Google gave the Shweeb $1,000,000.

At Velocity Valley in Rotorua, New Zealand, there's the Shweeb: a pedal-powered monorail. It's a fun ride: but in 2010, Google gave it a million dollars as a potential "future of transit". ▪ Thanks to Velocity Valley: https://velocityvalley.co.nz/ SOURCES: https://web.archive.org/web/20091109051951/http://shweeb.com/index.php?m=faq https://web.archive.org/web/20081012033535/http://www.project10tothe100.com/faq.html...

1d

Why Australia bottles up its air

Every few months, when the wind's blowing in the right direction, a bottle of air is taken from Kennaook / Cape Grim, at the northern tip of Tasmania, and saved for science. Here's how and why. ▪ More about the Cape Grim Air Archive: https://research.csiro.au/acc/capabilities/cape-grim-air-archive/ There was no way to put this in the main video,...

2w

I took a ride on a moving radio telescope

The Parkes Radio Telescope, Murriyang, part of CSIRO, is one of the most famous telescopes in the world: and it's got a unique way of getting equipment up and down from the central section. ▪ More about the Telescope: https://www.csiro.au/en/about/facilities-collections/atnf/parkes-radio-telescope Edited by Michelle Martin https://twitter.com/mrsmmartin...

3w

These chickens save lives.

"Sentinel chickens" are an early-warning system against some nasty mosquito-borne diseases. I visited a flock in New South Wales, Australia. ▪ More about NSW Health's surveillance: https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/mosquito-borne/Pages/surveillance.aspx MVE was actually found in the area I filmed, just a couple of days later, although in that...

4w

This rollercoaster doesn't stop automatically

The Great Scenic Railway, at Luna Park in Melbourne, Australia, is the second oldest rollercoaster in the world: and it's one of only a few which still uses a manual brake. Here's how it works. ◾ Luna Park: https://lunapark.com.au/ @lunaparkmelbourne Thanks to @JulianOShea on camera: visit his channel for lots of stories about Unknown Melbourne,...

5w

The "architecture graveyard" is alive and well

Poly Canyon, at Cal Poly, is an experimental architecture laboratory. And it's open to the public: http://www.caed.calpoly.edu/content/facilities/poly-canyon Thanks to Jacob DeBoard for the suggestion I'm at https://tomscott.com on Twitter at https://twitter.com/tomscott on Facebook at https://facebook.com/tomscott and on Instagram as tomscottgo

Jan 2023

3D printing my own abdomen for robot surgery

Thanks to Lazarus 3D: https://www.lazarus3d.com/ ▪ Lazarus had no editorial control over this video, and I paid for my own MRI, but of course they helped set everything up and provided the print! Edited by Michelle Martin https://twitter.com/mrsmmartin Thanks to Graeme Wiltrout for the suggestion I'm at https://tomscott.com on Twitter at https://twitter.com/tomscott ...

Dec 2022

I was wrong (and so was everyone)

Did 18th century firefighters really let buildings burn? Sources below. ■ AD: 👨‍💻 NordVPN's best deal is here: https://nordvpn.com/tomscott - with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Here's the full, thoroughly referenced report: https://www.tomscott.com/corrections/firemarks/ Thanks to historical consultant Paul J Sillitoe: http://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-sillitoe-avi-consultants...

Dec 2022

The US government is giving out free wasps

The brown marmorated stink bug is an invasive pest. To help deal with its numbers, the Oregon Department of Agriculture is releasing its natural enemy: the tiny samurai wasp. There's a lot of work that goes into it. ▪ Thanks to all the team at the ODA, and to Chris Hedstrom for the macro footage. I'm at https://tomscott.com on Twitter at https://twitter.com/tomscott ...

Dec 2022

Firing radioactive stuff at high speed under city streets

TRIUMF's Rabbit Line, on the University of British Columbia campus, sends slightly radioactive material under the streets of Vancouver at 100km/h (60mph). Here's how and why. ◾ More: https://www.triumf.ca/headlines/current-events/rabbit-line-gets-replacement Edited by Michelle Martin https://twitter.com/mrsmmartin I'm at https://tomscott.com ...

Dec 2022