Transport
Discover facts about transport. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Transport
Retired science teacher Irv Gordon holds the Guinness World Record for the highest vehicle mileage after driving his red Volvo P1800 for more than three million miles before his passing.
Retired science teacher Irv Gordon holds the Guinness World Record for the highest vehicle mileage after driving his red Volvo P1800 for more than three…
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Blimps offer a great view but make demanding vehicles.
Blimps offer a great view but make demanding vehicles. Their large bodies catch the wind, they travel slowly, and ground handling needs substantial space and…
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Bertha Benz's road trip needed a pharmacy and a shoemaker.
Bertha Benz's road trip needed a pharmacy and a shoemaker. During her 1888 journey, fuel came from a pharmacy and repairs relied on local trades rather than a…
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Spacewalk gloves can injure the fingers they are protecting.
Spacewalk gloves can injure the fingers they are protecting. Internal pressure makes the gloves resist bending, while repeated work creates pressure points…
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Railway engineers working on the incredibly fast bullet train networks scattered across modern China had to invent a highly specialized, optical-grade coating for all the…
Railway engineers working on the incredibly fast bullet train networks scattered across modern China had to invent a highly specialized, optical-grade coating…
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British military forces stationed along the coastline right before the invention of radar built massive, incredibly bizarre concrete structures known as acoustic mirrors to…
British military forces stationed along the coastline right before the invention of radar built massive, incredibly bizarre concrete structures known as…
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Aviation safety protocols strictly forbid standard helicopters from attempting to take off during periods of extreme, blistering summer heat, completely grounding rescue fleets…
Aviation safety protocols strictly forbid standard helicopters from attempting to take off during periods of extreme, blistering summer heat, completely…
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The Veyron needed road tires tested beyond 400 km/h.
The Veyron needed road tires tested beyond 400 km/h. Michelin developed special tires for a production car expected to travel at speeds normally associated…
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A bridge can decide who gets to use a road.
A bridge can decide who gets to use a road. Long Island's parkways were built for passenger cars, and low clearances still exclude tall vehicles. Robert Caro…
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Roller coasters were initially introduced to American society in the eighteen eighties as a morally upright distraction designed to keep people away from the sinful temptations of saloons and brothels.
Roller coasters were initially introduced to American society in the eighteen eighties as a morally upright distraction designed to keep people away from the…
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A simple economic model explains why rivals bunch together.
A simple economic model explains why rivals bunch together. Imagine customers spread along a road who prefer the closest seller. Moving toward the middle can…
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Asphalt roads completely dominate the modern landscape but are technically just massive rivers of highly refined sludge scraped directly from the bottom of oil barrels.
Asphalt roads completely dominate the modern landscape but are technically just massive rivers of highly refined sludge scraped directly from the bottom of…
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Tires shed tiny particles every time they wear against the road.
Tires shed tiny particles every time they wear against the road. That material can collect in roadside soil or wash into waterways, making tire wear a…
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Ford put the car on the move before it was finished.
Ford put the car on the move before it was finished. At Highland Park in 1913, work moved past stations where employees repeated specific tasks. Ford combined…
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A car's crumple zone is designed to lose the fight.
A car's crumple zone is designed to lose the fight. The outer structure folds in a controlled way, using energy and extending the time over which the vehicle…
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A paint fleck forced NASA to replace a shuttle window.
A paint fleck forced NASA to replace a shuttle window. During STS-7 in 1983, a particle about 0.2 millimeters across struck a window and left damage beyond…
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Dromedary camels are exceptionally designed biological transport vehicles capable of drinking up to forty gallons of water in a single sitting and carrying heavy cargo across unforgiving deserts.
Dromedary camels are exceptionally designed biological transport vehicles capable of drinking up to forty gallons of water in a single sitting and carrying…
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Unicycles are statistically one of the least practical modes of transportation in existence, yet a niche community of aggressive urban hipsters insists on using them to commute through modern city traffic.
Unicycles are statistically one of the least practical modes of transportation in existence, yet a niche community of aggressive urban hipsters insists on…
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Sweden switched from driving on the left side of the road to the right side on September 3, 1967, a chaotic logistical nightmare forever known as Dagen H.
Sweden switched from driving on the left side of the road to the right side on September 3, 1967, a chaotic logistical nightmare forever known as Dagen H. At…
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Submarine sandwiches have absolutely nothing to do with naval transportation and only got their name because a grocery store owner in 1927 thought his Italian bread rolls vaguely resembled the shape of a submarine.
Submarine sandwiches have absolutely nothing to do with naval transportation and only got their name because a grocery store owner in 1927 thought his Italian…
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The same mile is far deadlier on a motorcycle than in a car.
The same mile is far deadlier on a motorcycle than in a car. US traffic data for 2023 put motorcyclist deaths per mile traveled at about twenty-eight times…
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Roller coasters owe their terrifying existence not to adrenaline junkies or amusement park visionaries, but to Russian winter festivals in the seventeenth century that featured massive, ice-covered wooden slides.
Roller coasters owe their terrifying existence not to adrenaline junkies or amusement park visionaries, but to Russian winter festivals in the seventeenth…
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Seattle's 'future of transit' stayed a one-mile ride.
Seattle's 'future of transit' stayed a one-mile ride. Built for the 1962 World's Fair, the monorail carries passengers above the streets between Seattle…
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Elevators fundamentally shifted the hierarchy of urban real estate by entirely reversing the social desirability of upper and lower floors in multi-story residential buildings.
Elevators fundamentally shifted the hierarchy of urban real estate by entirely reversing the social desirability of upper and lower floors in multi-story…
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