Travel
Discover facts about travel. Small discoveries that change the way you see familiar things.
Travel
Cambodia's bamboo trains can be lifted off their own tracks
Small motorboat engines power the makeshift platforms along warped tracks. When two carts meet, operators dismantle one by hand to let the other pass.
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Esperanto was built for seamless global communication
Esperanto was designed as a shared second language to make communication across language barriers easier. Instead, it found a devoted community of speakers…
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Why a taxi meter charges you while you're stuck
It charges by distance when traffic is moving, then switches to charging for time when you're stuck in gridlock.
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In central London, the next Tube stop can be a short walk
Covent Garden's own visitor guide recommends Leicester Square station as a nearby alternative during busy periods. The street route takes only a few minutes,…
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An early rental car charged by the turn of a wheel
In 1916, Joe Saunders rented out a Model T with a mileage meter attached to a front wheel, charging ten cents a mile. The meter turned a private car into a…
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Highway mile markers serve essential location tracking
Their numbers let drivers tell a recovery crew exactly where they’re stranded along the highway.
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Gotthard base tunnel requires immense cooling
Deep underground, construction sites can become extremely hot, so engineers installed large refrigeration systems to keep workers cool.
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Medieval phrasebooks prepared you to haggle
William Caxton's French-English dialogues put practical conversations in parallel columns: greetings, goods, prices, and bargaining. A traveler needed words…
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Rooftop cargo boxes severely degrade aerodynamics
The box adds drag like a parachute, which can significantly worsen fuel economy.
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Cloverleaf interchanges eliminate direct cross traffic
Its looping ramps let cars turn and merge without crossing opposing traffic at an intersection or stopping at a stop sign, though the merges happen at speed.
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Hyperloop concepts remain largely theoretical tubes
Despite the funding and hype, most proposals have not moved beyond small test tracks, and none carry regular commuters.
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North Korea once created its own time zone
In 2015, North Korea set its clocks 30 minutes behind to distance itself from a time zone imposed during Japanese rule. It synchronized its clocks again in…
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Airport screeners found a gun stuffed inside a raw chicken
The TSA reported the discovery at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in November 2022. Wrapping a prohibited object in food had not made it…
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Las Vegas gondoliers had to earn their stripes
The Venetian described a training program that combined swimming and safety tests, boat handling, singing and local knowledge. In its 2015 account, trainees…
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Hawaiians consume more Spam per capita than any other state in the United States, eating around seven million cans a year of the gelatinous pink mystery meat thanks to a culinary…
Hawaiians consume more Spam per capita than any other state in the United States, eating around seven million cans a year of the gelatinous pink mystery meat…
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Engineers temporarily shut off Niagara's American Falls in 1969.
Engineers temporarily shut off Niagara's American Falls in 1969. A cofferdam diverted the water toward Horseshoe Falls so specialists could examine the…
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The Maldives' postcard scenery has a waste-disposal problem.
The Maldives' postcard scenery has a waste-disposal problem. Thilafushi became a major destination for rubbish from the Greater Malé region and neighboring…
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Yellowstone's solid-looking ground can hide scalding water.
Yellowstone's solid-looking ground can hide scalding water. Around thermal features, a thin crust can cover water hot enough to cause fatal burns. The park's…
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Crew meals are part of an airline's safety precautions.
Crew meals are part of an airline's safety precautions. Gastroenteritis can incapacitate a pilot, so aviation guidance tells crews to follow their operator's…
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Route 66 lost its highway number, not every mile of road.
Route 66 lost its highway number, not every mile of road. The route was removed from the U.S. Highway System in 1985 as interstates displaced its…
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Parts of the Great Wall became a source of building material.
Parts of the Great Wall became a source of building material. Bricks and stones from neglected sections have been removed for local construction, adding to…
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A jet cabin refreshes its air much more often than many people expect.
A jet cabin refreshes its air much more often than many people expect. Most modern passenger jets combine outside air with recirculated air passed through…
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Vatican guards aggressively enforce a strict ban on photography and filming inside the Sistine Chapel, constantly shouting at tourists to put their phones away and respect the overwhelming sanctity of the sacred space.
Vatican guards aggressively enforce a strict ban on photography and filming inside the Sistine Chapel, constantly shouting at tourists to put their phones…
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Bermuda wrote restaurant branding into a law.
Bermuda wrote restaurant branding into a law. Its 1997 Prohibited Restaurant Act defined restricted restaurants partly by features suggesting a relationship…
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