Transport
Discover facts about transport. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Transport
Los Angeles engineers spent over four hundred million dollars to fully synchronize every single one of the four thousand five hundred traffic signals across the city in a desperate bid to alleviate infamous gridlock.
Los Angeles engineers spent over four hundred million dollars to fully synchronize every single one of the four thousand five hundred traffic signals across…
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Washington State operates the largest fleet of passenger and automobile ferries in the United States, effectively running a massive aquatic highway system through the notoriously tricky waters of the Puget Sound.
Washington State operates the largest fleet of passenger and automobile ferries in the United States, effectively running a massive aquatic highway system…
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Bolivia's old Yungas road put traffic on a cliff edge.
Bolivia's old Yungas road put traffic on a cliff edge. The narrow mountain route combines steep drops with bends, rain, and fog. On sections where passing…
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Sydney Ferries tested a different fuel instead of replacing the fleet.
Sydney Ferries tested a different fuel instead of replacing the fleet. Its 2007 annual report records a biodiesel trial on a First Fleet vessel and…
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Black tire rubber is reinforced, not merely dyed.
Black tire rubber is reinforced, not merely dyed. Carbon black helps the rubber resist abrasion and endure repeated stress. Its particles change the…
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The Vatican has a railway with an international border almost immediately.
The Vatican has a railway with an international border almost immediately. Its short line connects a station inside the walls to Italy's network. Opened in…
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US train-window tests include a 24-pound cinder block.
US train-window tests include a 24-pound cinder block. Federal glazing standards specify a heavy block hitting end-facing glass at at least 44 feet per…
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New York's traffic code does not treat a horn as a complaint button.
New York's traffic code does not treat a horn as a complaint button. The city's noise rules restrict unnecessary horn use; a horn is meant to warn of danger.…
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French inventors launched the world's very first hot air balloon passengers in 1783, consisting of a highly confused sheep, a duck, and a rooster.
French inventors launched the world's very first hot air balloon passengers in 1783, consisting of a highly confused sheep, a duck, and a rooster. The animals…
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Some helicopters have a part nicknamed the Jesus nut.
Some helicopters have a part nicknamed the Jesus nut. The nickname refers to a nut securing the main rotor assembly to its mast on certain designs. That…
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Municipalities that heavily rely on zero-emission trolleybuses constantly suffer from severe visual pollution caused by the chaotic, tangled spiderweb of overhead electrical wires required to power them.
Municipalities that heavily rely on zero-emission trolleybuses constantly suffer from severe visual pollution caused by the chaotic, tangled spiderweb of…
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Air traffic controllers use a highly specific, standardized vocabulary called aviation English to prevent catastrophic miscommunications between pilots of different nationalities.
Air traffic controllers use a highly specific, standardized vocabulary called aviation English to prevent catastrophic miscommunications between pilots of…
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America standardized the school bus in yellow in 1939.
America standardized the school bus in yellow in 1939. A conference brought order to a patchwork of school transport, selecting a yellow body with contrasting…
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The safer gas for German airships was stuck behind export rules.
The safer gas for German airships was stuck behind export rules. Helium does not burn like hydrogen, but the United States controlled the main supply and…
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Canal locks operate as massive, aquatic elevators that allow boats to essentially climb up and down hills by flooding enclosed chambers with thousands of gallons of water.
Canal locks operate as massive, aquatic elevators that allow boats to essentially climb up and down hills by flooding enclosed chambers with thousands of…
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A tractor can tip while its wheels stay put.
A tractor can tip while its wheels stay put. If rear wheels cannot turn but the engine keeps applying torque, the tractor can rotate backward around its rear…
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An F1 car's downforce can exceed its own weight.
An F1 car's downforce can exceed its own weight. Aerodynamic surfaces and the floor use moving air to press the tires into the track. That is the basis of the…
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Some dementia care homes have bus stops where no bus comes.
Some dementia care homes have bus stops where no bus comes. The familiar sign and bench offer a place to wait for residents who feel a need to leave. Staff…
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Sailors originally measured the speed of their ships by throwing a literal piece of wood tied to a rope off the back of the boat and counting how many knots in the rope slipped through their hands.
Sailors originally measured the speed of their ships by throwing a literal piece of wood tied to a rope off the back of the boat and counting how many knots…
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Statistical studies consistently show that white cars are involved in significantly fewer accidents than vehicles painted in darker colors like black, blue, or grey.
Statistical studies consistently show that white cars are involved in significantly fewer accidents than vehicles painted in darker colors like black, blue,…
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Pan-American Highway holds the Guinness World Record for the longest motorable road, stretching roughly nineteen thousand miles from Alaska down to the tip of Argentina.
Pan-American Highway holds the Guinness World Record for the longest motorable road, stretching roughly nineteen thousand miles from Alaska down to the tip of…
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Disney's monorail is a transit network disguised as an attraction.
Disney's monorail is a transit network disguised as an attraction. Its elevated trains connect theme parks, parking access, and resort hotels without entering…
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Contrails left behind by high-altitude jet airplanes are not chemical mind-control sprays, but simply artificial clouds created by hot engine exhaust instantly freezing in the frigid upper atmosphere.
Contrails left behind by high-altitude jet airplanes are not chemical mind-control sprays, but simply artificial clouds created by hot engine exhaust…
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The oil crisis helped spread right turns on red.
The oil crisis helped spread right turns on red. U.S. policymakers promoted the rule in the 1970s as a way to reduce time spent idling at signals. It was not…
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