On 18 August 1896 Gottlieb Daimler ...

... proudly presented the first truck worldwide.

After his studies of Mechanical Engineering the son of a master baker got to know the designer Wilhelm Maybach in his first job in a mechanical engineering company. This lifelong friendship and cooperation not only resulted in the first benzene-driven combustion engine, the first motorbike (1885), the first engine-driven carriage (1886) or engines for boats, locomotives and airships (1887/1888) but also in the company Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft founded in 1890.

Finally on 18 August 1896 his group presented the first motorised truck of the world, the "Phönix".



A two-cylinder engine with a cylinder capacity of 1.06 litres achieved a power of 4 PS and a maximum speed of 16 km/h. In the open and on iron wheels the driver could go for about 200 kilometers. On 1 October 1896 Daimler-Motorengesellschaft delivered the first truck to London.

Further information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gottlieb_Daimler

Who was trained ...

... to become a gunsmith before constructing the first truck?

A giant on Australia's roads

The "road train" is the longest road-driven truck of its kind (it really travels on "normal" roads).

It is 53.5 metres long and pulls up to 4 trailers. By comparison, the longest trucks in Germany measure 18.75 metres.

Further information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Road_train

Why are the steering wheels of English cars on the right-hand side?

The term left-hand traffic refers to road traffic which, in contrast to right-hand traffic, keeps to the left side of the road seen from the driver's perspective. Left-hand traffic countries are mainly those formerly governed by Britain. There are many theories and explanations for this way of traffic routing.

For example, it is assumed that right- or left-handed people determined the respective standards. Some believe, among other things, that this way of driving, which seems unusual to us German right-hand drivers, originates from the days when we travelled the roads in horse-drawn carriages. In those days, the reins were held on the left, right or in the middle or the vehicle was steered with the left or right hand.

Although this may seem arbitrary, there is no need to worry; a change from right-hand to left-hand traffic is very complex and, therefore no longer feasible.



Further information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-_and_left-hand_traffic

When was the first chariot built?

A full-scale model of a chariot in a grave in Crete can be dated back to 1 900 B.C. Chariots were already used in Central Asia.

You will find further information here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chariot