Finding the unexpected in the everyday.
December 10, 2009 A cable-stayed swing bridge in Dublin, the capital city of the Republic of Ireland, was formally opened to pedestrians. Emer Costello (born in 1962), the lord mayor of Dublin, officiated at these inaugural festivities. The bridge was first opened to motor vehicle traffic the next morning. This 403.5-foot (123-meter)-long structure crosses the... Continue Reading →
December 2, 1594 Gerardus Mercator, whose influential work in cartography included a seminal 1569 map that depicted sailing courses worldwide, died at the age of 82 in the city of Duisburg in present-day Germany. He had been born on March 5, 1512, in the town of Rupelmonde in what is now Belgium. Mercator established a niche... Continue Reading →
November 21, 2022 On Norway’s west coast, the second line of a light rail system in the city and municipality of Bergen first went into service. This took place three days after the inaugural ceremony for this new route was held. The second line encompasses 5.6 miles (nine kilometers) between Kaigaten in Bergen’s borough of... Continue Reading →
November 20, 1854 One of the first bridges to be built in the Italian city of Venice was opened to the public. This steel bridge for pedestrians spanned the Grand Canal, which is the main canal crossing Venice’s historic center. While there had been discussions about constructing a bridge in this vicinity as far... Continue Reading →
November 18, 1949 A new aviation record was established when a U.S. Air Force (USAF) C-74 Globemaster plane transporting 103 people landed at the Royal Air Force (RAF) station near the village of Marham, England. This 82-ton (74.4-metric ton) plane, which was known as the Champ and reached its destination approximately 23 hours after flying... Continue Reading →
A newly built railway station in central Portugal’s village (and present-day municipality) of Abrantes first went into service. Abrantes Station was opened by the now-defunct company originally known as Companhia dos Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses (Royal Company of Portuguese Railways), which had been established in 1860 and would serve for many years as the country’s... Continue Reading →
November 4, 1846 A railway station in the village and community of Ruabon in Wrexham County Borough in Wales was inaugurated. This structure -- the original version of Ruabon railway station -- was built in the Italianate style. It was designed by English architect and surveyor Thomas Mainwaring Penson (1818-1864). In 1860, this station was... Continue Reading →
October 31, 2020 A newly completed international airport in Germany’s state of Brandenburg was opened for commercial operations. This airport, which is just south of the country’s capital of Berlin, was named after Willy Brandt (1913-1992). Brandt, who had been a staunch opponent of the Nazi regime, served as governing mayor of West Berlin from... Continue Reading →
October 30, 1906 Daniel Albone, an inventor who made key contributions to various types of transportation, died in the market town and civil parish of Biggleswade in southern England. He was 46. Albone was born in Biggleswade on September 12, 1860. He and his family lived in an area located between the Great North Road... Continue Reading →
October 29, 1967 A newly built station in an area known as Skøyenåsen was opened as a link within the Oslo Metro, the rapid transit system serving Norway’s capital city. Skøyenåsen is part of the borough of Østensjø in southeastern Oslo. The station located there was designed by architect Karl Stenersen. This facility is one... Continue Reading →
