Transport
Discover facts about transport. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Transport
New York City subway trains operate using an incredibly outdated analog signaling system from the 1930s that relies on cloth-covered wiring and physical mechanical switches that…
New York City subway trains operate using an incredibly outdated analog signaling system from the 1930s that relies on cloth-covered wiring and physical…
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Interstate highways in the United States were deliberately designed with occasional curves even in flat, desolate areas to prevent highway hypnosis, a dangerous trance-like state…
Interstate highways in the United States were deliberately designed with occasional curves even in flat, desolate areas to prevent highway hypnosis, a…
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Adding more lanes to a congested highway literally never solves the problem of traffic jams because of a deeply frustrating economic concept known as induced demand; when city…
Adding more lanes to a congested highway literally never solves the problem of traffic jams because of a deeply frustrating economic concept known as induced…
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Cargo ships and ocean liners are traditionally painted red below the waterline because early shipbuilders used toxic copper biocides to prevent barnacles and seaweed from eating…
Cargo ships and ocean liners are traditionally painted red below the waterline because early shipbuilders used toxic copper biocides to prevent barnacles and…
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Japanese railway companies employ specialized station attendants known as oshiya, or passenger pushers, whose literal job description is to aggressively shove commuters into…
Japanese railway companies employ specialized station attendants known as oshiya, or passenger pushers, whose literal job description is to aggressively shove…
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Japanese traffic lights use blue instead of green to signal 'go' because historically the language used the same word, 'ao', for both colors, and when international laws dictated…
Japanese traffic lights use blue instead of green to signal 'go' because historically the language used the same word, 'ao', for both colors, and when…
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Nunavut authorities issued official vehicle license plates in the literal shape of a polar bear from 1999 until 2012, giving the northern Canadian territory the undisputed title…
Nunavut authorities issued official vehicle license plates in the literal shape of a polar bear from 1999 until 2012, giving the northern Canadian territory…
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Walter Arnold received the world's very first speeding ticket in January 1896 for tearing through the streets of Kent, England, at an absolutely terrifying maximum speed of eight…
Walter Arnold received the world's very first speeding ticket in January 1896 for tearing through the streets of Kent, England, at an absolutely terrifying…
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For years, the entire bustling metropolis of Paris contained exactly one single official stop sign within its city limits, and it was located at the exit of a random building…
For years, the entire bustling metropolis of Paris contained exactly one single official stop sign within its city limits, and it was located at the exit of a…
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Astronauts flying to the moon during the Apollo program were required to learn celestial navigation, using a highly sophisticated optical sextant to measure the angles of specific stars.
Astronauts flying to the moon during the Apollo program were required to learn celestial navigation, using a highly sophisticated optical sextant to measure…
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Commercial airplanes are equipped with a horn, but it sounds more like a dying steamboat than a standard car honk and is solely used to get the attention of ground mechanics when the aircraft is parked.
Commercial airplanes are equipped with a horn, but it sounds more like a dying steamboat than a standard car honk and is solely used to get the attention of…
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Wright brothers' very first successful airplane flight in 1903 covered a distance of one hundred and twenty feet, which is actually shorter than the wingspan of a modern Boeing 747.
Wright brothers' very first successful airplane flight in 1903 covered a distance of one hundred and twenty feet, which is actually shorter than the wingspan…
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First-generation Honda CR-Vs manufactured between 1997 and 2006 came standard with a folding plastic picnic table cleverly hidden beneath the carpet of the cargo area.
First-generation Honda CR-Vs manufactured between 1997 and 2006 came standard with a folding plastic picnic table cleverly hidden beneath the carpet of the…
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Criminals in New York City used to routinely steal subway tokens by jamming the turnstile slots with paper and then physically sucking the trapped token out with their mouths.
Criminals in New York City used to routinely steal subway tokens by jamming the turnstile slots with paper and then physically sucking the trapped token out…
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Moscow has a population of stray dogs that have actually figured out how to use the city's complex subway system to commute from the suburbs to the city center for better scavenging.
Moscow has a population of stray dogs that have actually figured out how to use the city's complex subway system to commute from the suburbs to the city…
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Queen Elizabeth II was the only person in the United Kingdom who was legally allowed to drive a car without ever holding a driver's license or having a license plate on her state vehicles.
Queen Elizabeth II was the only person in the United Kingdom who was legally allowed to drive a car without ever holding a driver's license or having a…
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Personal automobiles remain completely stationary and parked for roughly ninety-five percent of their operational lifespan, making them one of the most inefficient capital investments a human being can make.
Personal automobiles remain completely stationary and parked for roughly ninety-five percent of their operational lifespan, making them one of the most…
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NASA spent nearly thirty-eight million dollars developing the Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle in the early 1970s, creating a foldable, battery-powered buggy that astronauts could use…
NASA spent nearly thirty-eight million dollars developing the Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle in the early 1970s, creating a foldable, battery-powered buggy that…
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Harrods department store in London installed England's first moving staircase in 1898, designed by Jesse W.
Harrods department store in London installed England's first moving staircase in 1898, designed by Jesse W. Reno as an inclined conveyor belt made of woven…
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Early commercial airlines in the 1930s strictly required all their flight attendants to be registered nurses, unmarried, and weigh less than 115 pounds, operating under the…
Early commercial airlines in the 1930s strictly required all their flight attendants to be registered nurses, unmarried, and weigh less than 115 pounds,…
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Electric vehicles constituted roughly one third of all cars on American roads in the year 1900, vastly outnumbering their loud, smelly, and aggressively dangerous gasoline-powered counterparts.
Electric vehicles constituted roughly one third of all cars on American roads in the year 1900, vastly outnumbering their loud, smelly, and aggressively…
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Genetic testing conducted on the New York City subway system revealed that nearly half of the DNA found on the handrails and seats matched absolutely no known organism in any scientific database.
Genetic testing conducted on the New York City subway system revealed that nearly half of the DNA found on the handrails and seats matched absolutely no known…
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British naval commanders during World War II painted their warships and submarines a shade called Mountbatten Pink to camouflage them during dawn and dusk.
British naval commanders during World War II painted their warships and submarines a shade called Mountbatten Pink to camouflage them during dawn and dusk.…
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Deep in the incredibly boring annals of international trade law lies the 1964 Chicken Tax, a 25 percent tariff that completely ruined the American light truck market.
Deep in the incredibly boring annals of international trade law lies the 1964 Chicken Tax, a 25 percent tariff that completely ruined the American light truck…
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