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// STA NDA R DS // 1 2 3 4

July/August My Pop Life From the Editor Drinks Machines
2020 Tips, gear picks, and The unexpected This summer, ditch the The dogged, durable
confessions from our efficiencies of a car hard seltzer. Make one legacy of the immortal

staff. p.4 with solar panels. p.8 of these instead. p.10 B-52. p.12

5 6 7 8 9

Cars & Trucks Deep Math Science Pro Challenge Outdoor Awards
Discover the full This riddle confounded Why does our body Your task: “Build Our test team selects
potential of your 4WD us: How many triangles temperature keep something useful with the best hiking, cycling,
and camping gear.
system. p.16 do you see? p.20 falling? p.22 LEGO.” p.26
p.58

PH A S/ U N IV ERSA L I M AG ES G RO U P V IA G E T T Y I M AG ES (M A P); CO U RT ESY T ESL A (CY B ERT RU CK); KEL SE Y M CCLELL A N (L A B M E AT); A M Y G R ISA K (G R IZ ZLY B E A R) 10 11 12 13 14

Home Editors' Choice This Changed Tools How to Be Good
We found the best The handheld devices Everything The best air at What You Do
smart locks—without (and their accessories) The ingenious vision of conditioning on At a Brooklyn vinyl
breaking and entering. we can’t put down. the first handheld GPS wheels. You’re plant, art meets

p.68 p.70 device. p.72 welcome. p.78 machine. p.80

// FE ATURES //

The History The Future of The Race to When Grizzlies
of Maps Off-Road Is Make Cell- Invade Your
Electric Grown Meats Neighborhood
No clear origin. No Mainstream
known inventor. But As soon as 2021, Why an apex predator
are maps the most Would you eat a
underappreciated the best adventure returned to Shelby,
“device” of all time? chicken nugget that
p.30 vehicles will come Montana—a place now
came from a petri
from Rivian, Bollinger, overrun with humans.
dish? p.44
and Tesla. p.40 p.52

// ON THE COVER // 1904 USGS TOPOGRAPHIC MAP OF THE MOUNT DESERT QUADRANGLE, MAINE. DIGITALLY RENDERED ELEVATION BY SCOTT REINHARD.

POPULAR MECHANICS (ISSN 0032-4558) is published six times per year by Hearst, 300 West 57th St., NY, NY 10019 USA. Steven R. Swartz, President & Chief Executive Officer; William R.
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July/August 2020 3

My Pop Life Alexander George

1 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

// EXPERT H ACKS, GE A R RECS & LIFE-TESTED W ISDOM FROM OUR STAFF // Matt Allyn Features Director;
Brian Dalek Director of Content
@fleurnandez CURRENT Operations; Leah Flickinger
PASSION PROJECT Director of Content Creation; Lou
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A home reno! We closed Perreault Editorial Operations
News Editor on a home at the end of Director; Jesse Southerland
January and have been Creative Director
Waiting for my phone completely redoing the
to stop ringing so I DESIGN + PHOTO
can go back to snap- entire property. Amy Wolff Photo Director; Colin
ping pics of my pup. McSherry Senior Art Director; Alyse
W Markel Art Director; Eleni Dimou
PRODUCTS I’M USING RIGHT NOW Senior Designer; Ash Bartholomew,
TREVOR RA AB (PRODUCTS); COURTESY LUDWIG (DRUMS); DAISY HERNANDEZ (HEADSHOT, SONNY, PENCIL HOLDER)Kory Kennedy Digital Designers;
The Best Money 1 2 Kristen Parker Photo Editor; John
I Ever Spent Hamilton Associate Photo Editor
Sony MDR-XB950BT DW Home Tobacco
Definitely the money Headphones Flower Candle EDITORIAL
I used to take a trip to Molly Ritterbeck Health & Fitness
Iceland in 2017. Being Even after sweaty I buy these candles Director; Bette Canter, Darren
there was surreal— gym sessions and long three or four at a time— Orf Deputy Editors; Tyler Daswick,
like visiting an hours in the office, the Taylor Rojek Associate Features
entirely new world. sound quality of these they smell divine and Editors; Andrew Daniels How-To
make any space feel Editor; Courtney Linder Senior
My Favorite remains perfect. welcoming and cozy. News Editor; Hailey Middlebrook,
POP Story Jordan Smith Editors; Danielle
Zickl Health & Fitness Editor;
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Really Happens in a Social Media Editor; Drew Dawson
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curious about Joglar Administrative Assistant
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THIS IS SONNY 3 4 Caroline Dorey-Stein Assistant
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She’s a three-month-old Cuisinart Espresso Ludwig Drum Kit
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other half of the day. Test Editors; Lakota Gambill,
COOLEST THING ON MY DESK Trevor Raab Photographers; Joël
4 July/August 2020 Nankman Logistician
A pencil holder made from old
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ISSUE 3, 2020

PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.



My Pop Life Jack Essig

1 SVP, PUBLISHING DIRECTOR

// EXPERT H ACKS, GE A R RECS & LIFE-TESTED W ISDOM FROM OUR STAFF // William Upton Associate Publisher;
Cameron Connors Executive
KORY KENNEDY Parenting Director, Head of Brand Strategy &
Hack Marketing; Samantha Irwin
Digital Designer General Manager; Chris Peel
I came up with “Activity Executive Director, Men’s & Enthusiast
But the creator Bingo” to get my Group, Hearst Magazines
is the man who Digital Media
d i s a g r e e s. sons away from their
screens. It’s a bingo ADVERTISING SALES OFFICES
board with 25 physical NEW YORK: Caryn Kesler Executive
activities, from 15 Director, Luxury Goods; John Wattiker
mountain climbers to Executive Director, Global Fashion
30 “Rocky” situps. Once & Retail; Doug Zimmerman Senior
it’s filled, they choose a Grooming Director; John Cipolla
Integrated Account Director Spirits,
non-digital prize. Entertainment & Travel; Kimberly
Buonassisi Account Director; Kyle
A baggie of “Blue Sky” from the My Favorite POP B. Taylor East Coast Sales Director,
set of Breaking Bad. (Although I Story So Far Hearst Autos; Joe Pennacchio East
its bluish color over time.) Coast Automotive Director; Samantha
“How Star Wars Filmmakers Wolf Integration Associate; Everette
PRODUCTS I’M USING RIGHT NOW Built the Millennium Falcon.” A. Hampton Executive Assistant;
As a Star Wars–obsessed fan DETROIT: Marisa Stutz Group
1 2 since day one, I got chills Advertising Director, Hearst Autos; TREVOR RA AB (CORKSCREW, SHOES); COURTESY JBL; COURTESY LIFEPROOF; ART STREIBER (KENNEDY); KORY KENNEDY (CATS)
when my favorite “piece of Eric Drieselman Sales Director,
Rabbit Lever Vans Comfy junk” was reintroduced in Hearst Autos; Toni Starrs Integration
Corkscrew Cush Sneakers The Force Awakens. It was Associate; CHICAGO: Justin Harris
inspiring taking a deep dive Midwest Sales Director; Autumn Jenks
I love the ritual of lifting So much softer and into its inception (not to Midwest Sales Director; Anne Merrill
it out of the drawer, more cushiony than mention geeking out while Sales Assistant; LOS ANGELES: Stacey
positioning it atop a a lot of other models. designing the story). Lakind Southwest Sales Director;
bottle, and smoothly Out of all my sneakers, Olivia Zurawin Sales Assistant; SAN
extracting the cork. my new favorites! The Best Money FRANCISCO: William G. Smith, Smith
I Ever Spent Media Sales, LLC; Anne Rethmeyer
Western Group Sales Director, Hearst
I spent the majority of my Autos; DALLAS: Patty Rudolph PR 4.0
childhood in arcades, so I Media; HEARST DIRECT MEDIA: Brad
saved up my quarters and got Gettelfinger Sales Manager
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Kong Jr. arcade game. It’s MARKETING SOLUTIONS
upgraded with more than 30 Jason Graham Marketing Solutions:
classic games, such as Mr. Do!, Executive Director, Integrated
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3 4 SAY “MEOW” AGAIN!

LifeProof Vinyl JBL Bar Meet Jules and Vincent.
Plank Flooring Studio As entertaining as their
Finally pulled up the Pulp Fiction namesakes,
carpet and replaced Hook up an optical with similar criminal
with this flooring. It's cord, plug it in, tendencies.
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repeating patterns. and pump up the
volume!
6 July/August 2020

INTRODUCING

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From the
2 Editor

// ALE X A N DER GEORGE //

Should
Your Car
Have Solar
Panels?

Y OU CAN GET THEM ON THE NEW

Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Limited
($35,300), which I tested one for a week,
under existentially strange but mechan-
ically ideal conditions. Except for a
10-mile drive to the grocery store and

back, the car sat in the driveway, its 205- It reminded me of the first electric vehicle I

watt system earning free, clean power, I thought. ever drove, a Zero DS motorcycle. The first day, I

Hyundai estimates that a day with at least six ignored the range warnings and stranded myself

hours of good sun will gain two miles of range. But at the side of a highway, like an idiot. After I had

those figures are for a car in Los Angeles—where pushed the bike to a gas station and asked if I

a lack of driving has cleared pollution. The cloud- could use an outlet, I waited an hour until I had

covered northeast, where I was, wasn’t as efficient. enough power to ride home. I should have thought,

During my week with it, if the panels were working, EVs just can’t meet our needs! But I came to like

I couldn’t tell. Maybe they were gathering power to the idea of carefully planning my day around

run the air conditioning and radio. But the car’s range and infrastructure, of only traveling the

range calculator (552 miles) was the same at dawn necessary minimum. I thought then, as I do now,

as it was at dinnertime. I thought about what Tesla’s that having to be deliberate makes us behave bet-

CEO said a few years ago: “The least efficient place ter and waste less.

to put solar is on the car.” It probably helped that these months have

But I liked having them. It became a challenge forced me, and everyone, to be more self-suf-

to wait as long as possible before driving. You think, ficient. It took a catastrophe for me to learn

every trip I make by bicycle means more time for the embarrassingly simple things, like baking and

panels to work, even if it’s just a trickle-charge that bicycle maintenance. A car with solar pan-

keeps the batteries healthy. It was like letting a plant els pushed me in the same direction, away from

grow. Besides, look. In Spring 2020, suddenly, every- waste. Of course, real restraint would mean

thing that felt necessary—next-day shipping, fully quitting driving, and only riding that bicycle.

stocked grocery stores—became a luxury. We had to Someday, maybe.

realize that everything has a cost.

The panels made me confront

how much energy is required

to buy fruit. I thought about COURTESY HYUNDAI

whether I’d earned those miles, Are you a subscriber, or just want more from Pop Mech?
and whether they were necessary. Join Pop Mech Pro to read our most in-depth features,
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8 July/August 2020



Drinks

3

// BY A DRIEN NE DONICA //

Before I N THE BLAZING SUMMER HEAT, NOTHING L AKOTA GAMBILL
There Was feels quite so refreshing as a sparkling cock-
White Claw, tail. Bartenders and the spirits industry have
There Were quenched our collective thirst with one fizzy
Highballs drink after another, be it a scotch and soda,
Aperol spritz, or most recently a White Claw.
10 July/August 2020 Canned hard seltzer—a low-ABV concoction
of seltzer water, alcohol made from fermented
sugars, and fruit flavors—became last summer’s
unofficial drink, with sales skyrocketing by more
than 286 percent, to $2.73 billion, from 2018 to
2019. Trendy? Definitely. But new to the drinking
scene? Not exactly.

“This is a drink that’s based off a long history of Scientists first assumed the fizziness was the
a similar drink,” says Derek Brown, who owns the physical sensation of CO2 expanding on our taste
award-winning bar Columbia Room in Washington, buds. Later, they discovered that the carbonic acid,
D.C. “This is not very new that people are consuming produced when carbon dioxide combines with water,
essentially what amounts to a highball.” A highball, registers on our pain receptors as a mild irritant. But
typically two parts whiskey to four parts carbon- it’s the kind of irritation that most people enjoy, not
ated water, is a classic cocktail that’s been around unlike spicy foods.
for more than 100 years. And like all classic cock-
tails, it’s been remade time and again with different As simple as the carbonation process is, the
liquors and carbonated mixers used in roughly the world of fizzy water isn’t uniform, and unless you’re
same ratio as the original recipe. Jack and Coke, gin making highballs with homemade sparkling water,
and tonic, vodka soda, and the Americano are just you’re going to face some choices at the liquor store.
some of the ways that original recipe has been trans- Club soda was once a trademarked name for seltzer,
formed into new drinks. Swap whatever spirit and which has a very neutral, clean taste. (Today, the
mixer into the formula you like, and you’ll still get a terms and the beverages can be used interchange-
relatively low-ABV, highly refreshing cocktail that’s ably.) The high pressure used in the carbonation
simple to make and easy to drink. But the real secret process results in large bubbles. Mineral water is
to the highball’s staying power lies in the bubbles. similar but has a distinct saltiness introduced by
the mineral content and typically has finer bub-
Producing soda water is as straightforward bles (more akin to champagne’s) because of the
as infusing carbon dioxide into H2O. “It’s a really lower pressure used in the bottling process. Brown
simple product, but it seems to have captured the likes to use it in a gin rickey (2 oz. gin, ¾ oz. lime
imagination of the world for a couple hundred juice, and mineral water). Tonic is in another cat-
years,” bartender and chemist Darcy O’Neil says. egory altogether and best left for your G&Ts; the
One reason is that bubbles make a cocktail more bitter-tasting quinine is usually balanced by a fair
fragrant, a process you can see in action as small amount of sugar, and the more pronounced flavor
droplets of liquid come flying out of a glass. This can alter your cocktail’s taste. At the end of the day,
primes our palate, helping us parse out flavors, even Brown says, “Bubbly water is bubbly water.” Yes,
before we’ve taken a sip and felt the fizzy sensation. there are differences, but your highball will taste
“Carbonation is a unique feeling,” O’Neil says. just as refreshing whether you use seltzer, club
“It’s actually a chemical reaction on your tongue.” soda, or mineral water.

FROM LEF T: GET T Y IMAGES; L AKOTA GAMBILL; COURTESY DARCY O'NEIL THREE THE RED CLAW HORSE’S NECK ANGOSTURA a dry, tart flavor to drinks.
HIGHBALLS PHOSPHATE You can buy it online.
PERFECT 1 oz. Campari 1½ oz. whiskey
FOR 6 oz. lime seltzer (bourbon or rye) ½ tsp. acid phosphate To make the lemon syrup:
SUMMER Dash of Peychaud’s 4 oz. ginger beer 1 tsp. Angostura bitters Stir ¾ cup of sugar into the
SIPPIN’ Bitters Peel from one lemon 1 oz. lemon syrup juice from four lemons. In
Orange slice (optional) Soda water another bowl, mix 1 tsp.
Place lemon peel into a of gum arabic and ¼ tsp.
Fill a glass with ice. Collins glass and fill with Combine the first three of lemon oil. Combine
Pour in seltzer, followed ice. Add whiskey, top ingredients in a Collins the mixtures, heating if
by Campari and bitters. with ginger beer, and stir glass. Add soda water and necessary, to incorporate.
Stir briefly. Garnish briefly. For a twist, add a ice (if desired); stir briefly. Refrigerate extra syrup.
with orange slice. dash of aromatic bitters. Note: Acid phosphate adds

July/August 2020 11

Machines

4

// BY ALE X HOLLINGS //

The B-52 L IKE MANY OF AMERICA’S legendary aircraft, GETTY IMAGES
Is America’s the B-52 was built to offset the Soviet threat
Longest- that characterized the Cold War. The U.S.
Serving Plane— needed a bomber to reach far-flung Soviet
and the Most targets, defeat their air defenses, and carry
Badass a massive atomic payload.
Boeing’s initial 1948 designs included
12 July/August 2020 swept wings and six massive turboprop engines—a
nod to the Soviets’ long-range bomber, the Tupolev
Tu-95 Bear. But when one brash Army officer
fielded Boeing’s proposal and told the aeronautical
designers to ditch the props, they came back with
an all-new, eight-engine jet bomber. One Boeing ▶

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Machines

4

▶ historian would later call it “the perfect form of Indeed, the B-52 should fly long after the last
the subsonic jet.” B-2 Spirit and B-1B Lancer—both to be replaced by
the B-21 Raider, America’s next long-range, heavy
The first B-52 Stratofortress hit the skies on payload bomber—are gone. Thanks to continued
April 15, 1952, three years after the Soviet Union upgrades, the Air Force now expects its fleet of 76
developed its first atomic weapon. It would take B-52Hs to remain in service until at least 2050.
three more years for the nearly 160-foot long B-52
to enter service, and once it did, the U.S. was eager To sustain combat operations, the B-52 will
to demonstrate its newfound bombing capabilities. need a slew of new technologies. The Air Force has
already set about installing new cockpit displays,
It was the addition of looped-hose in-flight refu- active electronically scanned array radar, and
eling technology that made the bomber a truly secure data links that make it a bomber and a valu-
global threat. In January 1957, three B-52s con- able aerial reconnaissance asset. The B-52 should
ducted a simulated bombing run over the Malay also carry some of America’s first operational
Peninsula before landing safely a record two days hypersonic missiles, which can travel sustained
later at March Air Force Base in California—less speeds in excess of Mach 5.
than half the time it took for Boeing’s B-50 Super-
fortress to fly non-stop around the world in 1949. The B-52 “Stratosaurus,” as some call it, may
lack modern stealth capabilities, but its reliability,
The B-52’s massive airframe allowed for weap- payload capabilities, and flexibility have ensured
ons and electronics that hadn’t even been invented its continued service. While platforms like the B-21
yet. For a time, the B-52 served as a low-altitude and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter may clear the path,
penetration bomber, coming in for runs at just once air defenses are down, the mighty B-52 will
300 feet above the ground to avoid rapidly devel- still bring the heat.
oping air defense systems. Eventually, the plane’s
subsonic top speed made it too slow for highly con- Going the Distance
tested airspace, but the advent of nuclear-tipped
cruise missiles meant the B-52 could retain its spot How has the B-52 off on modifying longevity, it’s
in the airborne portion of America’s nuclear triad. stood the test of the B-52’s core weighing options
time while other hardware. While it for a re-engining
Throughout the 1960s, B-52s carrying nuclear military aircraft seemingly makes program, since
weapons under the banner of America’s Strategic haven’t? Because it sense to upgrade modern, more
Air Command were airborne 24 hours a day, cir- was engineered to the eight low-bypass reliable engines
cling just outside of Soviet airspace to provide an keep aerodynamic engines with four include a variety of
immediate nuclear response to an attack. Today, and payload forces modern, high- sensors that can
the B-52 is the only jet in active service to run eight in balance during bypass engines, that monitor their health.
Pratt & Whitney turbofan jet engines, which allow missions, minimizing requires a costly With that upgrade
it to carry 70,000 pounds of ordnance 8,800 miles stresses that weaken redesign of the and the arrival of
without refueling. It’s also found use outside the other planes over entire wing, since the modern inspection
nuclear realm thanks to its payload and loitering time. Active B-52s new engines’ weight technologies that will
capabilities, and its deep weapons magazine and aren’t patchwork and placement help maintenance
upgraded flight systems give it a place in precision quilts of structural would have been personnel
bombing and close air support missions. components dramatically assess possible
pilfered from retired different from metal fatigue in
B-52s have participated in combat operations airframes—they’re the original Pratt the structural
throughout the Global War on Terrorism, including almost entirely the & Whitney J57 components, there’s
bombing runs over Afghanistan during Opera- real thing, down to turbojets, which no reason the plane
tion Enduring Freedom. Recent upgrades to the the flight controls, hung in pods of can’t continue
B-52’s internal weapons bays now allow it to carry control surfaces, and two each. Now serving the U.S.
advanced Joint Direct Attack Munitions and Joint cable linkages. that the Air Force military for decades
Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles, alongside a bevy The Air Force has has accepted the to come.—Eric
of other munition options. These upgrades have also (mostly) held bomber’s heroic Adams
produced about a 66 percent increase in the B-52’s
payload capabilities, helping to ensure the aircraft
remains a workhorse for decades to come.

14 July/August 2020

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Cars &
5 Trucks

// BY EZR A DYER //

How to Use
Your 4WD
System

W ITH CROSSOVERS AND SUVS

supplanting sedans as the default
choice for everyday transporta-
tion, it’s common for any given
vehicle to sport four- or all-wheel
drive (4WD and AWD). Most new

models have fully automatic AWD

systems that will detect wheel slip and automati-

cally divert power to the wheels with traction, no

driver involvement required. But in most trucks

and some SUVs with 4WD, there will be at least two

drive configurations you can choose from to max-

imize your vehicle’s capability in a given situation.

If you drive an SUV with an off-road bent, like a 4WD AUTO If you have a 4WD vehicle with knobs
or buttons that let you choose between
Toyota Land Cruiser, you have even more choices— two- and four-wheel drive, and you’re
on a normal road, use 4WD Auto. Both
high range, low range, locked or unlocked center 2WD and 4WD Auto are fine for dry
pavement. The only advantage of run-
differential. It gets complicated quickly. ning in 2WD would be some marginal
fuel-economy benefit, or saving wear on
But let’s begin with the biggest topic of confu- the front-drive system. But if it starts
raining, already being in 4WD Auto
sion: 4WD versus AWD. With AWD, there’s a center means that extra traction will be there
to save you, before you remember that
differential that allows the front and rear tires to you might need it.

rotate at different speeds. For commuting to work

in three inches of sleet, AWD will keep you safe.

Driving on something trickier than a snowy path?

You’ll want 4WD, to eliminate slip in the system

front-to-rear. If you’re ready to find out what your

4WD system can do, start here .

BEFORE If you’re in mud, sand, which, in this case, five seconds, until you COURTESY FORD (TRUCK); COLIN MCSHERRY (PANEL)
YOU GO or snow, even if you will be all of them—so get visual confirmation
OFF-ROAD have four-wheel drive, you grind to a halt. But that the whole thing
electronic stability off-road, wheel spin is off. Some cars, like
control (ESC) might is good, because it Volvos, might not have
actually get you stuck. helps preserve forward a dedicated button, but
That’s because the momentum. To turn off it's in there some-
system is designed to ESC, find the button where—even if it’s
cut power to any tires with squiggly lines, and buried five menus deep
that are spinning— hold it down for at least in the touch screen.

16 July/August 2020



Cars &
5 Trucks

4WD HIGH 4WD LOW 4WD Low uses gearing to multiply
torque to the wheels, useful for slow
4WD High locks the front and rear trails or towing a boat out of the water. JOHN WATSON (JEEP); COURTESY L AND ROVER (DEFENDER)
axles together, which is useful in But generally, Low is strictly for slow
only a few situations. For example, off-roading, which is why it’s usually
somewhere low-traction, but high- relegated to pickup trucks and SUVs
speed—probably off-road, like a that have serious off-road pretensions.
desert wash. Here, 4WD High tends to A Toyota 4Runner would have it, but
feel more stable, since the truck won’t a Highlander wouldn’t. One use case
want to turn. But most of the time, if for this setting: beach driving, where
you have both, you’re better off in 4WD you want all the torque and traction
Auto, letting the system send power you can get. Once in 4WD Low, you
forward or back as needed. A friend should also lock the rear differential,
used to have a late-’70s Jeep Chero- usually a switch on the dash with four
kee with 4WD Auto. The only time he tires and a little “x” between the rear
needed to switch it into 4WD High was ones. This locks the rear wheels side-
when he (successfully) drove through to-side, which can be handy because
a pond. if one side loses traction, the opposite
side keeps spinning, powering you for-
18 July/August 2020 ward. (Just don’t use the diff lock on a
corner, because the whole point of a dif-
ferential is to allow your car to make a
smooth turn, with the outside tire turn-
ing faster than the inside.) There are
also a few vehicles with a front differen-
tial lock, but if you bought one of those,
then you probably know how to use it.



Deep Math

6

// BY A N DRE W DA NIELS //

N OTH I N G HALTS PRO D U C TIVIT Y AMONG

coworkers quite like a maddening brain
teaser. The latest to ensnare the Popu-
lar Mechanics editors and readers: How
many triangles are in this drawing?

When I posed the problem to our

team, responses ranged from 4 trian-

gles all the way to 22. Most people saw 18. One

wiseguy counted the triangles in the A’s in the

question itself, while another seemed to have an

existential crisis: “None of these lines are truly

straight, just curves—thus you cannot define any

of them as a triangle,” he said. “There are no tri-

angles in this photo. Life has no meaning.”

I could’ve listened to my colleagues’ question-

able processes all day, but instead, I reached out

to geometry experts to see if we could arrive at

a consensus. All of the mathematicians I con-

tacted found the same solution—but not all of

them figured it out in the same way.

“I would approach this like one approaches

any mathematical problem: reduce it and find

structure,” says Sylvester Eriksson-Bique, PhD,

a postdoctoral fellow with the University of Cal-

ifornia Los Angeles’s math department.

The only way to form triangles in the draw-

ing, Eriksson-Bisque says, is if the top vertex

(corner) is part of the triangle. The base of the

triangle will then have to be one of the three lev-

els below. “There are three levels, and on each

you can choose a base among six different ways.

This gives 18, or 3 times 6 triangles.”

Look at the triangle again: “It’s convenient to

We Spent All generalize to the case where there are ‘n’ lines
Day Arguing
About This passing through the top vertex, and ‘p’ hori-
Triangle Brain
Teaser. Can zontal lines,” says Francis Bonahon, PhD, a
You Solve It?
professor of mathematics at the University of
20 July/August 2020
Southern California.

In our case, n = 4, and p = 3. Any triangle we

find in the drawing should have one top vertex

and two others on the same horizontal line, so

for each horizontal line, the number of triangles

is equal to the number of ways we can choose two

distinct vertices on that line out of n total points,

Bonahon says—or “n choose 2.”

That’s n(n–1)/2. And since there are p hor-

izontal lines, this gives p*n(n–1)/2 possible

triangles. In our case, that’s 3*4(4–1)/2 = 18.

Here’s a breakdown of how to find each pos-

sible triangle:

A

THE
MATHEMATICAL
PROOF

When Slobodan Jaksic A1 A2 A3 An
stumbled upon our brain
teaser, the software Figure 1
engineer living in Serbia
counted the triangles A
sideways along the x-axis
When we published the problem on Pop Mech, and vertically along the A1 A2 A3 AK AK+1
readers started sending in their own solutions. y-axis before assembling
Software engineer Slobodan Jaksic came up with his proof. As such, it Figure 2
a mathematical proof to demystify the triangle breaks down into hori-
teaser. It goes like this: zontal and vertical steps. A

Two lines meet at the top vertex denoted by “I sent my ‘concep- A1 A2 A3 b1 Am
“A,” and the segment line connecting those two tual solution’ using
lines is the “base.” The new polygon is the fun- Mathematical Induction B1 B2 B3 b2 Bm
damental triangle. We can place an arbitrary to Francis Bonahon, Pro- b3
number of points on the base and connect them fessor of Mathematics, X1 X2 X3 bp Xm
to the top vertex A. University of Southern Y1 Y2 Y3 bpm Ym
California,” Jaksic says.
Assuming there are “n” vertices on the base, “He provided...his solu- Figure 3
where n is a natural number greater than or tion to the problem, with
equal to 2, we will prove that the new shape—let’s a correct formula, using a
call it “pyramid”—contains a number of trian- different approach.” Let
gles equal to S(n) = n(n–1) * ½. (See Fig. 1) For n that be a reminder that,
= 2, S(2) = (2 * 1) * ½ = 1. It is correct. even among the pros,
there are always multiple
Assuming the formula S(n) holds for n = k, ways to approach a
with k greater than or equal to 2, S(k) = k(k–1) * problem.
½. We will prove that S(n), where n = k + 1, holds
as well. (See Fig. 2) Let’s prove that the formula holds for m = p +
1. (See Fig. 3) The number of new triangles can
In the modified pyramid (See Fig. 3), there be given as: (n–1) + ... + 2 + 1 = n(n–1) * ½. Con-
are “k” additional new triangles. Therefore, sequently, S (n, p+1) = S(n, p) + (n(n–1) * ½) =
(n(n–1) * ½) * p + (n(n–1) * ½) = (n(n–1) * ½) (p
S(k+1) = S(k) + k = (k(k–1) *½) + k = (k+1) * + 1).
k * ½.
According to the Principles of Mathemati-
Modify the pyramid by extending both edge cal Induction, we just proved the total number
lines, and all lines between them connect to the of triangles in the pyramid is given through the
top vertex A, beyond the base, in the direction formula S(n, m) = n (n–1) * ½ * m, where n and m
opposite of the top vertex. Create new bases by are natural numbers, n is greater than or equal
connecting one or more segments parallel to the to 2, n is an arbitrary number of vertices, and m
starting base. is an arbitrary number of bases.

Assuming there are a total of “m” bases in the Hat tip to Slobodan. Here I was just trying to
pyramid, we can prove the formula calculating annoy my coworkers.
the number of triangles in the structure is: S(n,
m) = n(n–1) * ½ * m. July/August 2020 21

Science 100°F

7

// BY CA ROLINE DELBERT //

Body temperature
fluctuates throughout
the day and is often
higher in the afternoon.

98.2°F

98.4°F 97.5°F

40°F

Why Our S INCE THE GERMAN PHYSICIAN CARL
Bodies
Have Gotten Reinhold August Wunderlich published
Colder With his research on human body tempera-
Each Passing ture in 1868, 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit
Decade has been the gold standard. Now scien-
tists say that number may be inaccurate.
22 July/August 2020
Thanks to improved health outcomes—

meaning people are generally healthier and

getting better overall medical treatment—the

average human body temperature has fallen grad- GETTY IMAGES

ually over time.

“Much as we have changed the Earth ecosys-

tem, we are changing our own ecosystems,” says ▶

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Science

7

▶ Julie Parsonnet, MD, a professor of epidemi- MUCH AS WE HAVE CHANGED
ology at Stanford University. “We have changed
who we are over the modern era.” She and her team " THE EARTH ECOSYSTEM, WE
analyzed more than 670,000 reported tempera-
tures spanning 157 years of measurement and 197 ARE CHANGING OUR OWN ECOSYSTEMS,”
birth years and found that our temperature has
dropped 0.05 degrees Fahrenheit per decade since SAYS JULIE PARSONNET, MD, A
the mid 1800s. The study was sparked by a review
of modern temperature studies where patients PROFESSOR OF EPIDEMIOLOGY AT
uniformly fell below the 98.6-degree Fahrenheit
mark—a signal that something was rotten in the STANFORD UNIVERSITY. “WE HAVE
state of human body-temperature research.
CHANGED WHO WE ARE OVER THE
Parsonnet and her team studied three large sets
of data from between 1862 and 2017: temperatures MODERN ERA.”
taken during periodic checkups with Civil War vet-
erans between 1862 and 1930; National Health hygienic. We’ve learned to heat and cool indoor
and Nutrition Examination results from the early spaces more efficiently, which may also contrib-
1970s; and data from the Stanford Translational ute to a lower metabolic rate. These environmental
Research Integrated Database Environment proj- changes beget physiological changes. “We’re taller,
ect taken from 2007 to 2017. fatter, and colder,” Parsonnet says. We also live a lot
longer than the average Civil War veteran.
Controlling for changes in how temperatures
were taken and advances in thermometry across The world has certainly become a safer, health-
the large pool of data, they compared body tem- ier place for humans, but the researchers say it’s
perature with birth years and found that the hard to single out any one environmental change
average body temperature in men and women that’s lowered our temperatures.
has gone down 0.05 degrees Fahrenheit per birth
decade. Parsonnet says that changing the human body
creates ensuant mysteries: what are the outcomes,
In their paper published in the journal eLife, and how do they change as a consequence of our
Parsonnet and her colleagues suggest that a actions and environment? “They could be good—
change in inflammation levels over time is the greater life expectancy, for example. They could
most likely explanation for the decrease in be bad—causing obesity and perhaps limiting our
temperature. Inflammation can be caused by bac- ability to deal with new pathogens,” Parsonnet
terial, fungal, or viral infections, surface injuries says. “Changing fundamentally who we are may
like scrapes and punctures, or inflammatory con- have surprising consequences.”
ditions like cystitis, bronchitis, and dermatitis. As
part of the body’s immune response, inflamma- Parsonnet and her colleagues did not iden-
tion produces cytokines and other proteins that tify a new average body temperature guideline
increase metabolism and generate heat. in their study. A recent large review, a 2017 study
published in the British Medical Journal, for
The development of germ theory (that micro- example, found the average body temperature
organisms can cause disease) and advances in of 35,488 British patients to be around 97.88
hygiene have changed how often many of these degrees Fahrenheit. However, because each per-
conditions occur. Today, the length of bacte- son’s own temperature constantly fluctuates and
rial infections is shortened by antibiotics. And can be influenced by factors like gender, age, and
the symptoms of viruses can often be alleviated the time of day, many researchers have questioned
with anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen whether an ideal temperature standard should
and naproxen, which can bring down your body even exist.
temperature. Civil War veterans plagued with ail-
ments in the 1800s weren’t as lucky.

Our environment has changed, too. We now
have access to healthier foods and are more

24 July/August 2020

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Pro Challenge

8

// BY A N DRE W DA NIELS //

Reader
Challenge:

Build
Something
Useful
With LEGO

THE MISSIVE TO POP MECH READERS, VIA AUTOMATIC TOILET PAPER dio and get building,” he says. But
Instagram, was this: Make some- DISPENSER he saves his best ideas for family.
thing with LEGO that will make your
(or someone else’s) life easier, and The Builder: Steve Guinness For this build, Guinness wanted
show us the results. We weren’t look- @thebrickconsultant to help his 11-year-old son, Obby,
ing for the complexity or aesthetics who had just broken his arm. When
you see in expert LEGO builds—even Guinness builds commissioned Guinness came across a LEGO
though those are awesome. We were looking LEGO models for customers, and is Star Wars BOOST Droid Com-
for utility. Plastic bricks, Technic gears, and the British LEGO Masters champ. “I mander set, he found what he
minifigures from existing kits were allowed, dream in LEGO, wake up with new needed for an automatic toilet
but we asked that builders steer clear of any ideas, and head straight to my stu- paper dispenser, including motors
instruction manuals. The job was to engi- and motion sensors that you can
neer your own solution. As one builder put control remotely with a program-
it, “I just see any box of LEGO as a box of
parts.” Another worked from the same phi-
losophy: “I love the concept of hacking items
to get more uses out of something you already
own.”

Of all the projects tagged for the #PopMech
ProChallenge, here are a few of our favorites,
and the story from their creators.

26 July/August 2020

STEVE GUINNESS (TOILET PAPER); AYGUL IDIYATULLINA (PEDAL) mable app. Once he designed the KICK DRUM PEDAL
machine, the programming was The Builders: Aygul and Charlie
easy: Instead of an on/off switch, Stevens @myn_syn
he and his son set a distance for the Aygul Stevens never learned how
motion sensor, so when they waved to build with instructions. Credit
their hands in front of it, the motor her inventor dad, who fashioned
automatically started. makeshift devices out of household
items, like a toe shield built from
They’ve since dismantled their toy metal construction pieces.
TP device to concoct the next Now, Stevens has passed on that
thing: a contraption that automat- DIY ethos to her 5-year-old son,
ically winds spaghetti and feeds it Charlie.
straight into your mouth.
When Charlie’s teacher tasked
him with building a musical instru-
ment, he decided to make drums.
For the pedal that powers the kick
drum, he and his mom fetched a
few gizmos from Charlie’s Klutz
LEGO kit—his edition was filled
with tools that help kids learn
about physics. With those parts,
they built a system that pulls the
pedal down, and moves the rubber
ball head forward.

Naturally, Charlie enjoys making
plenty of noise with his new gear—
“but he loves the building stage [of
a project] more than the playing
one,” Aygul says.

July/August 2020 27

Pro Challenge

8

SHIRT BUTTONS

The Builder: Carley Lauder @offthepagelearning

For years, Lauder, a Hong Kong–based educator,
has made LEGO part of her classroom curriculum.
“LEGO levels the playing field in play and conversa-
tions between kids and adults,” she says. However,
“many adult fans of LEGO make amazing models
with skills, time, and money that I don’t have—yet.”

That’s why Lauder, also an amateur seamstress,
picked a deceptively simple project for this chal-
lenge: sewing round LEGO plates onto a collared
shirt, and using them as buttons.

Lauder attached the light-gray plates—a color
that’s “not obviously LEGO until you get close up”—
with four main stitches branching out from the
center axle holes, and wrapped the thread around
itself between the plates and fabric to form small
shanks. The clever hack took one hour, tops.

“I love builds that do something as well as look
awesome,” she says.

TABLET STAND pegs, and frames, and got to work. CARLEY LAUDER (BUTTON); SIDDHAANT GAJENDRA (HOLDER)
To build a sturdy support base that
The Builder: Siddhaant Gajendra would stop the tablet from slipping
@sidg_06 without obstructing the view, he
found a few C-shaped parts that fit
When his college campus closed just right. And when the parts that
due to the pandemic, Gajendra, an connected the stand’s rear leg to
architecture tech student, suddenly the main frame were a bit longer
found himself reimagining his home than necessary, Gajendra used
workspace. “I like things to work the those pieces to fine-tune the slant
way I want them to,” he says. And of the stand for the best possible
there was one obvious problem: His viewing angle.
tablet wouldn’t stay upright, where
he could see it. It kept sliding down, It was a straightforward fix that
interrupting his studying. So he settled a pesky problem. “I wanted
devised a solution. to showcase the effectiveness of
simple designs,” says Gajendra.
Using Technic parts, Gajendra “Things do not have to be compli-
grabbed various length beams, cated to work.”

28 July/August 2020

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▲ The Babylonian
Map of the World,
etched in the 6th
century B.C.

30 July/August 2020

THE

of

July/August 2020 31

THE WORLD PTOLEMY’S The Greeks were the first
GEOGRAPHIA known culture to apply a scien-
THE OLDEST SURVIVING WORLD MAP tific approach to measuring and
FINE ART IMAGES/HERITAGE IMAGES/GET T Y IMAGES (BABYLONIAN MAP OF THE WORLD, THIS PAGE & PREVIOUS)mapping the world. The philos-
The oldest surviving world THE FIRST WORLD ATLAS opher Pythagorus theorized as
map depicts the worldview of early as the 6th century B.C. that
Babylonians circa 600 B.C. the Earth was round. And by 200
The 5-inch stone tablet is cen- B.C., the scholar Eratosthenes
tered around Babylon, the wide compared the angles of shad-
rectangle, which straddles the ows cast simultaneously in two
Euphrates River, depicted by the distant cities to accurately esti-
crooked lines running from top
to bottom. Babylon, likely the
world’s most populous city at the
time, is surrounded by neighbor-
ing cities represented by small
circles, all within a greater cir-
cle to denote the ocean. Though
its geography is limited, this
map reveals the inherent bias of
mapmakers to place themselves
at the literal center of the world.

Other early maps served more
practical needs, such as the stick
and shell charts built to denote
currents around islands in the
South Pacific over 2,000 years
ago, or the Egyptian papyrus
maps that led miners through
the desert in the 12th century
B.C. But the Babylonian Map of
the World is the earliest example
of a political map used to cham-
pion a country or city.

32 July/August 2020

PHAS/UNIVERSAL IMAGES GROUP VIA GETTY IMAGES (GEOGRAPHIA) mate the planet’s circumference making. Completed around ▲ No original maps from Geographia
within 1,000 miles. 150 A.D., Geographia served survived, but this, the oldest recreation,
as a how-to manual for cartog- was constructed in the 14th century
Combining the work of raphy. Ptolemy explained map according to Ptolemy’s map projection
earlier Greek scholars with projections—depicting a globe and locations.
travelers’ stories and town on a flat plane. And he listed
records from across the then- the coordinates for 8,000 loca- gitude, a precursor to today’s
Roman world, Greek-Egyptian tions in the recorded world—at system.
astronomer Ptolemy compiled the time, Eurasia and northern
Geographia, an eight-volume Africa—based on parallels of Maps based on Ptolemy’s
atlas that formed the basis for latitude and meridians of lon- blueprint for the shape and size
the next 1,500 years of map- of the world informed Colum-
bus’s voyage to the Americas and
led Ferdinand Magellan’s expe-
dition around the globe. Yet his
work disappeared with the fall of
the Roman Empire, not reemerg-
ing for almost 800 years.

July/August 2020 33

TABULA nied by a detailed description into Arabic around the 9th cen- FINE ART IMAGES/HERITAGE IMAGES/GET T Y IMAGES
ROGERIANA of their cities, roads, rivers, and tury. Islamic cartographers built
AN UPDATE mountains. For the next three on Ptolemy’s work and corrected
FOR THE The Tabula Rogeriana, or centuries, it was among the most errors based on their knowl-
NEXT Book of Roger, was completed accurate geographic works in edge of the growing empire.
MILLENNIUM by Moroccan cartographer existence of the known world. They accurately drew the Indian
Muhammad al-Idrisi in 1154. It later helped guide Vasco da Ocean as open and connected to
Compiled over 15 years for Gama’s voyage to India by sea. the Pacific Ocean, instead of Pto-
King Roger II of Sicily—who lemy’s landlocked sea.
hoped the map could inform Though it was produced for a
and expand his rule—the book Norman king in Italy, the atlas Islamic mapmakers also pro-
included a world map with 70 was a culminating achievement duced some of the most elaborate
regional maps, each accompa- from the Islamic Golden Age— charts of the era, largely inspired
while science took a sabbatical by the need to determine the
in most of Europe during the direction of Mecca from any-
early middle ages. where in the world. Islamic world
maps were oriented with south at
Al-Idrisi’s work was in large the top, looking “up” toward the
part based on Geographia, which holy city.
was rediscovered and translated

34 July/August 2020

◀ Drawn
by Muslim
cartographer
Muhammad
al-Idrisi, this map
of North Africa
and Eurasia
places south,
the direction of
Mecca, at the top.

Where Be The famous warning “Here elers’ tales and infused
Dragons? Be Dragons” is a map myth: with religious myth and
It was never actually writ- folklore. They were often
FI N E A R T P H OTO G R A P H I C L I B R A RY/CO R B I S V I A G E T T Y I M AG E S ten on old maps, though a drawn lurking in uncharted
Latin version appears on waters, where they sig-
one 16th-century globe. naled the dangers that lie
Instead, the phrase rep- beyond the known world.
resents the illustrations of
monstrous sea serpents, On some medieval
toothy beasts, and strange world maps, the inhabi-
peoples that frequently tants of distant lands are
adorned medieval and depicted as strange myth-
Renaissance maps. ical peoples. You’ll find the
headless “blemmyes” with
In most cases, map faces in their chests, the
monsters were simple dec- desert “sciapods” with a
oration, strategically filling single giant foot to shield
in the empty parts of the the sun, and the “antipode-
map. (Cartographers are ans” who live on the other
known to abhor a blank side of the world (the Aus-
space.) But often, these tralian continent from the
imaginary beasts were Europeans’ perspective)
seen as very real threats, and whose feet point in the
born out of inflated trav- opposite direction.

July/August 2020 35

▼ The two far
right pages of
the Catalan
Atlas (pictured)
depict central
and eastern Asia
based on Marco
Polo’s travels.
CATALAN ATLAS
NAVIGATION Ancient sailors navigated the First mentioned in 11th cen- nean and Black Sea with enough
D E AG O S T I N I P I C T U R E L I B R A RY/G E T T Y I M AG E SBY COMPASSseas by keeping in sight of landtury China, the compass spreadaccuracy that ships could navi-
and observing the sun and stars. along the Silk Road connect- gate with it today. But the most
If clouds rolled in, they pulled in ing the East and West, and with famous and expansive porto-
their sails and waited for better it, a new type of European map lan map is the Catalan Atlas.
visibility. came into vogue, called a porto- Drawn over eight pages of vellum
lan chart. These nautical maps in 1375 by Majorcan cartogra-
The discovery of the com- were covered in crisscrossed pher Cresques Abraham, it was
pass—a magnetized needle on lines indicating the bearing the first world map to include
wood, floating in water, align- of trade routes between ports. the compass rose and stretched
ing itself with the magnetic The oldest surviving exam- from the western edge of Europe
poles—changed navigation. Sail- ple, the Carte Pisane, dating and North Africa to China’s
ors could safely venture into the to 1290, charts the Mediterra- eastern coast.
open sea without visual cues.

36 July/August 2020

MERCATOR early 15th century, European of plotting the shortest course
MAP OF monarchs began to explore the between points on a map with a
THE WORLD Atlantic and Indian Oceans in straight line.
search of new trading routes to
THE FIRST MODERN MAP the East. At the time, Ptolemy’s In 1569, Flemish-German
Geographia was translated cartographer Gerardus Mer-
The compass sparked a shift into Latin, marking the start cator solved this millennia-old
back to geographical maps of a boom in exploration and problem with a new map projec-
made for practical navigation. mapmaking. tion: Earth as a cylinder, which
Religious symbolism defined unrolled to a square grid of
most medieval European map- As the 16th century saw latitude and longitude. The pro-
making. (Maps could tell you the most complete maps of the jection spaced lines of latitude
the rough direction of Eden, but world, it also overcame one of the increasingly far apart as they
not how far away it was.) In the thorniest problems of cartogra- got farther from the equator.
phy: how to navigate a spherical The disadvantage of this pro-
globe on a two-dimensional map. jection, which we still see today,
Picture flattening an orange is that it distorted landmasses
peel against a flat surface—it’s toward the poles. Eurasia and
impossible to do so without dis- North America are enlarged,
torting its shape. Ptolemy had while regions at the equator,
tackled this, but navigators still such as most of Africa, appear
couldn’t achieve the simple task misleadingly small.

D E A P I C T U R E L I B R A RY/ D E AG O S T I N I V I A G E T T Y I M AG E S ◀ Mercator’s
projection was
inspired by the
accuracy of
portolan maps.

July/August 2020 37

AERIAL MAP ▲ Manhattan LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, GEOGRAPHY AND MAP DIVISION
OF MANHATTAN was Fairchild's
second first
MAPPING FROM ABOVE aerial survey.
His first, a map
The first photograph taken of Newark, New
from the air was shot from a Jersey, failed to
260-foot-high hot air balloon gain notice.
in 1858. It was an inauspicious
start—and that photo of a small
French village was lost—but
aviation would revolutionize
mapmaking. From above, a pho-
tograph could gather a huge
amount of data at a time, a major
improvement on labor-intensive
ground surveys.

When World War I broke out,
maps became powerful weap-
ons. A detailed trench map of the
front line allowed for artillery
bombardments to be carried out
without practice shots, retaining
the element of surprise.

After the war, aerial pho-
tography spread to civilian use
and the Fairchild Aerial Map of
Manhattan ushered maps into
pop culture consciousness. New
York City entrepreneur Sher-
man Fairchild, who had been
developing new aerial photog-
raphy techniques for World War
I, introduced an aerial camera
that automatically snapped pho-
tos and turned the roll of film at
timed intervals.

Mounted under a war-surplus
biplane flying 10,000 feet high
over New York, the camera
snapped photos of the city every
27 seconds over a 69-minute
flight up and down the island.
The negatives were then over-
lapped to form the detailed
Manhattan grid with a precision
that set the standard for the next
50 years of aerial mapping.

38 July/August 2020

◀ Visit Machu
Picchu via Google

Earth and hike
the Inca Trail with

Street View.

GOOGLE EARTH, signals. When an object on
Earth’s surface receives a sig-
MAPS, AND nal from at least three satellites,
STREET VIEW its precise geographic coordi-
nates can be determined within
THE WORLD, IN YOUR POCKET centimeters.

GOOGLE STREET VIEW The Cold War drove the next experiments were developed by In 2000, the Department
leaps in mapping technology. the U.S. military to track inter- of Defense lifted its policy of
The launch of Sputnik sparked continental missiles in the degrading the accuracy of its
the development of GPS when 1960s. And by the early 1970s, GPS tracking for civilian use.
MIT scientists realized they the military launched the first From the ensuing technology
could track the Soviet satellite Global Positioning System, boom, Google emerged with a
from the ground by observing NAVSTAR, which could deter- trio of products—Earth, Maps,
how its radio signal changed as mine precise spatial coordinates and Street View—that together
it moved, and likewise, objects for anywhere on Earth. Today a created the most complete world
on Earth could be located based full constellation of GPS satel- map.
on their distance from satellites. lites (about 27) circles the globe
twice a day, transmitting radio Released in 2005, Google
Early satellite navigation Earth provided an interactive,
3D image of the globe formed
from millions of overlapping
satellite photographs overlaid
on a 3D digital earth. Close-up
3D details are added from aerial
images that capture the depth of
buildings and terrain.

Started in 2006 with vans
driving around six major U.S.
cities with GPS sensors and
multi-lens cameras mounted
on top, Google Street View rec-
reates the Earth from eye level.
In 2017 the Street View cameras
were updated with laser scan-
ners that record the dimensions
and depth of the objects being
photographed to create a 3D
view along the way. These cam-
eras, aided by crowdsourced
data and machine learning,
have mapped millions of miles
of roads across 87 countries
on all seven continents. Com-
bined with Maps, Street View
and Earth literally put the world
in billions of people’s hands. It
is now possible to navigate and
explore nearly anywhere on
Earth—try Everest Base Camp
or Rome’s Coliseum—with a
click and zoom.

July/August 2020 39

EOff-RTHE FUTURE OF
LECTRIC SUPREMACY IS

indisputable: More power,
immediate torque, supe-
rior ground clearance,
and in-hub motors com-
manding each wheel make

electric vehicles (EVs)

ideal for a demanding go-anywhere RIVIAN R1T

adventure compared with diesel- or Leader of the EV pack

gas-engine vehicles. P R I C E : $69,900+

EVs' in-hub motors are optimal R A N G E : 230–400 miles

for all-wheel-drive traction and han- R E L E A S E : Early 2021

dling, and trucks’ high ride height THE RIVIAN R1T WILL BE THE FIRST EV

affords graceful incorporation of truck to reach the market. Set for early
2021, the four-door features up to 750
a floor-mounted battery pack. The hp, 829 lb-ft of torque, a quartet of in-hub
motors, and a battery pack upgrade for
lack of other underbody components 180 kWh—the most power we know of in
this crop. The peak setup provides a pro-
like exhaust pipes or gas tanks grants jected 0-to-60 time of 3.0 seconds, 400
miles of range, and an 11,000-lb towing
EVs better ground clearance than capacity—enough to pull a 35-foot travel
trailer. The base 105 kWh, 230-mile range
gas-engine trucks, and thanks to R1T will cost $69,000, per Rivian, with
more pricing details to come.
zero emissions from the tailpipe, your
In the field, adjustable power delivery
adventures will be more eco-friendly. to individual wheels provides intense grip
for the R1T in slippery conditions, and an
For truck buyers weaned on V-8s, adjustable air suspension system com-
bines sportscar-like roll stiffness with
these pickups defy the sparing out- dune buggy–esque impact absorption. The
R1T links its right-hand compression cir-
put of other EVs. “These are muscle cuits with its left-hand rebound circuits,
same with the front and back, to minimize
trucks—they’re monsters,” says impact, and compared to active hydraulic
suspension, it uses far less energy, mini-
Ed Kim, vice president of industry mizing impact on battery range.

research firm AutoPacific. In addition to a “frunk” under the
hood, the R1T sports a pass-thru “gear
In-hub motors are one of the keys tunnel” between the bed and rear doors.
Rivian will produce adventure modules
to EVs’ powerful potential. While like a camping kitchen, cooler, and tackle
kit for the tunnel. A cloud-connected
a gas-driven engine runs from the infotainment system up front incorpo-
rates on- and off-road maps, too.
front of the vehicle to the axles,

an in-hub motor resides individu-

ally in each wheel’s hub. This more

direct mode of power delivery offers

greater precision and efficiency, and

thanks to the motors’ simple design

and fewer parts, they’re cheaper to

maintain than a traditional engine.

Placing in-hub motors at the

truck’s corners also liberates design-

ers from the three-box layout of a

traditional pickup, but these early

models still skew old-school, turn-

ing the nose’s “engine” compartment

into extra storage. In the future,

e-trucks might not appear like clas-

sical trucks at all.

40 July/August 2020

Road Is

BY BRETT BERK

July/August 2020 41

BOLLINGER B2

Built to Work

P R I C E : $125,000

R A N G E : 200 miles

R E L E A S E : Late 2021

MICHIGAN STARTUP BOLLINGER offering a class-leading 20 inches of
ground clearance. Translation: fewer
Motors takes a retro-modern approach instances where you’ll have to stop
with their $125,000 B2. Its rectilinear and turn around before an obstacle in
design features sharp corners outside, the road. The B2 hosts a 120 kWh bat-
powder-coated switches within, and tery pack, and front and rear motors
a total absence of screens or driver- that drive all four wheels—good for 614
assistance tech. Bollinger will be the hp/668 lb-ft of torque. That powers the
only electric truck in this group to B2 from 0 to 60 in 4.5 seconds and pro-
produce a bed-less cab-on-chassis version, vides a 200-mile range. If the Rivian is a
adaptable into a box truck or tow truck. Swiss Army knife, this is a machete.

The B2 focuses on ultra-off-road
capability, combining military transport-
esque portal gear hubs with a height-
adjustable hydro-pneumatic suspension,

42 July/August 2020

GMC HUMMER EV

1,000 HP? 1,000 HP!

P R I C E : N/A

R A N G E : N/A

R E L E A S E : Fall 2021

GENERAL MOTORS HAS YET TO UNVEIL THE 2022 GMC HUMMER EV, ITS FIRST ELECTRIC TRUCK,

but early details indicate the company is reviving its profligate nameplate for a 1,000 hp all-wheel-
drive electric pickup capable of a 3-second 0-to-60. Meanwhile, Ford is being similarly tight-lipped
about its forthcoming F-150 electric, besides that it’ll be released “in a few years.” Expect both of
these trucks to be more mainstream plays, electric Trojan horses designed to lure in traditional
pickup buyers to this nontraditional category.

COURTESY RIVIAN (PREVIOUS SPREAD); COURTESY BOLLINGER; RADOVAN VARICAK (HUMMER); COURTESY TESLA EV JUGGERNAUT TESLA’S TESLA
CYBERTRUCK
entry in the category is the out-
rageous, apocalyptic Cybertruck. “Fury Road” Goes
It boasts class-leading capac- Electric
ity with seating for six, an
unmatched 500-mile range, up P R I C E : $39,900–$69,900
to 14,000 lbs of towing capac- R A N G E : 500 miles
ity, and loads of lockable storage,
including its retractable “vault” R E L E A S E : Late 2021
(Tesla-speak for bed) cover. The
truck’s planar body panels are July/August 2020 43
scratch- and dent-resistant cold-
rolled stainless steel. Expect
blistering acceleration in the top
trim, with 0-to-60 times of less
than 2.9 seconds for the tri-motor
variant. For an additional $7,000,
Elon promises “full self-driving”
capabilities—apparently for
those who don’t want to do their
own dirty work.

44 July/August 2020

PROP STYLING BY MICHELLE MAGUIRE

The Race

to Make

Cell-Grown

BY Meats PHOTOGRAPHY BY

Jenny Kelsey
Splitter McClellan

Mainstream

July/August 2020 45

company that ▶ Futurists have
makes a plant- imagined growing
based mayonnaise meat from cells
for decades.

and an egg scram-

ble made from mung beans. Now,

Tetrick is hell-bent on proving that cul-

tured proteins alone, not plant-based

substitutes, have the unique ability

to completely replace conventionally

farmed meat in our diet.

The cells that comprise a cultured

steak are nearly identical to those in

ON AUGUST 5, 2013, CHEF RICHARD the meat from a butchered cow. Both

McGeown was in London, preparing are made of animal tissue, with very
to film a cooking segment on Brit-
ish television. McGeown was searing few differences. In other words, as Tet-
a burger, something he’d done count-
less times before. But this time, an rick says, cultured meat is real meat.
estimated billion people would be
watching or reading about what was PAOLA BIGNONE, PH.D., SENIOR out in the field that very day.” And you
about to transpire. Because the round, can grow quite a bit of meat from just
pink mass McGeown was cooking was research scientist on Just’s Cellular a few cells, says Santo.
a $325,000 burger made from stem Agriculture team, peers into a micro-
cells cultivated in a lab by scientists in scope under a fume hood in one of the The first part of the culturing
the Netherlands. company’s cultured meat labs. The lab process is isolation: separating the
looks like any other research facility, satellite cells—adult muscle stem
“It’s close to meat,” said Hanni Rütz- lots of white and stainless steel. But cells that can divide to create more
ler, a food trend researcher who tried what happens in this lab is anything muscle cells—from the rest of the tis-
the so-called in-vitro patty. But, she but ordinary. The team keeps mum on sue. To coax these cells out, Bignone
noted, it lacked fat and juiciness. Per- many of the particulars of the growing places the biopsied tissue in a con-
fection wasn’t the goal for Mark Post, process, especially the nutrient cocktail tainer with a proprietary mix of salt,
the lead scientist behind the burger. that is fed to the cells, because the cost sugar, and proteins. The container
“This is just to show we can do it.” and efficacy of that cocktail are what is put into an incubator the size of a
will undoubtedly determine which of mini-fridge that mimics the tem-
Futurists have imagined growing the 20-plus companies that are work- perature and movements of a growing
meat from cells for decades. In an essay ing on cultured meat will win the race animal’s body.
containing his predictions for a world to market.
fifty years beyond its 1931 publication The next step in the process is
date (republished in the March 1932 The process of making cultured growth. Santo says the scientists feed
issue of Popular Mechanics), Winston meat is actually much closer to the pro- the cells much like a farmer would
Churchill described a future where cess of growing organs for transplant feed an animal. But instead of dump-
we “escape the absurdity of growing a than it is to raising and slaughtering
whole chicken” in favor of a lab-grown conventionally farmed animals.
breast or wing.
Bignone starts with a very small
We’re still probably a decade away cluster of cells: All that’s needed is
from lab-grown hot wings, but cul- a push pin-sized tissue biopsy usu-
tured chicken nuggets and burgers ally taken from the muscle tissue of a
might be available in the next two live chicken. Though that first burger
years, says Kate Krueger, PhD, a cell cooked in London came from cells
biologist and the director of research from a dead cow, these days the source
for New Harvest, an organization that livestock are all very much alive. “We
funds cultured meat research. Initially, don’t need to sacrifice the animal,”
those products will probably appear in says Vítor Espírito Santo, PhD, the
restaurants, but eventually they’ll hit Director of Cellular Agriculture for
grocery stores. Just, who leads the company’s cul-
tured meat team. “The tissue samples
Still, chasing cultured meat is can be taken out in a way that’s fairly
“a bet,” concedes Josh Tetrick. The painless” using local anesthesia, says
39-year-old is the CEO and co-founder New Harvest’s Krueger. “They don’t
of Just, an eight-year-old San Francisco feel anything and they’re happily back

46 July/August 2020

ing grass or grain into a food trough, We’re probably still a decade
labs techs bathe the cells in a liquid away from lab-grown hot wings,
solution that contains proteins, sug- but cultured burgers might be
ars, vitamins, “a cocktail of different available in the next two years.
nutrients that are also available in the
animal’s body,” says Santo. the initial red liquid “food.” As the Scientists can cultivate the differ-
cells grow and proliferate, the team entiated cells into the exact texture
Cultured meat researchers ini- changes the recipe of the liquid nutri- and structure they want in their meat,
tially fed all cells fetal bovine serum, ents to boost growth. These starter either using one of the small bioreac-
a thick, nutrient-packed fluid made cells continue to grow in a petri dish tors they have in-house or using one of
from tissue extracted from a slaugh- until they differentiate into a more the larger ones they have at their off-
tered calf. But in addition to being mature, fibrous muscle tissue. site facilities. During this stage they
expensive, the serum poses an obvi-
ous conf lict for an industry that’s
positioned itself as an alternative to
conventional animal farming. That’s
why all of Just’s cultured meats are
serum-free.

Santo points to several clear lab
flasks about the size of a half-gallon
of milk. Each is partially filled with

July/August 2020 47