Points For Tryin'

Points For Tryin'

By pointsfortryinComedy
Download on the App Store

Points For Tryin' episodes

  • Ep. 17 - Gyroscopic Monorails and Self-Balancing Cars

    You know what they say: two rails are better than one.  But is that actually true?  Today, we take a spin through the world of gyroscopically-stabilized trains.

    For the video version, go to: https://youtu.be/Uam50UWSvzc


    If you have comments, thoughts, or suggestions, email us at [email protected]


    Sources:

    https://www.amusingplanet.com/2021/05/brennans-gyro-monorail.html

    https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co27065/brennans-gyroscopic-mono-rail-car-model-gyroscopic-mono-railcar
    https://www.midnight-trains.com/post/on-board-louis-brennans-gyroscopic-monorail
    https://web.archive.org/web/20221208184234/https://www.monocab-owl.de/das-projekt/
    https://hackaday.com/2019/12/05/retrotechtacular-the-gyro-x/
    https://www.hagerty.com/media/car-profiles/the-future-is-now-so-where-is-my-gyro-car/
    https://www.lanemotormuseum.org/collection/cars/item/gyro-x-1967/

    25 min
  • Ep. 16 - When a Tire Company Tried Making Spaceships: The Goodyear Meteor

    It's known for tires and blimps, but there's an alternate timeline where Goodyear is the go-to company if you want to buy a space station or a rocket plane.  Let us take you through that alternate timeline.


    For the video version, go to: https://youtu.be/F8NPMr15IQo


    If you have comments, thoughts, or suggestions, email us at [email protected]


    Sources:

    https://www.google.com/books/edition/Inflatable_Structures_in_Space/zqQqAAAAMAAJ

    https://books.google.com/books?id=PS0DAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA124
    https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/08/science/space/08space.html

    28 min
  • Ep. 14 - Vacuum Trains: The Hyperloop from 1904

    Ep. 14 - Vacuum Trains: The Hyperloop from 1904

    Airless tunnels?  Check.  Magnetically-levitated trains?  Check.  Promises of insanely-fast travel?  Also check.  But this isn't Elon Musk's Hyperloop, Alfred Beach and Robert Goddard had him beat by over a hundred years.


    For the video version, go to: https://youtu.be/zXYJ2XtqOyM


    If you have comments, thoughts, or suggestions, email us at [email protected]

    Sources:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beach_Pneumatic_Transit

    https://untappedcities.com/2020/04/20/nycs-first-subway-a-one-block-pneumatic-tunnel-below-broadway/
    https://www.nyhistory.org/blogs/beach-pneumatic-transit-the-1870-subway-that-could-have-been
    https://www.nycsubway.org/wiki/Beach_Pneumatic_Transit

    https://gizmodo.com/the-scifi-story-robert-h-goddard-published-100-years-a-1494959842

    https://web.wpi.edu/Images/CMS/Goddard/goddard-high-speed-train.pdf
    https://patents.google.com/patent/US2511979A/en

    21 min
  • Ep. 13 - Getting to Space, No Rockets Required? (SpinLaunch & Space Elevators)

    What if you could get to space, WIHOUT using any rockets?  (Or in the case of SpinLaunch, a much smaller rocket than usual?  That's what we're looking at today.


    For the video version, go to: https://youtu.be/v9booqvNrTQ


    If you have comments, thoughts, or suggestions, email us at [email protected]

    Sources:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_elevator 

    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/michaellaine/space-elevator-science-climb-to-the-sky-a-tethered
    https://www.liftport.com/
    https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2000/ast07sep_1/
    https://space.nss.org/wp-content/uploads/2000-Space-Elevator-NASA-CP210429.pdf

    https://www.spinlaunch.com/

    https://patents.google.com/patent/WO2019164472A1/en
    https://spacenews.com/spinlaunch-conducts-first-test-of-suborbital-accelerator-at-spaceport-america/

    25 min

About Points For Tryin'

From the publisher's feed

A part-comedy, part-educational podcast where we look back on the wonderful and weird world of failed inventions.