6 engineering marvels that tamed ‘impossible’ terrain to cut travel time

By Les Shu Published December 2, 2016

If a mountain stands between you and your destination, the logical solution is to go around it – unless, of course, you find a way to go through it. What seems like an impossible feat to the rest of us, it is merely a challenge for determined engineers. Had Joseph Strauss listened to experts who deemed building a bridge from San Francisco to Marin County was impractical, then the Golden Gate Bridge may never have been built.

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By the end of 2016, it’ll be possible to travel through the Alps in a high-speed train, thanks to the opening of the Gotthard Base Tunnel. Not only will it shorten the trip for passengers, but make it faster to deliver goods. Like the Golden Gate, the Gotthard, along with these five other modern engineering marvels, not only cut down on travel time, but make it possible to get from one place to another – something earlier generations could only dream of. Here are six incredible recent projects that make traveling over land a little less daunting.

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Emerging Tech

ChatGPT is getting a teen version, and I have a lot of questions

ChatGPT

Whether you like it or not, ChatGPT is already everywhere. People use it to research complicated topics, clean up their writing, learn new skills, plan their lives, and, in my case, ask an embarrassing number of questions I could have figured out myself. Teenagers are no exception. In fact, OpenAI says nearly nine in 10 teens who use ChatGPT turn to it to learn, find information, develop skills, or get things done during a typical week. So rather than pretending students aren't going to use AI, OpenAI is taking a different approach: give them a version built specifically for them. The company has announced ChatGPT for Teens, a new experience for users between 13 and 17 that's designed around learning, healthier usage habits, and significantly stronger safety protections.

ChatGPT wants to teach, not just hand over the answer

Computing

The US is trying to kick foreign robots out, but the local supply chain might not be there yet

Building a robot supply chain from scratch takes years that Washington isn't giving anyone.

LG CLOiD Home Robot

The FCC has a track record of using its Covered List to squeeze Chinese tech out of American markets, and robots just became its newest target. Foreign-made humanoids, quadrupeds, and even robot vacuums now need to be mostly built in the U.S. to sell here (via Rest of World).

So what does the new rule actually require?

Emerging Tech

A random TikTok helped scientists discover a rare underground eel in India

Nobody expected a borewell video to end in a scientific discovery, but here we are.

Gangaichthys indonepalicus

A TikTok video usually leads to a new recipe or a dance trend. This one led researchers straight to a brand-new species of fish.

Scientists have discovered a new genus and species of underground earthworm eel living beneath the Indo-Gangetic Plain in Bihar, northern India. Named Gangaichthys indonepalicus, it's the first subterranean eel ever recorded from the Gangetic Basin, and it all started with a random borewell (drilled well) video.