Luggage Facts

Three things worth knowing about luggage, its parts, and where it ends up.

Pick a story below for the full deep-dive.

01

Wheels are ancient. Suitcases are ancient. Nobody combined them until 1970.

It took 49 years, several forgotten patents, and one very odd argument about "macho" luggage before wheeled bags finally caught on.

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Less than half a percent of checked bags are ever truly lost. Here's where they go.

Inside the small Alabama store that buys unclaimed suitcases sight-unseen, by the pound — and what's turned up inside them.

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Four wheels made a suitcase roll. One offset axis made it glide.

The actual mechanical trick — borrowed from shopping carts — behind why spinner wheels swivel instead of just turning.

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