Travel Got Faster for 200 Years. Then It Went Backwards.

Why did Concorde stop flying and how did people travel in the past? This is the history of travel from the stagecoaches of the 1800s to the golden age of flying, measured in the same eight hours. Today you can fly from London to New York in around eight hours in comfort and safety. We measure every age in that same eight hours. How far it would get you, what it would cost and whether you would arrive in one piece. 1820, England: the stagecoach and the roof passengers who paid a week's wages to ride outside in the rain. 1880s, Amsterdam: the horse tram that was no faster than the coach and the horses it wore out. 1960s: London's Routemaster, Tokyo's new bullet train and the "golden age" of flying which was far more dangerous than it looked. Then Concorde. From 1977 you could land in New York before you took off by the clock. In 2003 Concorde was retired and no passenger plane has crossed the Atlantic that fast since. CHAPTERS 0:00 The journey you can't buy any more 0:36 Eight hours: the measure 1:04 1820: the stagecoach 3:10 1880s: Amsterdam's horse trams 5:32 1960s: London, Tokyo and the jet 8:14 Concorde 10:08 The golden age is now 11:21 Next time Sources and notes: our research and the claims we checked (and the ones we dropped because they did not hold up) are summarised in the pinned comment. Concorde take-off sound: "concorde.mp3" by ddub (freesound.org/people/ddub/sounds/25464/), recorded at Leeds Bradford Airport, used under Creative Commons Sampling+ 1.0. #history #travel #Concorde