Transport
Discover facts about transport. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Transport
The tiny hole that keeps your muffler from rusting
If you notice a tiny puddle forming under your exhaust tip, your car isn't broken. Exhaust systems naturally generate a massive amount of condensation. To…
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Why some luxury cars hide the battery in the trunk
Pop the hood of a high-end German sedan and you won't find the battery anywhere. To perfectly distribute weight across the chassis, engineers banish the heavy…
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Your car's rear window may be a radio antenna
The tall metal whips and weird shark fins are no longer strictly necessary for AM/FM radio. Automakers realized they could just embed thin metallic antenna…
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Convertible roofs latch at the windshield header
That glorious open-air feeling comes with a highly paranoid anchoring system. When a convertible top closes, it doesn't just rest on the windshield frame;…
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RV water heaters run on pure liquid propane
Taking a hot shower in the woods means relying on highly combustible gas. RV water heaters ignite a literal open flame of propane inside a tiny metal chamber…
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Why some gloveboxes can keep your snacks cool
For reasons completely unknown to the average driver, many modern vehicles route a small air conditioning vent straight into the glove compartment. Instead of…
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Consumer drones return to their exact launch point
If you completely panic and lose the signal to your expensive flying camera, it won't just fall from the sky. Most consumer drones silently record their exact…
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Those black windshield dots keep the glass in place
Those weird black dots framing your windshield aren't just there to block the sun from your eyes. Known as 'frits,' they are actually ultra-tough ceramic…
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Car doors use detents to stay propped open
You aren't a magician for perfectly resting your car door open on a slight incline. The door hinges feature engineered notches called 'detents' that…
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Steering wheels telescope in and out for drivers
Adjusting the tilt of your steering wheel is just step one. Most modern columns also feature a telescoping function, allowing you to yank the entire wheel…
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Sun visors pull out and slide on a metal rod
Congratulations, your sun visor is secretly a telescope. If unhooking the visor and swinging it to the side window still leaves glaring sunlight blinding your…
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The mysterious footrest beside your car’s pedals
There is a completely useless lump of plastic permanently glued to the far left side of your footwell. Known as the 'dead pedal,' it has absolutely zero…
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Ferris wheel cars hang from a single pin
That massive, slow-moving wheel of romance relies on a terrifyingly simple pivot. Each passenger gondola is suspended from the outer ring by a single, heavily…
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Ride-on motorized suitcases max out at walking speeds
For those who find the airport terminal too exhausting, you can literally sit on your carry-on bag and drive it. Equipped with a hidden electric motor and…
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Fifth-wheel trailers lock directly into truck beds
Standard hitch balls are too weak for massive campers. A 'fifth-wheel' requires a massive horseshoe-shaped metal receiver bolted directly into the center of a…
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Why your speedometer may exaggerate your speed
You aren't driving quite as fast as you think you are. Automakers deliberately calibrate speedometers to read slightly higher than your actual speed to…
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Why astronauts wear gold-coated visors
To stop astronauts from instantly going blind while staring at the unfiltered sun, the visors on their helmets are coated with a microscopic layer of genuine…
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A bored teenager can stop every go-kart at once
Think you're a speed demon out on the track? Think again. The teenager running the ride holds a remote control that can electronically throttle or shut down…
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How solar wind can strip a planet bare
The sun is not just a passive source of light; it is a relentless hose of supercharged plasma violently blasting everything in the solar system. This solar…
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Some nerve cells need days for deliveries
The nerve cells running down your spine to your toes are absurdly long, meaning their internal supply chains are a total nightmare. If the cell body creates a…
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Mudslides aggressively redecorate mountain topography
When heavy rain aggressively saturates a steep hillside, the dirt eventually decides it is entirely tired of holding itself together. A mudslide physically…
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How a rip current pulls swimmers out to sea
When crashing waves constantly push massive amounts of water onto a beach, all that liquid frantically needs a way back out to sea. It eventually finds a…
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Plant phloem acts as a chaotic two-way highway
While human veins usually pick one direction and stick to it, plants operate on pure vascular chaos. The phloem is a living tissue pipeline that aggressively…
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Expanding space passively stretches galaxies away from us
Distant galaxies are not actually moving away from us through space; space itself is aggressively stretching out between us. Thanks to dark energy, the very…
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