it is formally illegal to pilot a rotary aircraft through a subterranean…
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Equatorial air density changes atmospheric lift
The exact same airplane will violently struggle to take off near the equator compared to the poles. Hot equatorial air is significantly less dense, meaning…
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Chicago water taxis bypass gridlock by using the local river
The city river is no longer just an open sewer; it is now a viable transit lane. Office workers climb aboard these small vessels to slide past the agonizing…
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Earth has more than a billion cars—and counting
We have officially surrendered the planet to our metal overlords. There are over 1.4 billion cars traversing the globe right now. With automobile production…
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Why an astronaut threw his silver pin on the Moon
It turns out highly decorated military pilots are completely prone to dramatic, theatrical gestures. Astronaut Alan Bean unpinned his silver astronaut lapel…
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When carpool lanes make traffic worse
Reserving an entire premium lane for carpoolers seems wonderfully efficient until you look at the reality of the grid. Because there are rarely enough fully…
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Upward angled airplane wings automatically stabilize flight
If you look closely at a passenger jet from the front, the wings point slightly upward in a shallow V shape. This dihedral angle ensures that if the plane…
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Spinning dust devils lift surface particulates upward
Small atmospheric vortices pick up loose dirt and fling it into the air purely due to localized heating. It is a localized tantrum of atmospheric pressure…
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Asymmetric thrust violently yaws twin engine aircraft
Losing an engine on one side of a jet does not just drop your speed; it aggressively tries to spin you in a circle. With massive forward thrust only pushing…
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The Smart car began as a Swatch CEO's idea
If your car looks like a roller skate, there's a good reason for it. Nicolas Hayek, the mastermind behind Swatch watches, wanted to build a vehicle that was…
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Subway doors always make that annoying beep before closing. It’s not just a polite warning for rushing commuters.
Subway doors always make that annoying beep before closing. It’s not just a polite warning for rushing commuters.
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Have you ever noticed that tiny hole in airplane windows? It’s not a defect.
Have you ever noticed that tiny hole in airplane windows? It’s not a defect.
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In most four-door cars, the rear windows refuse to roll down all the way. It’s totally not a child safety feature.
In most four-door cars, the rear windows refuse to roll down all the way. It’s totally not a child safety feature.
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When it comes to buying a new vehicle, choosing this specific paint color statistically reduces your crash risk.
When it comes to buying a new vehicle, choosing this specific paint color statistically reduces your crash risk.
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Almost every car has those handles above the passenger doors. But they weren't originally designed for off-roading.
Almost every car has those handles above the passenger doors. But they weren't originally designed for off-roading.
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You’ve probably never noticed, but the windows on commercial airplanes rarely align perfectly with the seats. Why?
You’ve probably never noticed, but the windows on commercial airplanes rarely align perfectly with the seats. Why?
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Rudolf Diesel invented his world-changing engine in the 1890s. What shocking fuel did he originally design it to run on?
Rudolf Diesel invented his world-changing engine in the 1890s. What shocking fuel did he originally design it to run on?
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The US Interstate system isn't randomly numbered. What does it mean if a highway ends in an odd number, like I-95?
The US Interstate system isn't randomly numbered. What does it mean if a highway ends in an odd number, like I-95?
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Why are almost all massive highway exit and mileage signs painted that specific shade of reflective green?
Why are almost all massive highway exit and mileage signs painted that specific shade of reflective green?
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