Transport
Discover facts about transport. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Transport
The extreme sport of drifting downhill on tricycles
Downhill drift trikes use slick sleeves over their rear wheels, so the back end slides through corners while the front wheel steers. Gravity supplies the…
Discover more
When roller-skating waitresses spilled the milkshakes
A waitress rolling on skates carries each milkshake through every acceleration and stop. The cup moves with her, but the liquid sloshes behind when she brakes…
Discover more
Why Bicycle cards got wheels in 1885
Bicycle cards borrowed their name from the bicycle craze of the 1880s, when the new machines were becoming a symbol of modern life. The deck got wheels in its…
Discover more
Children recklessly hurled newspapers from balanced bikes
A child riding one-handed has to steer with tiny handlebar corrections while the other arm flings a newspaper toward a doorstep. The bike keeps rolling as the…
Discover more
A four-person bike can let one rider take a break
Some surrey bikes have independent freewheels at each crank, allowing one, two, three, or four riders to pedal. Someone can stop contributing while the others…
Discover more
The bike that forces coworkers to face each other
The bike’s seats face the middle, with riders pedaling around the person steering. It turns a group ride into a rolling meeting where the agenda includes…
Discover more
STACKY FOR IPHONEA bigger world.
One discovery
at a time.
Keep discovering with Stacky. Interesting facts in an app that is always within reach.
Why anyone would ride a towering bicycle
A penny-farthing’s pedals turned the front wheel directly, so a larger wheel covered more ground with every pedal stroke. Speed came from making the wheel…
Discover more
The sport that replaced horses with bicycles
Bicycle polo swaps the horse for a bike but keeps the mallet and the chase. A bicycle costs less to feed and house than a horse, so players can bring the…
Discover more
Lawn mowers became racing machines
Racers strip off the cutting blades and tune the mower’s engine for speed. The lawn gets no shorter, but the machine that once crept behind a garden shed…
Discover more
Japanese rickshaws employed anyone with desperation
The rickshaw turned human labor into urban transport: one person pulled a light cart while another rode. With no engine to buy or feed, the job was open to…
Discover more
How Queen Victoria made tricycles fashionable
Tricycles offered women a steadier ride than tall bicycles, and their layout worked better with the long skirts of the day. Queen Victoria’s approval gave the…
Discover more
Some baby strollers cost more than a month's rent
The price buys more than a place to park a baby: premium strollers pack in adjustable suspension, compact folding mechanisms and lightweight frames. Add…
Discover more
A sausage craving helped inspire the folding scooter
Swiss inventor Wim Ouboter said his favorite snack stop was too far to walk conveniently but too close to justify a car trip. His solution was a lightweight…
Discover more
When businessmen tried commuting on pogo sticks
For a short-lived fad, businessmen tried pogo-stick commutes to the office, a spectacle that quickly undercut their professional image.
Discover more
When a palanquin was part of the bridal dowry
A palanquin carried a bride seated inside while bearers lifted its poles, making it useful where roads were rough or a journey called for ceremony. A finely…
Discover more
Unicycle hockey makes balance part of every play
Players handle sticks while riding a single wheel, so turning toward the ball also means managing their center of gravity. They cannot rely on a bicycle's…
Discover more
Why kick scooters fail to make teenagers look tough
A kick scooter puts its rider upright, one hand on each handlebar, repeatedly kicking the pavement to keep moving. The wheels are small, the stance is…
Discover more
How chariots turned archers into hit-and-run fighters
A chariot carried an archer and a driver, so the shooter could loose arrows while the team kept moving. They could strike, wheel away, and make the enemy…
Discover more
A bear tested a supersonic bomber’s escape capsule
In 1962, a live bear was ejected from a B-58 inside an experimental escape capsule and landed by parachute. The capsule enclosed its occupant against the…
Discover more
The sport where cyclists joust with giant poles
Riders charge at each other on bicycles with long poles, trying to knock an opponent from the saddle. The trick is balancing through the hit; the lance is…
Discover more
A stroller can be baby-safe without being jogging-safe
Running adds repeated jolts that an ordinary walk does not. A baby needs adequate head and neck control before riding in a jogging stroller, and the stroller…
Discover more
The exhausting truth about ice cream carts
An ice cream cart carries a heavy load and needs insulation or ice to keep its contents cold. Push that weight through a day of stops and hills, and the…
Discover more
The Paralympics began with veterans' wheelchair games
In 1948, neurologist Ludwig Guttmann organized wheelchair games for injured World War II veterans at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. Sport turned rehabilitation…
Discover more
London's human-powered taxis could enter your house
Eighteenth-century sedan chairs had numbered licenses, fixed fares and ranks where customers could hire them. Two carriers could take shortcuts through alleys…
Discover more