#HTE

Our Favorite Stories from 2017, Part 2: Random, Fascinating Phenomena

Each year we see surprising things that expand our understanding of how the world can, could or should work. We also see spectacles that are just plain fascinating. By understanding how various and unusual problems are solved, and by witnessing the spectacular, we can all grow as designers. Here are some of the things that drew our attention in 2017:

We got a good look at how WWII jeeps were crated for shipping. It’s not flatpacked, but darn close:

We saw an animation that explained how these ingenious 2,500-year-old Chinese wood joints actually make buildings earthquake-proof:

This slow-mo footage of bullets traveling through transparent silencers demonstrates how they work:

You can learn a lot about how furniture is designed and constructed by examining chair skeletons:

Centuries ago Leonardo da Vinci came up with this design for a self-supporting bridge, which people have since built:

Ever wonder how thick the line of a Sharpie is, and does it matter depending on the color? It matters to machinists who make marks with it, so this guy investigated:

In the 1930s, dirigibles were the pinnacle of luxury travel. What were the amenities like onboard the Hindenburg?

A creative director used rotoscoping to trace the abstract shapes “drawn” by a ballerina in motion, and the resultant video was pretty stunning:

A Chinese company invented a way to clear floating garbage off of power lines–by equipping a drone with a freaking flamethrower:

We got a look inside President Trump’s “White House North” penthouse:

We also saw how the President travels, and it involves a heckuva lot more than a bulletproof limo: