Transportation
Aircraft Design Inspired by Nature and Enabled by Tech
In 2050, Airbus hopes to fly you around in a see-through jet shaped like a bird skeleton, with morphing seats, spa treatments, and virtual entertainment
August 16, 2012 |
By Sarah C. Rich
Yesterday’s Tomorrows: How a Smithsonian Exhibit I Never Saw Changed My Life
Meet the historians who pioneered scholarship of retro-futurism
August 15, 2012 |
By Matt Novak
Shark Week Proves We Are Fascinated by Sharks, So Why Do We Kill So Many of Them?
Around the world, these animals command a strange sort of fascination in their human admirers—an urge to see, learn and encounter, but also to kill
August 14, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
Lake Baikal and More of the Weirdest Lakes of the World
Set deep within the Russian subcontinent, Baikal is the deepest, oldest and most voluminous of all lakes
August 07, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
Why the Idea of Killing Sharks to Make Waters Safer Is Absurd
The recent fatal shark attack off Western Australia has ignited a debate there over whether the fish should continue to be protected
July 24, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
Great Books—and the Best Places to Read Them
Reading while traveling can serve as a sensory supplement to one's surrounding environment. Here's a list of some of my favorite books and where to read them
July 21, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
Return of the King Salmon
In the ocean waters just off California's Central Coast, the fish are swarming this summer like they haven't in years
July 12, 2012 |
By Alastair Bland
1954 Flying Car for Sale
A bargain for just $1.25 million. But, you'll need both aviation and auto insurance
July 09, 2012 |
By Matt Novak
Flower Children on the North Shore of Kauai
In the late 1960s, a gorgeous stretch of beach in Ha’ena State Park was the site of a hippy haven called Taylor Camp.
July 09, 2012 |
By Susan Spano
Coffee Retailers Reinterpret the Container Store
Starbucks's new prototype retail store in Tukwilla, Washington, known as The Reclamation Drive-Thru, is a 450-sq-ft drive-thru and walk-up store built from four refurbished shipping containers
June 15, 2012 |
By Jimmy Stamp
The Airport Design Utopian
What ever happened to the Starport, the brainchild of Jim Starry that re-imagined the airport?
June 12, 2012 |
By Sarah C. Rich
Prospero’s Island in the South Pacific
Was it Bermuda—or the dreamy French Polynesian island of Huahine—that inspired the setting for Shakespeare's The Tempest?
June 11, 2012 |
By Susan Spano
1923 Envisions the Two-Wheeled Flying Car of 1973
As cars got larger in the 1920s, the "Helicar" was presented as the solution to congested city streets
June 06, 2012 |
By Matt Novak
Saab Reinvents Air Traffic Control With a Digital Panorama
With Saab's new digital panorama, the local air traffic controller may soon go the way of the technical support specialist.
June 04, 2012 |
By Jimmy Stamp
Don’t Let Your Money Fly Away: A 1909 Warning to Airship Investors
Flying aboard aircraft? Just a passing fad
May 31, 2012 |
By Matt Novak
How a Federally-Regulated Safety Message Distinguished a Brand
If you've flown Virgin America, you've seen its distinctive safety video. But what's the story behind it?
May 31, 2012 |
By Sarah C. Rich
Travelers’ Tales in Utah’s Canyonlands
The trail is rough and hard to follow, marked chiefly by cairns; water is intermittent; and if something bad happens help is not at hand
May 30, 2012 |
By Susan Spano
Big Things Ahead… But Keep Your Shirt On
Americans in the 1940s had wondrous expectations about the post-war world. Meet one author who advised them to curb their enthusiasm
May 25, 2012 |
By Matt Novak
Take a Vacation on Volvo
Once you get your car you’re free to hit the road along the west coast of Sweden with its fishing villages, traditional folkways and islands
May 23, 2012 |
By Susan Spano
The 86-Year-Old Company that Still Designs Your In-Flight Experience
Seattle-based design firm Teague has designed every Boeing aircraft interior since the 1940s, from the post-WWII Stratocruiser to the 2009 Dreamliner.
May 22, 2012 |
By Sarah C. Rich


