Two-Finger Motorcycle Waves, Gross Cruise Ships Riding The Waves And Missing Sailor Surviving The Waves In This Week's Beyond Cars Roundup

When you’re driving around motorcycles, you might notice that they occasionally flash a two-finger salute at each other when passing another biker. Hopefully you “cagers” have noticed anyway, because you should be paying extra attention to the road when you’re around a two-wheeler. So what does that little gang sign mean, and why does it matter? Why is it so important for bikers to recognize other members of the community with a little secret code? It’s a lot more simple than you might have thought, but it’s more than just a traditional peace sign. - Bradley Brownell Read More

The massive cruise ships that roam the world’s oceans are essentially year-round all-inclusive theme parks. They are also multi-story incubators for infectious diseases. It’s not a reputation built on buffet anecdotes but a statistical fact featuring rats, maggots, and insects. Cruise ships operating in the United States are required to be inspected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) twice per year. - Ryan Erik King Read More

First-class airline passengers expect to be waited on hand and foot by flight attendants. They especially don’t want to spot a bed bug climbing up their leg. One unfortunate flyer found a bed bug on themselves during an American Airlines flight earlier this week from LaGuardia Airport in New York to Detroit Metro Airport. The experience was gross enough for the passenger to get 7,500 bonus miles for their trouble. - Ryan Erik King Read More

The temperature may be dropping here in New York, but it doesn’t compare to the freezing cold of the Sea of Okhotsk — the Russian waterway in which Mikhail Pichugin spent over two months adrift before his rescue this week. - Amber DaSilva Read More

Ernest Shackleton’s ship, the Endurance, was discovered in 2022 at the bottom of the Weddell Sea after more than 100 years on the ocean floor. Now, a team of researchers has sent specially-equipped submarines down to the wreck, scanning the remains and offering a really cool chance to explore the sunken vessel for yourself. - Owen Bellwood Read More

I’m a big proponent of wearing motorcycle gear, particularly when it comes to a helmet — my own Arai XD-4 turned what could’ve been a skull fracture into a mere concussion while off-roading last year. Some folks apparently still aren’t convinced of helmets’ utility, however, because people are still studying whether helmets are safer than not wearing a helmets. Spoiler alert: They are. - Amber DaSilva Read More

Tesla finally revealed its robotaxi last week, much to the disappointment of credulous rubes like Wedbush’s Dan Ives, who actually swallowed Musk’s autonomy bullshit hook, line and sinker. Why such gullible morons get paid the big bucks, but Merrill Lynch has yet to approach me with a job offer, I have no idea, but the beer-serving robot? Controlled by humans. The robotaxis? Also possibly remote-controlled. Also, according to Alex Proyas, the director of “I, Robot,” the designs seemed ripped straight out of his 2004 movie. - Collin Woodard Read More

For nearly half a century, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority has held a gathering for the public, friends and family of drivers and mechanics. Known as the Bus Roadeo the event is a chance for the LA Metro to showcase the best talent in the agency in a series of competitions. - Lawrence Hodge Read More

Right now, scientists around the world are all working towards one mission: Setting foot on another world for the first time. Unfortunately, it turns out those other worlds are really far away, meaning NASA has to figure out how to manage astronauts in such isolation for such extended durations — or simply figure out how to get folks to Mars in less time. - Amber DaSilva Read More

Election day is right around the corner. Over 150 million Americans will cast a ballot next month to determine who will be the next President of the United States, including four people on the International Space Station. Voting from space might be a given today, but it took an astronaut being denied the right to vote for the practice to be legally enshrined. - Ryan Erik King Read More