Transport
Discover facts about transport. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Transport
The electric popemobile was engineered for going slowly.
The electric popemobile was engineered for going slowly. Mercedes-Benz adapted the electric G-Class drivetrain for the low speeds of papal appearances when it…
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Tom Thumb's famous defeat by a horse comes through a later story.
Tom Thumb's famous defeat by a horse comes through a later story. The 1830 locomotive demonstrated steam power on the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad. In the…
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Some remote Soviet navigation beacons ran on heat from radioactive decay.
Some remote Soviet navigation beacons ran on heat from radioactive decay. Thermoelectric generators converted that heat into electricity without a reactor or…
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San Francisco went through a bizarre, localized crime wave in the early 2010s where gangs of vandals started physically lifting and tipping over parked Smart cars in the middle of the night.
San Francisco went through a bizarre, localized crime wave in the early 2010s where gangs of vandals started physically lifting and tipping over parked Smart…
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Commercial Boeing 747 aircraft consume roughly one gallon of jet fuel every single second during a standard cruising altitude flight.
Commercial Boeing 747 aircraft consume roughly one gallon of jet fuel every single second during a standard cruising altitude flight. The 747’s engines burn…
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A matching number made a suitcase easier to trust than its owner.
A matching number made a suitcase easier to trust than its owner. The baggage-check system gives the traveler a stub matching the tag on the luggage. Staff…
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Pope John Paul II was officially gifted the four-hundredth Ferrari Enzo ever built, making the leader of the Catholic Church the proud owner of an extremely aggressive Italian supercar.
Pope John Paul II was officially gifted the four-hundredth Ferrari Enzo ever built, making the leader of the Catholic Church the proud owner of an extremely…
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Season tickets helped put daily work beyond walking distance.
Season tickets helped put daily work beyond walking distance. A discounted regular rail journey made it practical for more people to live away from the place…
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The Pinto recall addressed what happened to its fuel tank in a crash.
The Pinto recall addressed what happened to its fuel tank in a crash. A rear impact could damage the fuel system and release gasoline, creating a fire risk.…
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Automotive safety engineers used actual human cadavers as the very first crash test dummies in the 1930s, tossing lifeless bodies down elevator shafts and crashing them into walls to study blunt force trauma.
Automotive safety engineers used actual human cadavers as the very first crash test dummies in the 1930s, tossing lifeless bodies down elevator shafts and…
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The pogo stick's spring does the saving between jumps.
The pogo stick's spring does the saving between jumps. A rider compresses the spring while descending, storing energy that helps launch the next hop. Max…
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An early roller-skating story ends in a shattered mirror.
An early roller-skating story ends in a shattered mirror. The Science Museum recounts Joseph Merlin's dramatic 1760 entrance to a masquerade party on skates…
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Ferruccio Lamborghini originally built his massive fortune manufacturing tractors from leftover military hardware after the Second World War.
Ferruccio Lamborghini originally built his massive fortune manufacturing tractors from leftover military hardware after the Second World War. After the war,…
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A car horn can play two notes at once.
A car horn can play two notes at once. Many horn sets pair a lower and a higher tone; Bosch, for example, has offered a 400-and-500-hertz combination.…
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Airlines specifically choose to paint the vast majority of their passenger planes bright white because the color reflects sunlight, which significantly reduces the time and energy needed to cool the cabin on the tarmac.
Airlines specifically choose to paint the vast majority of their passenger planes bright white because the color reflects sunlight, which significantly…
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Britain made keeping left a legal rule before cars took over.
Britain made keeping left a legal rule before cars took over. The 1835 Highways Act formalized the practice when roads were still shared mainly by people,…
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Professional cyclists competing in the grueling early days of the Tour de France would routinely chain-smoke cigarettes and drink copious amounts of wine while actively pedaling up treacherous alpine mountain passes.
Professional cyclists competing in the grueling early days of the Tour de France would routinely chain-smoke cigarettes and drink copious amounts of wine…
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Russian railway engineers intentionally designed their national train tracks to be significantly wider than the standard gauge used by almost every other country in Western Europe.
Russian railway engineers intentionally designed their national train tracks to be significantly wider than the standard gauge used by almost every other…
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Napoleon's army helped turn the ambulance into a battlefield service.
Napoleon's army helped turn the ambulance into a battlefield service. Surgeon Dominique Jean Larrey developed fast-moving 'flying ambulances' to collect…
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Retired school buses get a brightly painted second career.
Retired school buses get a brightly painted second career. Many buses exported from North America carry passengers on routes in Central America, with new…
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Bell Rocket Belt was a functional hydrogen peroxide jetpack developed in the 1960s that allowed humans to finally achieve the sci-fi dream of personal unassisted flight.
Bell Rocket Belt was a functional hydrogen peroxide jetpack developed in the 1960s that allowed humans to finally achieve the sci-fi dream of personal…
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United States Navy submarine USS Nautilus achieved a legendary milestone in 1958 by becoming the very first watercraft to successfully transit directly across the North Pole…
United States Navy submarine USS Nautilus achieved a legendary milestone in 1958 by becoming the very first watercraft to successfully transit directly across…
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A smuggling boat can hide most of itself underwater.
A smuggling boat can hide most of itself underwater. Many so-called narco-subs are low-profile or semi-submersible craft rather than deep-diving submarines.…
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Some Channel Tunnel machinery was buried beneath the route.
Some Channel Tunnel machinery was buried beneath the route. When opposing tunneling teams approached one another, British machines on the rail-tunnel drives…
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