Mad Scientists: Ultimate Rock Crawler Facts
- The first off-road vehicle was a Mercedes passenger car modified by Adolphe Kégresse for Czar Nicholas II of Russia in 1910. The 'Kégresse Track' was rubber belt mechanism that could be fitted to a variety of vehicles. Kégresse later moved back to his native France to work for Citrëon, which produced stock versions of the Kégresse Track Vehicles. .
- The world's most expensive SUV is the Dartz Monaco Red Diamond. It features gold plated bullet-proof windows, tungsten and white gold gauges and bullet proof tires. All for the bargain price of $1.5 Million.
- The longest off-road race ever was the TransOrientale, which stretched over 6200 miles from St. Petersburg, Russia to Beijing, China. The race was only run one time, in 2008, and two drivers were killed.
- The town of Ojai, California was incorporated in 1872 and originally named Nordhoff, in honor of Charles Nordhoff, a writer for the New York Herald newspaper who was known for his writings about the West Coast and inspired many of the original residents to move there. The name was officially changed to Ojai in 1917.
- The word "hydraulics" means "The scientific study of water and other liquids, in particular their behavior under the influence of mechanical forces and their related uses in engineering." It comes from the Greek word hydraulikos organon (literally "water organ") which has its roots in the Greek words for water (hydor) and musical instrument/hollow tube (aulos.)
- Biomimetics is the concept of industrial design and engineering mimicking characteristics found in nature.
- Many Lizards, when attacked by a predator, will shed their tails. The predator is distracted by the detached tail and the lizard can escape. The lizard will then grow another tail.
- The longest tandem wheelie in an ATV was 813 Feet.
- Crested Geckos have a sticky lamellae pad on their tails that they use to help them climb vertical surfaces and jump from branch to branch.
- Surfer Slang, (words like "Radical", "Tubular" & "Gnarly") was originated by Southern California surfers during the early 60's and made popular by movies such as Endless Summer and Big Wednesday and music groups The Beach Boys and Jan & Dean. The largest truck tire in the world is the Michelin 59/80R63 XDR which is used on the Caterpillar 797F Large Haul Truck. The tires stand over 13 feet tall and cost $42,500 each.
- The triangle is the strongest geometric shape.
- The 'King of the Hammers' race, in Johnson Valley, California is often referred to as the toughest one day off-road race in the world.
- The 2010 King of the Hammers video was the recipient of the 'Extremey Award' for Best Offroad/Truck video of 2010. In 2010, the number of cars scrapped in the United States beat the number of new ones sold 14 million to 10 million.
- In 2010, the number of cars scrapped in the United States beat the number of new ones sold 14 million to 10 million.
