Yet, by 1905 80% of cars were petrol driven and by 1920 the electric car was, well, almost history.

New York cabs get about 2000 tickets per month, handed out by about 2000 traffic attendants.

In 1955, the Ford Thunderbird outsold the Chev Corvette 24 to one.

The world’s earliest known plank-built ship, made from cedar and sycamore wood and dated to 2600 BC, was discovered next to the Great Pyramid in 1952.

In 1913, the Russian Airline became the first to introduce a toilet on board.

The world’s oldest surviving boat is a simple 3 metre (10 feet) long dugout dated to 7400 BC. It was discovered in Pesse Holland in the Netherlands.

Air-filled tyres were used on bicycles before they were used on motorcars.

More than 60 million people annually visit France, a country of 60 million people.

About a quarter of the world still drives on the left, and the countries that do are mostly old British colonies.

The usual thermal efficiency of reciprocal steam engine is 15%. That of steam turbine is over 40%.

Oar-powered ships were developed by the Sumerians in 3500 BC.

There are about a billion bicycles in the world, twice as many as motorcars.

Sails were first used by the Phoenicians around 2000 BC.

Rock drawings from the Red Sea site of Wadi Hammamat, dated to around 4000 BC show that Egyptian boats were made from papyrus and reeds.

The pilot with the most flying hours is American John Edward Long. From May 1933 to April 1977 he flew 62 654 hours, achieving a total of more than 7 years airborne.

The shortest scheduled airline flight is made between the island of Westray to Papa Westray off Scotland. The flight lasts 2 minutes.

Thomas Cook, the world’s first travel agency in the world, was founded in 1850.

It is said that, in 1941 the Ford motor company produced an experimental automobile with a plastic body composed of 70% cellulose fibres from hemp. The car body could absorb blows 10 times as great as steel without denting. The car was designed to run on hemp fuel. Because of the ban on both hemp and alcohol, the car was never mass produced.

The Wright Brother tested the first aeroplane in a wind tunnel before flying it.

The Ilyushin-76TD is the world’s largest waterbomber.

The Egyptians created the first organized navy in 2300 BC.

The first train reached a top speed of only 8 km/h (5 mph).

Traffic jams are nothing new. In 45 BC, Rome banned all vehicles from within the city – and in other cities vehicles, including horses, were allowed only at night… because of traffic jams.

The amount of time that people spend on travel has been consistent at 1,1 hours per person per day in all societies.

Electric cars were introduced in 1896 and by the end of the century almost 50% of motorcars worldwide were electric.

The first Ford cars had Dodge engines.

Nuclear ships are basically steamships and driven by steam turbines. The reactor just develops heat to boil the water.

Mercedes Benz cars are named after Mercedes Jellinek.