27 April 2006

Happy birthday shipping container

Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of the shipping container (thank you Boing Boing for this I-didn't-know-I-needed-that fact). From the entry on Flickr:
It may not be printed in red on your calendar, but April 26 is an important date in economic history. Fifty years ago, the Ideal-X, a war-surplus oil tanker with a steel frame welded above its deck, loaded 58 aluminium containers at a dock in Newark, New Jersey. Five days later, the ship steamed into Houston, Texas, where trucks took on the metal boxes and carried them to their destinations.
In some countries shipping containers are used as affordable building options. I saw some of these made into schools in South Africa. Here's an interesting bit about their use in and around Cape Town.

2 comments:

Eclectchick said...

This makes me think of that guy who was sued by Fed Ex for using their boxes to make furniture. Oi.

Sophzilla said...

Sounds like a potential Darwin Award nominee!