Transport
Discover facts about transport. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Transport
The extreme sport of drifting downhill on tricycles
A wildly extreme sport exists where fully grown adults ride heavily modified three-wheelers with totally slick rear tires down steep inclines, purely to slide…
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When roller-skating waitresses spilled the milkshakes
Mid-century American diners popularized the trend of having staff glide out to hungry customers on wheels, which inevitably resulted in an incalculable amount…
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Why Bicycle cards got wheels in 1885
The US Playing Card Company slapped cycle graphics onto their decks in 1885 simply because pedaling was the absolute hottest societal trend, basically chasing…
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Children recklessly hurled newspapers from balanced bikes
For several decades, young children were actively employed to recklessly hurl rolled-up daily papers at front porches while desperately trying to stay upright…
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Why family quadracycles let passengers fake pedaling
These heavy four-wheeled contraptions are expertly designed so that at least two family members can completely fake pedaling while the others do all the…
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The bike that forces coworkers to face each other
Acting as the ultimate corporate torture device, these seven-seater circular cycles force coworkers to face each other and awkwardly make small talk while…
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Why anyone would ride a towering bicycle
Constructed by welding multiple frames vertically, these towering cycles appeal almost exclusively to eccentric riders who intensely crave both public…
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The sport that replaced horses with bicycles
Originating in Ireland in 1891, this chaotic sport completely removes majestic livestock from the equation, replacing them with heavily battered cycles and a…
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Lawn mowers became racing machines
Suburban dads eventually got so bored with weekend yard chores that they modified their grass cutters for high-speed racing leagues, fully embracing the utter…
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Japanese rickshaws employed anyone with desperation
Invented in the 1860s, these hand-drawn carts quickly became an incredibly massive employment sector, eagerly hiring absolutely anyone possessing intense…
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How Queen Victoria made tricycles fashionable
Once the monarch acquired a pedal-powered three-wheeler, it instantly became highly fashionable for wealthy women to ditch their stuffy parlors and pedal…
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Some baby strollers cost more than a month's rent
Premium baby carriers can effortlessly cost far more than a monthly rent payment, swiftly turning local suburban parks into incredibly aggressive parenting…
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A Swiss banker invented the scooter for faster sausages
The wildly popular folding scooter was designed by a Swiss banker who was intensely annoyed by how long it took to reach his favorite local sausage stand on…
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When businessmen tried commuting on pogo sticks
A spectacularly brief and entirely doomed fad involved serious businessmen attempting to bounce all the way to the office, instantly destroying their highly…
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When a palanquin was part of the bridal dowry
In ancient Indian traditions, an incredibly ornate and heavily decorated carrying box was frequently presented as a massive, highly valuable chunk of a…
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The sport where hockey is played on one wheel
Played strictly on hardwood gym floors, this utterly absurd sport requires players to desperately balance on a single wheel while wildly swinging sticks at a…
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Why kick scooters fail to make teenagers look tough
Urban areas occasionally experience roaming packs of youths on brightly colored folding scooters, failing utterly to look even slightly menacing while riding…
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How chariots turned archers into hit-and-run fighters
Ancient armies fully utilized these agile platforms to rapidly deploy archers across the battlefield, effectively inventing the ancient era's version of a…
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Aviation ejection seats were first tested using live bears
Early aerospace engineering required incredibly unhinged test methods. When the military aggressively needed to test the violent explosive force of supersonic…
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The sport where cyclists joust with giant poles
Modern underground tournaments actually exist where brave fools ride heavily modified tall cycles and violently attempt to knock each other over with giant…
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Can jogging strollers upset toddlers' stomachs
Specialized three-wheelers allow hyper-active parents to sprint intensely through parks, brilliantly ensuring their poor toddlers learn severe gastric…
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The exhausting truth about ice cream carts
Traditional chilled dairy carts are fundamentally just extremely heavy three-wheelers loaded down with heavy freezers, forcing the vendor into an exhausting…
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The Paralympics began with veterans' wheelchair games
The incredibly massive global sporting event traces its humble roots directly back to disabled World War II veterans organizing highly competitive wheelchair…
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When England taxed the privilege of being carried
In eighteenth-century England, simply owning a personal carrying box required paying a special luxury tax, proving unequivocally that the government…
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