Ingenuity and advanced engineering have allowed trains to overcome extreme landscapes

Modern innovations have allowed rides to simultaneously become more extreme and safer

Several ingenious additions to roller coasters, such as extra wheels, magnetic brakes, and hydraulic system safety bars, have largely reduced discomfort and threats such as broken rides or ejected passengers.

America’s first roller coaster initially transported coal instead of people

The Mauch Chunk Switchback Railway in the hills of Pennsylvania wasn’t initially intended to be a ride, but over time passengers and businessmen alike took advantage of the lovely tour through nature. The railway eventually reached over 100,000 riders in some years.

The simplicity of immersed tube tunnels

Tunnels have traditionally bored holes through the earth below the water. On the other hand, immersed tube tunnels connect hollow, massive sections in trenches along the floor of the body of water. Each section is built on land, floated to the site, submerged, and connected. This method saves money by reducing expensive underground work, and it preserves an area's aesthetic appearance.

Why high-speed rail hasn't worked in the US

High-speed rail connects cities across Europe and Asia, but American attempts have faced ballooning costs and delays. California's failed attempt to connect San Francisco and Los Angeles is the most prominent example of the dysfunction.

View the 18 vehicles that broke the land speed record

The battery-powered "La Jamais Contente" was the first car to exceed 100 kilometers (62.1 miles) per hour, achieving the feat in 1899. By 1997, advancements in aerodynamic understanding and engineering led to the Thrust Supersonic Car, a jet-powered vehicle that reached a speed of 1,223.6 kilometers (760.3 miles) per hour.

Why airships are making a comeback as a cheap, fast transport solution

Airships, including blimps, have had a pretty bad reputation since the tragic incendiary crash of the Hindenburg in New Jersey in 1937. But an intense competition is ongoing between airship manufacturers looking to develop the trucks of the sky: a...

Before the Panama Canal, there was the Panama railroad

The first ship to cross the isthmus of Panama went not by sea but by land: The paddlewheel steamship Explorer was taken apart and transported by rail, an effort that generated “more trouble than profit,” according to one account.

North Korea's Kim Jong Un travels in a train with a helicopter and antiaircraft guns

The train, known as the Taeyangho (or "sun"), is a moving fortress, the country's equivalent of Air Force One. Its windows are bulletproof, exteriors built to withstand explosions, and heavy with armaments. Kim claims the train helps signal closeness to the people.

The engineering underlying the electric grid and why it needs to be modernized

The system includes generators for producing electricity and millions of miles of transmission and distribution lines to transport the energy. The substantial increase in the number of electronic devices and electrical demand since the construction of much of the grid in the mid-1900s has strained infrastructure, requiring continuous upgrades and massive investments in new construction.

In 1898, Nikola Tesla wowed a crowd by controlling a boat with no visible connection

Some onlookers thought it was a trick, such a a monkey being inside the boat, rather than mind control or some other metaphysical phenomenon. In reality, Tesla was pioneering radio waves, proving wireless control was possible.

The Alhambra’s medieval water system powered a palace-city

Built over centuries by Islamic rulers in medieval Spain, the Alhambra used canals and pressurized tanks to move water throughout the complex. Its sophisticated system supplied fountains, baths, and gardens, showcasing advanced medieval engineering.

Geothermal power can generate electricity and provide direct heating for homes

By drilling several kilometers through penetrable rock, wells can access highly pressurized groundwater warmed by thermal energy trapped beneath Earth's surface. This water can be turned into steam to create electricity in generators. Heating systems several meters deep can pump fluid underground before circulating it through buildings.

Fire engines are among the most complex vehicles on the road

These vehicles are purpose-built to carry water, foam, hoses, ladders, and lifesaving equipment to a scene in minutes. This animated video pulls apart every system inside a pumper truck, showing exactly how the machinery that fights fires actually works.

How long it takes to travel by train from various cities

This interactive allows users to see how long it would take to move from one city to another in Europe via trains.

The most challenging marathons in the world

Even on a flat course, the event is a taxing ordeal. Now imagine those 26.2 miles climbing some of the world’s highest mountains (via the Tenzing Hillary Everest Marathon or the Kilimanjaro Trail Marathon), across the Great Wall of China, or trekking up the Inca Trail. These races won’t earn you a PR, but they will make for good stories.

In 1984, Operation Smash Hit intentionally crashed a 239-ton train into a nuclear waste canister at 100 miles per hour to prove the canister's safety, which remained completely intact and lost just 0.29 of its 100 pounds of pressure.

In 1984, Operation Smash Hit intentionally crashed a 239-ton train into a nuclear waste canister at 100 miles per hour to prove the canister's safety, which remained completely intact and lost just 0.29 of its 100 pounds of pressure.

Electrical grids worldwide must double their power delivery capacity by 2050 to meet surging demand from AI and electric vehicles.

Scientists have diverted the path of lightning using lasers

A proof of concept for a laser protection system, which could be used to protect launchpads and airports in the future, was conducted on the Säntis mountain in northeastern Switzerland. Rapid laser pulses heated air molecules, creating a more conductive, 50-meter (164-foot) path for the electrical discharge to travel through.

See how the Winter X Games course is built

Winter X Games courses are custom-built over weeks, with crews moving thousands of tons of snow to create features like halfpipes and jumps—incorporating athlete input to ensure challenging designs that push progression and safety.

Davos, Switzerland, is one of the highest towns in Europe

Perched high in the Swiss Alps, Davos is one of Europe’s highest towns, accessible via a limited number of routes—an isolated setting that heightens both the security and exclusivity of the annual forum.

How helium turns the Large Hadron Collider into the world's largest cryogenic system

Across three stages, five "cryogenic islands," and weeks of cooling, 36,000 metric tons of magnets are successively brought down to temperatures colder than outer space using a closed liquid helium system. Helium continues to circulate during the collider's operation to maintain the magnets' temperature and the transmission of electrical current with zero resistance.

In the '70s, graffiti moved to subway cars

Unlike static walls, the silver cars moved throughout the city, like a canvas in perpetual motion. That made them highly desired by graffiti artists, especially because tagging them was considerably more difficult and, in turn, more impressive than a simple tag in an alley.

During glacier surging, these bodies of ice can move over half a football field a day

The movement of these glaciers, which repeatedly speed up and advance for months or years after stalling or moving backward for a time, results from melting ice that reduces friction between them and the ground, allowing them to slide more quickly. Scientists note that this effect is becoming more frequent due to climate change.

Abandoned racetracks can be found via Google Earth

With auto racing a favorite American pastime in the 1900s, tracks both small and large were built across the country. Some were local tracks used for small races, while others were super-speedways used by NASCAR.

There's a bitcoin mine in remote Zambia

In Zambia, a small hydropower plant draws water to power a town of 15,000 people—and a bitcoin mine. A shipping container containing 120 computers mining bitcoin—solving complex calculations to win the reward of several bitcoin—was set up near the plant to use its cheap electricity, and share its revenue.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

See the world's longest glass-bottom bridge in China

China's Huangchuan Three Gorges Scenic Area sports the world's longest glass-bottom bridge, spanning over 1,700 feet. Designed by the Architectural Design & Research Institute of Zhejiang University, it stands 660 feet above the Lianjiang River. The bridge features bright red towers, an 29-foot-wide deck with three layers of thick glass, and can support 500 people. The bridge surpassed the previous record-holder, a 1,600-foot bridge in Hebei province.

Waves off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal, can reach over 100 feet and are caused by the area's deep underwater canyon geography

The history of many kitchen appliances involves unexpected discoveries and applications, including wartime radar turned hamster defroster and replacing an 'ice king' with heat-stealing boxes.

Power lines are dotted with large, brightly colored balls to improve the visibility of these thin wires to helicopters and small planes and help prevent potential crashes.

Clever Hans was a 1900s horse that was believed to be able to solve math equations, tell time, and read and comprehend German, until a psychology student discovered how he got his answers.

Watch how algorithms can be designed to train themselves and self-improve without human input, to the point where the optimized code is too complex for programmers to understand.

Stanford built a Google Maps for the Roman Empire, revealing how much it cost to travel in the ancient world

In 1915, workers recovered a submarine-like vessel from the Chicago River, prompting fears of German espionage

Explore fun facts from the USPS, including unique post office buildings, a stamp that traveled past Pluto, and more.

Massive 3D printers have been used to build homes by stacking layers of 'concrete toothpaste,' a fire-resistant material that effectively insulates against outside noise.

Planeterrellas create artificial auroras that mimic the atmospheric displays of light by setting up an electric field between two metal balls in a jar filled with a small amount of air.

Pure water does not conduct electricity because this flow of energy requires the movement of charged particles, and water is a neutral molecule.

Walt Disney's early film 'Alice's Wonderland' was a groundbreaking innovation in the silent film era

How Amazon operates a 'flywheel' business model, a self-reinforcing cycle that drives continuous growth

The Great Salt Lake's distinct dual coloration results from high-salinity organisms that only live in the northern portion and produce a purple protein.

The deadliest aspect of volcanic eruptions is often not lava, but pyroclastic flows—avalanches of ash, gas, and rock that can move more than half the speed of sound.

Legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright designed the SC Johnson headquarters in Wisconsin, aiming to make a cathedral-like workplace

Larger animals like giraffes, elephants, and blue whales have developed a unique defense against cancer, a phenomenon known as Peto's Paradox

The American Society of Civil Engineers' infrastructure report card gave the US a C in 2025, its highest grade since the project launched in 1998.

The United States is one of only around two dozen countries with a fully federal system of government, in which power is divided between national and state governments.

The use of fungi to detoxify land and water—a process known as mycoremediation—has been used to clean up natural resources affected by the 2025 California wildfires.

NBA superstar Victor Wembanyama spent the 2025 summer training with monks in central China to enhance his body and mind.

To reduce wrinkles in clothing, research recommends gentle wash cycles with more water and tumble drying with smaller loads and longer times.