Transport
Discover facts about transport. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Transport
Pennsylvania law requires the deeply traditional Amish community to attach bright orange reflective triangles to the back of their horse-drawn wooden buggies to avoid being obliterated by modern cars.
Pennsylvania law requires the deeply traditional Amish community to attach bright orange reflective triangles to the back of their horse-drawn wooden buggies…
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Henry Ford famously offered the Model T automobile in any color the customer wanted, as long as that color was black, but this was not actually an artistic choice.
Henry Ford famously offered the Model T automobile in any color the customer wanted, as long as that color was black, but this was not actually an artistic…
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Statisticians constantly remind us that most car accidents happen within five miles of your own home, completely ignoring the painfully obvious fact that the area immediately…
Statisticians constantly remind us that most car accidents happen within five miles of your own home, completely ignoring the painfully obvious fact that the…
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Stop signs used to be painted bright yellow with black lettering because early twentieth-century dye manufacturers literally could not invent a red paint that would not…
Stop signs used to be painted bright yellow with black lettering because early twentieth-century dye manufacturers literally could not invent a red paint that…
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Rowan Atkinson holds the bizarre record for securing Britain's highest-ever car insurance payout after wrapping his ridiculously rare McLaren F1 around a tree in 2011.
Rowan Atkinson holds the bizarre record for securing Britain's highest-ever car insurance payout after wrapping his ridiculously rare McLaren F1 around a tree…
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Japan holds the world record for the fastest manned train, with their L0 Series Maglev clocking in at an absolutely blistering 374 miles per hour during a test run.
Japan holds the world record for the fastest manned train, with their L0 Series Maglev clocking in at an absolutely blistering 374 miles per hour during a…
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Modern aircraft carriers use massive, steam-powered or electromagnetic catapults to launch thirty-ton fighter jets off a runway that is roughly the length of three football fields.
Modern aircraft carriers use massive, steam-powered or electromagnetic catapults to launch thirty-ton fighter jets off a runway that is roughly the length of…
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Etymologically, the word helicopter does not come from combining the fragments 'heli' and 'copter', but rather from the Greek words 'helico' meaning spiral, and 'pter' meaning wing.
Etymologically, the word helicopter does not come from combining the fragments 'heli' and 'copter', but rather from the Greek words 'helico' meaning spiral,…
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Commercial airplane tires are inflated with nitrogen gas to incredibly high pressures, usually around two hundred pounds per square inch, which is roughly six times the pressure of a standard car tire.
Commercial airplane tires are inflated with nitrogen gas to incredibly high pressures, usually around two hundred pounds per square inch, which is roughly six…
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Mary Anderson invented the windshield wiper in 1903 after noticing during a snowy trip to New York City that streetcar drivers had to constantly stick their heads out of the window to see where they were going.
Mary Anderson invented the windshield wiper in 1903 after noticing during a snowy trip to New York City that streetcar drivers had to constantly stick their…
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Modern automobiles are assembled from approximately thirty thousand individual parts, ranging from the massive engine block and transmission down to the tiniest dashboard screws and microchips.
Modern automobiles are assembled from approximately thirty thousand individual parts, ranging from the massive engine block and transmission down to the…
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Residents of Santa Catalina Island in California use golf carts as their primary mode of transportation because the government essentially banned regular cars to prevent a massive traffic apocalypse.
Residents of Santa Catalina Island in California use golf carts as their primary mode of transportation because the government essentially banned regular cars…
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Largest wooden airplane ever constructed was famously nicknamed the Spruce Goose by a mocking press, despite the incredibly obvious fact that it was actually made entirely out of birch.
Largest wooden airplane ever constructed was famously nicknamed the Spruce Goose by a mocking press, despite the incredibly obvious fact that it was actually…
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Functional parachutes were conceptualized and successfully tested hundreds of years before anyone actually managed to invent a working airplane to jump out of.
Functional parachutes were conceptualized and successfully tested hundreds of years before anyone actually managed to invent a working airplane to jump out…
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New Hampshire famously stamps its state license plates with the wildly aggressive motto "Live Free or Die", which ironically is manufactured by actual prisoners making pennies an hour.
New Hampshire famously stamps its state license plates with the wildly aggressive motto "Live Free or Die", which ironically is manufactured by actual…
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New York subway maps used today are loosely based on a legendary 1972 design by Massimo Vignelli, who chose to sacrifice geographical accuracy for the sake of clean aesthetics and color-coded lines.
New York subway maps used today are loosely based on a legendary 1972 design by Massimo Vignelli, who chose to sacrifice geographical accuracy for the sake of…
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Submarines used during the American Civil War were basically floating metal coffins that killed their own crews much more effectively than they ever harmed the enemy.
Submarines used during the American Civil War were basically floating metal coffins that killed their own crews much more effectively than they ever harmed…
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Ancient Babylonians implemented the earliest recorded toll roads over two thousand five hundred years ago, proving that governments have always loved nickel-and-diming travelers for basic infrastructure.
Ancient Babylonians implemented the earliest recorded toll roads over two thousand five hundred years ago, proving that governments have always loved…
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Cher Ami was a homing pigeon deployed by the US Army during World War I who successfully delivered a life-saving message despite being shot through the chest, blinded in one eye,…
Cher Ami was a homing pigeon deployed by the US Army during World War I who successfully delivered a life-saving message despite being shot through the chest,…
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New York City utilizes a secretive, massive network of garbage trains to transport thousands of tons of rotting urban waste out of the five boroughs every single day, completely hidden from the oblivious public.
New York City utilizes a secretive, massive network of garbage trains to transport thousands of tons of rotting urban waste out of the five boroughs every…
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George Smith, a London taxi driver, earned the miserable honor of becoming the first person ever arrested for drunk driving in 1897 after slamming his electric cab directly into a brick building.
George Smith, a London taxi driver, earned the miserable honor of becoming the first person ever arrested for drunk driving in 1897 after slamming his…
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Macy's Herald Square in New York City features some of the last surviving wooden escalators in the world, which were installed in the 1920s and still actively transport thousands of terrified shoppers every day.
Macy's Herald Square in New York City features some of the last surviving wooden escalators in the world, which were installed in the 1920s and still actively…
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BHP Iron Ore train operations in Australia set the world record for the longest and heaviest train ever assembled, dragging a staggering four hundred and forty-two miles of iron dust across the outback in 2001.
BHP Iron Ore train operations in Australia set the world record for the longest and heaviest train ever assembled, dragging a staggering four hundred and…
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National speed limits were originally implemented in the early twentieth century not to prevent gruesome traffic fatalities, but primarily to save the rapidly deteriorating rubber tires of early automobiles.
National speed limits were originally implemented in the early twentieth century not to prevent gruesome traffic fatalities, but primarily to save the rapidly…
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