“Sentinel chickens” are an early-warning system against some nasty mosquito-borne diseases. I visited a flock in New South Wales, Australia. ▪ More about NSW Health’s surveillance: https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/mosquito-borne/Pages/surveillance.aspx MVE was actually found in the area I filmed, just a couple of days later, although in that case it was direct mosquito […]
At Velocity Valley in Rotorua, New Zealand, there’s the Shweeb: a pedal-powered monorail. It’s a fun ride: but in 2010, Google gave it a million dollars as a potential “future of transit”. ▪ Thanks to Velocity Valley: https://velocityvalley.co.nz/ SOURCES: https://web.archive.org/web/20091109051951/http://shweeb.com/index.php?m=faq https://web.archive.org/web/20081012033535/http://www.project10tothe100.com/faq.html https://web.archive.org/web/20120506113239/http://www.google.com/onceuponatime/project10tothe100/ https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2012-03-27/whatever-happened-to-the-shweeb https://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/business/13m-backing-for-shweeb/ERNGSPNILIFWR7YC4TU2A6DEYY/ https://www.businessinsider.com/google-human-monorail-shweeb-2010-9 Camera: Rakaea Te Rangi-Trotman Producer: […]
C1 Espresso, in Christchurch, New Zealand, has a set of pneumatic tubes. But that’s not enough on its own to keep a business running. ■ C1 Espresso: http://www.c1espresso.co.nz/ Producer: Virginia Wickham at Kevin & Co https://www.kevinandco.co.nz/ 🟥 MORE FROM TOM: https://www.tomscott.com/ (you can find contact details and social links there […]
The common wisdom is that, once an invasive species is truly established, it can’t be eradicated — but I talked to the team from Predator Free Wellington, who think they can do just that. ■ Predator Free Wellington: https://www.pfw.org.nz/ Predator Free 2050: https://pf2050.co.nz/ Editor: Michelle Martin https://www.youtube.com/@OnTheCrux Camera: Conor Cameron […]
Wellington, in New Zealand, has more than a hundred private cable cars. I found out why. ■ Access Automation: https://accessauto.co.nz/ ■ Rose’s book: https://teherengawakapress.co.nz/all-who-live-on-islands/ Editor: Michelle Martin https://www.youtube.com/@OnTheCrux Producer: Virginia Wickham at Kevin & Co https://www.kevinandco.co.nz/ 🟥 MORE FROM TOM: https://www.tomscott.com/ (you can find contact details and social links there […]
Nishiyama Onsen Keiunkan is not just the world’s oldest hotel, but the world’s oldest still-operating business. Or at least, that’s one way of looking at it. But things are changing here, just like they always have. ■ The hotel: https://www.keiunkan.co.jp/ Local producer: Yasuharu Matsuno at Mind Architect Camera: Julian Domanski […]
The DMV, or Dual Mode Vehicle, on the Asa Coast Railway in Shikoku, Japan, is a hybrid bus and train. And I rode it. ■ The railway: https://asatetu.com/en/ (English) or https://asatetu.com/ (Japanese) An accessible English dub of this video is available. Plus, as there was (unusually) room for it in […]
I was going to film a video about a robot bicycle park. And then GIKEN, the company who built it, said: you know we do this for cars as well, right? ■ More details: https://www.giken.com/en/products/automated-parking-facilities/ Local producer: Yasuharu Matsuno at Mind Architect Camera: Julian Domanski Editor: Michelle Martin https://www.youtube.com/@OnTheCrux I’m […]
I thought maglev trains were a dead-end technology: but it looks like I was wrong. At JR Central’s Yamanashi Maglev Test Track, I rode Japan’s new maglev. ■ The maglev: https://scmaglev.jr-central-global.com/ ■ The exhibition centre: https://www.linear-museum.pref.yamanashi.jp/english/index.html Local producer: Yasuharu Matsuno at Mind Architect Camera and edit: Julian Domanski (This video […]
Hideyasu Ito runs the Micro Hovercraft Laboratory, and I got to meet him and ride his incredible four-bubble hovercraft. ■ The Laboratory: @hideito9042 http://mhlabo.web.fc2.com/ or https://twitter.com/microhovercraft Local producer: Yasuharu Matsuno at Mind Architect Camera and edit: Julian Domanski (This video has an English dub available on supported devices. Change the […]
