Lineposters is a beautifully minimal poster series of city transit systems from around the world. The posters are currently on sale at Fab. They can also be found at the Lineposters Etsy store. The Lineposters series is by Cayla Ferari and John Breznicky.

Embark is a free public transportation trip planning app that works with or without cell reception and is tailored to individual transit systems. The wonderful intro video for Embark is by Adam Lisagor (aka Lonely Sandwich).

via Adam Lisagor

The Board of Awesomeness by mobile app developer Chaotic Moon is an experimental motorized longboard that is controlled by the rider’s gestures, thanks to a XBox 360 Kinect motion sensor (video).

So how does it work? Video recognition, speech recognition, location data, accelerometer data, and other factors determine what the user wants to do and allow the board to follow the operator’s commands without other aid. Very similar to using Kinect for Xbox 360, the Kinect device on our Board of Awesomeness transmits the user’s gestures and movement to the Samsung Windows 8 tablet that serves as the board’s central brain by controlling the speed of the board’s electric motor, which is up to 32 miles per hour.

The 11th annual No Pants Subway Ride is set for January 8. Improv Everywhere started the event on the New York City Subway back in 2002—it has grown to be an international event (see the list of participating cities).

Jean-Yves Blondeau (aka Rollerman) created a 31 wheel roller suit which he races down mountain roads and other steep descents (video by Danny Strasser). The wearer can use the suit to skate in a variety of positions, from standing to lying flat. Blondeau has been developing the suit since 1994.

photo via Jean-Yves Blondeau

via The Awesomer & Awesom.tv

MetroChange is a proposal for a kiosk that would allow New York MTA riders to donate leftover funds on their MetroCards to charity (video). MetroChange was created by NYU students Stepan Boltalin, Genevieve Hoffman, and Paul May. Currently the kiosk is only a prototype but the students are searching for partners to help make it a reality.

Every year, millions of dollars worth of value on MTA MetroCards is lost or discarded.

MetroChange takes this value and puts it to good use, before cards are discarded. Swipe your MetroCard at a MetroChange kiosk; the value on the card is transferred to a central fund. This fund is donated to a charity once per month. The physical card is taken for recycling.

via The Atlantic

photos by Paul May

Australian designer Cameron Booth has created a map of the U.S. Routes highway system in the style of a subway map. U.S. Routes (such as Route 66) are not to be confused with the more modern Interstate Highway System, for which Booth has created another map.

via Chart Porn

Chromaroma makes a game of riding the London Underground (demo video). The online game tracks a rider’s transit card data to determine where they’ve been on the transit system. Players collect points for their subway trips, complete missions, and compete against or with other players. Chromaroma is by UK-based digital production company Mudlark.

via GOOD & Curiosity Counts

The Air-Free Tire is an airless tire design concept by Bridgestone (video by DigInfo TV). The concept relies on thermoplastic resin spokes to give the tire its shape and flexibility (it is also 100% recyclable). Due to the limited load capacity of the tire, it is intended for use in lightweight carts and personal mobility devices, with use on larger vehicles planned for the future. The tire debuted at this month’s Tokyo Motor Show.

Michelin developed a similar concept, the Tweel, back in 2005.

via Gizmodo

Flyboard is an amphibious water-powered jet pack that propels the wearer up to 30 feet in the air (demo video). A large hose channels high pressure water to the Flyboard from a nearby jet ski. Two large jets at the wearer’s feet provide the propulsion, with two smaller handheld jets providing control. Flyboard was designed by French jet ski racer Franky Zapata of Zapata Racing.

via Gizmodo

The Imaginary BART Map by Jake Coolidge is a rendering of what the Bay Area Rapid Transit system might look like if it actually served the entire San Francisco Bay Area, instead of just 4 out of 9 Bay Area counties. It is based in part on the original 1957 plan for BART (see below).

And here is the current BART system map:

Thanks to Nico Crisafulli of 10 Times One for the tip!

British photographer Rob Whitworth created this wonderful time-lapse of the manic traffic in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

Everyone who has visited Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam knows part of the magic (love it or hate it) is in the traffic. Ever since I first set foot in HCMC I have been captivated by the cities energy. Saigon is a city on the move unlike anything I have experienced before which I wanted to capture and share.

via Co.Exist

To publicize the East coast debut of Amtrak’s AmtrakConnect onboard Wi-Fi service, ad agency Arnold created these clever route-specific outdoor ads.

via Brand Flakes For Breakfast

Ukrainian photographer Oleg Gordienko captured this beautiful photo series of a heavily forested stretch of train track in Ukraine known as “The Tunnel of Love.”

via Damn Cool Pictures & Gadget Magazine

The L Train Notwork is a pirate wi-fi network that is available on certain New York City Subway L Trains this week, thanks to creative agency WeMakeCoolSh.it (here’s a behind-the-scenes video). The service is provided by person-portable battery-powered web servers. Rather than connect commuters to the internet, the L Train Notwork serves content provided by local artists and hosts a web 1.0-inspired chat room.

The L Train Notwork is available 8am to 10am on the L Train between the Morgan Ave. and 8th Ave. stops, until Friday, November 18. New York City-based WeMakeCoolSh.it was founded by Mark Krawczuk and Matt McGregor-Mento.

via Fast Company

image 1 by David Dax, image 2 by Yoshi Sodeoka

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Track 61 is a long abandoned, once secret train platform under the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in Manhattan that allowed VIPs like President Franklin Roosevelt to enter the hotel secretly (see a 2009 video report by the BBC). In fact, as Gothamist discovered on a recent tour, President Roosevelt’s armored train car is still there.

via Gothamist

photos by Sam Horine/Gothamist

In 2009, U-Zoo posted a video of hamsters drag racing in specially made tiny hot rods outfitted with hamster exercise wheels.

via Art Car Central

To shuttle travelers between the airport and an outlying parking lot, London Heathrow Airport has launched a driverless personal rapid transit system (see a video report by ITN). The system, by UK-based ULTra PRT, consists of computer controlled electric cars that seat up to 6 passengers.

via Nothing To Do With Arbroath

photos via ULTra PRT

The World’s Shortest Train passes a Japanese railroad crossing in this video from Henteko.net. The video may be fake but the train sure is adorable.

via The Daily What & Stuff I Stole From the Internet & Say OMG

Back in 2008, Fermilab astrophysicist Jason Steffen took a break from matters of the universe to devise the Steffen Method, a clever optimization of the airline passenger boarding process. In this recent video demonstration of his method for This vs. That, 72 passengers were seated aboard a mock 757 fuselage in half the usual time. To date, no airlines have adopted the Steffen Method.

via The Consumerist

image via Jason Steffen

The Streets of Monaco is a 500 foot, 1.1 billion dollar luxury yacht concept inspired by the principality of Monaco. The principality’s landsmarks–the Prince’s Palace, the Casino, and the Gran Prix race course, are all replicated on the deck of the yacht. The concept is by Yacht Island Designs, a UK-based ship design firm that specializes in themed yachts.

The Streets of Monaco is our first design proposal. The theme is based around the Mediterranean principality with the primary focus being the famous grand prix circuit. The idea was to recreate the circuit as a fully functional kart track able to accommodate three karts side by side to allow for plenty of overtaking. By sizing the track in this way it has driven the overall dimensions of the yacht and the placement of the famous landmarks. The Monaco story extends beyond this exterior architecture and into the interior spaces giving a seamless transition as guests move between the various areas of the yacht.

via Uncrate

images via Yacht Island Designs

A world record was attempted on July 31, 2011 for the most hot air balloons taking off at once at Lorraine Mondail Air Ballons international festival at France’s Chambley-Bussieres Aerodrome. While not confirmed, the festival did break its own record of 329 balloons taking off at once in 2009 with 343 balloons this year. According to the festival, “1032 drivers from forty-eight nations, 2672 crew members, 174 businesses and communities, 195 volunteers and nearly 400 journalists” were involved in this year’s event. Gaston Batistini shot a bunch of amazing photos of festival.

photos by Gaston Batistini

The pilot and co-pilot are struck ill with food-poisoning. The only man on board with any flying experience is a veteran who is haunted by a fatal mistake he made the last time he flew a plane. Lives hang in the balance. The crew on the ground nervously try to talk him through safely landing the plane in a horrible storm as his fuel supply dwindles.

If the plot of this 1957 film seems familiar, it’s likely because the comedy classic Airplane! parodies it in detail. The makers of the 1980 comedy actually bought the rights to Zero Hour, so they could use the script as the basis for their film. In fact they left many lines in verbatim from the original screenplay–which you can find online here. The video above shows a shot-by-shot comparison between scenes from the two films. Below are the trailers for your contrasting amusement:

The trailer for Zero Hour:

The trailer for Airplane!:

photo by Tharrin

photo by MartyCTX

The Darth Vader Balloon is an 86 foot tall hot air balloon replica of Darth Vader’s helmet. Belgian balloonists Benoit and Michel Lambert commissioned specialty manufacturer Cameron Balloons to build the Darth Vader Balloon in 2007 (of course, only after receiving the official Lucasfilm OK). The Lamberts now pilot the balloon in appearances all over the world. It will be featured at the Great Reno Balloon Race, September 9-11, 2011.

via Todd Lappin/Telstar Logistics

UK artist Benedict Radcliffe has a particular fixation with wheeled vehicles, which he has expressed over the years with a variety of vehicular art pieces. Highlights include Lamborghini supercar wireframe replicas, one of which was pedal powered, a stretched Honda Cub scooter, and the “Dalston Jazz Car,” a bizarre Frankenstein of two Volkswagens seamlessly welded together.