Stratolaunch Roc: The Widest Wings That Ever Flew
Stratolaunch Roc has the widest wings that ever flew at 385 feet, making it the aircraft with the largest wingspan ever flown.
Engineering
Incredible buildings, bridges, machines and structures: how they were built, how much they weigh and why they look impossible.
Arktika: Nuclear Icebreaker Refuels Once Every Seven Years
Arktika nuclear icebreaker refuels once every seven years as its RITM-200 reactors deliver 60 megawatts to drive through ice up to 5 feet thick at 14 mph.
Roman Concrete: Seals Itself in Two Weeks
Roman concrete heals its own cracks: lime clasts react with water and seal them within two weeks, which helps explain the Pantheon dome.
Great Man-Made River: 1,750 Miles of Pipes Under Sand
Great Man-Made River carries 1,750 miles of pipes under Libyan sand to supply 70 percent of the country’s freshwater from million-year-old fossil water.
Seikan Tunnel: 14.5 Miles Under the Sea
The Seikan Tunnel runs 14.5 miles beneath the Tsugaru Strait seabed at 787 feet below sea level making it the deepest railway tunnel.
Lærdal Tunnel: World’s Longest Road Tunnel at 15.2 Miles
Lærdal Tunnel stretches 15.2 miles through a Norwegian mountain and uses three huge lit caverns to break the monotony for drivers.
Seawise Giant: The 1,504-Foot Oil Tanker
Seawise Giant measured 1,504 feet long and displaced 724,000 US tons when fully loaded, making it the longest self-propelled ship ever built.
Millennium Tower: Sinks 18 Inches and Leans 28 Inches
Millennium Tower in San Francisco has sunk 18 inches and leans 28 inches at the roof due to compressing clay and dropping groundwater levels.
Three Gorges Ship Lift: Raises 17,100 Tons
Three Gorges Ship Lift raises 17,100 tons including its chamber of water and ship through 371 feet in 40 minutes.
1,342 Cubic Feet of Soil Save Pisa’s Tower
Engineers removed 1,342 cubic feet of soil from beneath Pisa’s Tower, reducing its lean by 17 inches and preventing collapse.
NASA Crawler-Transporter: 6.65 Million Pounds
NASA’s Crawler-Transporter weighs 6.65 million pounds and was named the heaviest self-powered vehicle by Guinness World Records in 2023.
Tacoma Narrows Bridge: 42 mph Wind Tears It Apart
42 mph wind tore the 2,800-foot Tacoma Narrows Bridge apart in aeroelastic flutter, causing it to twist and collapse on November 7, 1940.