Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
September 4, 2023 Operations began for the rapid transit component of a rail system in Lagos State in southwestern Nigeria. The first portion of Lagos Rail Mass Transit to go into service was an 8.1-mile (13-kilometer) segment of the system’s Blue Line in Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city and one-time capital. (Lagos State was named for... Continue Reading →
January 21, 2019 A bridge in the Gambia (officially called the Republic of the Gambia) was opened to the public. This bridge, which connects the country’s northern and southern regions, carries the Trans-Gambia Highway across the Gambia River. Measuring 1.2 miles (1.9 kilometers) in length, the structure is one of West Africa’s longest bridges. This... Continue Reading →
October 10, 2012 A major milestone for Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer’s short- to medium-range E-Jets took place when the 900th of those twin-engined jet airliners to be designed and produced was delivered to Kenya Airways. This particular type of E-Jet is formally known as the E-190. Along with acknowledging the numerical significance of the 900th... Continue Reading →
September 20, 2015 Operations began for the first line of a light rail system in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital and largest city. The Addis Ababa Light Rail was officially inaugurated by Hailemariam Desalegn, who served as prime minister of Ethiopia from 2012 to 2018. In an article appearing in the Ethiopian Herald a couple of... Continue Reading →
July 25, 2017 A public transit system in the city of Sidi Bel Abbès in northwestern Algeria was inaugurated by Abdelghani Zaalane, the country’s minister of transport and public works. Construction on the Sidi Bel Abbès Tramway had begun on June 22, 2013. Another milestone for this project took place on April 8, 2016, when... Continue Reading →
May 17, 1970 Norwegian maritime adventurer Thor Heyerdahl set sail from Morocco in a boat made out of papyrus for a voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. The 55-year-old Heyerdahl had achieved fame in 1947 when he sailed 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers) in a raft known as the “Kon-Tiki” from Peru to French Polynesia to show that... Continue Reading →
March 21, 1999 The first nonstop flight around the world by balloon came to an end in western Egypt. The pilots and sole passengers for this record-setting journey were 41-year-old psychiatrist Bertrand Piccard and 51-year-old English balloonist and former Royal Air Force pilot Brian Jones. They landed the helium-and-hot-air balloon, which was named in honor... Continue Reading →
October 31, 2011 A rapid transit system in Algiers, the largest city and capital of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria, was inaugurated. This system was officially opened by Abdelaziz Bouteflika (1937-2021), Algeria’s president from 1999 to 2019. The Algiers Metro became the second rapid transit system in Africa to go into service. (The first... Continue Reading →
August 16, 1974 In the Republic of South Africa, Lanseria International Airport in the province of Gauteng was officially opened. This airport is located to the northwest of Johannesburg, the largest city in South Africa. Those taking part in the inauguration of Lanseria International Airport included Hannes Rall, the county’s minister of transport at that... Continue Reading →
August 10, 1905 In a significant leg of her maiden voyage, the twin-screw steamship (TSS) Arahura circled the rocky headland long known as the Cape of Good Hope on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula. (At the time, this section of the present-day Republic of South Africa was the part of the British Empire... Continue Reading →
Transportation History 