Transport
Discover facts about transport. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Transport
Ancient China had wheeled chairs for the elite
Long before European variants popped up, rudimentary chairs with wooden wheels were used to push royals and officials around so they wouldn't have to endure…
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Kickstands ruined the art of leaning your ride
Before this incredibly simple metal stick was invented, riders basically had to awkwardly prop their extremely heavy machines against brick walls or just…
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Double-decker buses were made to cheat space
Instead of making vehicles longer and permanently clogging up intersections, some genius realized you could just stack passengers vertically and hope the…
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Why a baby carriage is called a pram
The British term for a baby carriage comes from a wildly overly formal word that literally just means to walk around a place for pleasure, which is rarely…
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Some bikers can take a casket to the cemetery
For riders who want to go out making as much noise as possible, specialized sidecar attachments exist solely to drag a casket to the cemetery at highly…
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Why your tuk-tuk fare may be negotiable
In many parts of the world, the electronic fare counter is completely ignored by both parties in favor of an intense, theatrical haggling session before you…
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Sidecars let passengers avoid hugging the driver
Not everyone wants to bear-hug a leather-clad driver for an hour, so someone literally bolted a fancy metal bucket to the side for riders who prefer sitting…
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Tuk-tuks are named for their engine noise
There is no deep cultural or linguistic history here. The famous three-wheelers were literally just named after the loud, rattling sound their tiny two-stroke…
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Why ape-hanger handlebars make bikes harder to steer
Those ridiculously tall grips you see on highway cruisers exist entirely for aesthetic intimidation, violently reducing the rider's actual ability to turn the…
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Hong Kong ferry seats flip to face forward
Riding backward on a boat makes people miserable, so the iconic Star Ferry found a lazy workaround. The wooden benches have a hinged backrest that can be…
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Venice water taxis look like luxury speedboats but can drain your wallet quickly
If you refuse to share a public flatboat with the masses, you can always hire a sleek wooden speedboat. These glossy, mahogany-trimmed vessels look like they…
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The Atomium has escalators inside its tubes
When Brussels built a massive silver replica of an iron crystal, they needed a way to get people between the giant spheres. They simply shoved enclosed…
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Pyongyang's subway doubles as a nuclear shelter
Public transit in Pyongyang is built with a heavy dose of sheer paranoia. Their underground rail system is situated over three hundred feet below the surface,…
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The strange world of spiral escalators
Linear movement is incredibly boring, so engineers decided to bend metal tracks into a curve. Spiral escalators are mathematical nightmares that pull…
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London Eye is a massive cantilevered observation wheel
Stop calling it a Ferris wheel; the British get very sensitive about the terminology. Unlike standard carnival rides suspended between two supports, this…
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The cable car that carried Chongqing across the Yangtze
Before bridges were abundant, Chongqing residents relied on a giant metal box strung over the murky Yangtze River. The urban cableway functions exactly like a…
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Why tourists sail toward Niagara Falls' raging water
If you have ever wanted to willingly plunge into a churning cauldron of frothy white water, these ferries have you covered. The robust vessels actively fight…
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Those theme-park trains may have no tracks
You have probably seen those adorable little locomotives chugging around tourist traps, seemingly bound to an invisible path. In reality, they are completely…
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The elevator bolted to a mountain cliff
If standard enclosed lifts do not trigger enough vertigo for your liking, try one attached to the outside of a towering rock face. The Bailong Elevator holds…
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Salvador has an elevator for crossing town
Connecting a sprawling upper and lower city is tough, so Salvador just installed a colossal art deco lift. The Lacerda Elevator moves tens of thousands of…
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Lisbon's elevator moves straight up
When your city has too many hills, public transit stops moving horizontally and starts going straight up. The Santa Justa Lift in Portugal is an ornate iron…
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London's driverless train has a front-row seat
Nothing thrills a grown adult more than pretending to be in charge. The Docklands Light Railway is completely automated, meaning there is no actual control…
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The cable-car cabins with glass floors
For passengers who feel completely secure dangling from a thin metal rope, Ngong Ping added a feature to ruin that confidence. Certain premium cabins are…
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The Panama Canal runs on rain-fed freshwater
Despite connecting two incredibly salty oceans, the actual transit path is completely fresh. The massive locks rely entirely on water draining from a nearby…
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