Freight, whether by sea, land or air, has the capacity to move almost any quantity of pretty much anything across any distance. If you have any doubt about the capabilities of today’s logistics infrastructure, perhaps this list, showing some of the stranger things found in containers and cargo holds, will convince you.
1. Dinosaurs
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This may not be that strange perhaps: the fossils shipped to museums and expos around the world have to get to their destination somehow. |
2. Queen bees and wasp nests
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The honey industry needs queen bees in order to found new hives. These are transported around the world in specially designed containers – often in the cargo holds of passenger planes. Frozen wasp nests are transported for use in pharmaceutical research. |
3. Explosives
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Explosives are of course forbidden in international travel of any kind but then dynamite and other materials do need to be shipped for use in industrial blasting. These are moved under very strict safety controls. |
4. Radioactive materials
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Whether for disposal or research, it is often necessary for radioactive materials to be moved around, sometimes over considerable distances. This requires specialised containers and handling equipment, as well as intrepid transport crew! |
5. Live fish
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Koi keeping is an expensive hobby with some truly dedicated practitioners. Many are known to travel to Japan from around the world to purchase the best-bred carp in the world. These then have to be shipped back home in custom-made tanks. |
6. Hunting trophies
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Wealthy hunters need to get their trophies home, so it isn’t particularly uncommon to open up a container on the docks somewhere and find it filled with taxidermied animals. |
7. Human organs
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This could mean the difference between life and death. Ice boxes containing everything from corneas to hearts can sometimes be found on cargo and passenger planes. |
8. Human remains
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Freighters are no strangers to bodies and ashes. In addition to mourners wanting to move the remains of their departed loved ones to specific burial grounds, cadavers are often freighted for medical purposes as well. |
9. Baby chickens
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Newly hatched chicks are shipped in quite large quantities for the international poultry industry. There is a very particular proviso in this case: they can only be shipped within three days after they hatch. After that, they cannot be moved again until they are at least six weeks old. |
10. Baggage and cargo handlers!
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Hey, it does happen from time to time (though certainly never to us so far). Baggage and cargo handlers have sometimes found themselves locked in the cargo hold of planes. Usually there is little for the unfortunate workers to do except wait it out until they reach the destination. Since cargo holds on modern planes are pressurised and heated, this is a safe, though hardly a convenient trip. |
Pretty crazy stuff, right?
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