7 Weird Transportation Ideas Of The Past You Won't Believe

Some of these actually happened. Which might make you appreciate Delta. (Just kidding.)

1. 1897: The Bicycle Superhighway

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This one is actually kind of cool. It was the creation of a California businessman who wanted to construct a bike-only highway in Los Angeles, beginning in Pasadena and stretching to downtown L.A. Riders would pay a fee to use it. A first stretch of it was apparently built before the project got nixed.

2. 1907: The Floating Airship With Suspended Car

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This is Britain's first military airship, which was composed of a canoe suspended from a huge 110 foot balloon. You could go as fast 20 mph!

3. 1938: The National Superhighway Proposal

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Detailed in an issue of Popular Mechanics, this proposal called for a 15,000 mile network of superhighways which would have offered multi-level speedways, cable controls to keep cars in their lanes, allowing drivers to travel at the "fast" speed of 100 mph. The proposal also called for a creation of a coast-to-coast network of these highways.

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4. 1961: The Amphicar

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These famous novelty car-boats of the '60s went straight from land to water. But seriously, people, does this really make crossing a body of water any easier?

5. 1964: The Parking-Problem-Solver Car

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Behold the "Urbania," an invention claiming to be the world's smallest car which also solved parking issues. The seats and wheel were on a rotating platform so you could get out from any side.

6. 1965: The Hovercraft Train

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The Aérotrain was tested in France for over a decade, but was ultimately never adopted by French railways. Using air resistance, it hovered over the track silently at high speeds.

7. 1965: The Off-Shore Freeway Proposal

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This idea would have meant constructing an artificial island with a highway offshore of Santa Monica's beaches. Weird.