Subjects: Technology

Equivalent in size to the kingdom of Monaco, nearly half of the blooms that make up the 40 billion dollar a year flower industry will be bought and sold at the Aalsmeer Flower Auction. Located southwest of Amsterdam, every day highly perishable imports arrive from around the globe, only to be shipped out less than 24 hours later. In the lead up to Valentine’s Day, this logistics hub will be stretched to its very limit as thousands of people work tirelessly to receive, care for and distribute almost 50% more flora than usual (including more than 100 million roses!)

Boasting the biggest vertical drop in North America and with over 32 square kilometers (8000 acres) of mountainous terrain, Whistler Blackcomb is one of the best places in the world to ski and snowboard. The numbers speak for themselves: over 200 trails, 5 parks, 1 super pipe, 1 snow cross track, 37 lifts that can move 69,680 skiers per hour, 17 mountain restaurants and a ski season that stretches from November to late May/early June. With an average of 1092 cm of snowfall a season, the fresh powder is what joy riders are after, but this much snow can also be deadly. A team of 5000 work 24/7 to keep them safe.

One of the most technically astounding live shows in the world, Cirque du Soleil’s “KA” opened in 2005 at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. The main stage is the star acrobat of the show – it can raise 70 feet, tilt from horizontal to vertical and spin a full 360-degrees thanks to its muscle – an 80-foot gantry crane. All of the performers’ movements are choreographed to be perfectly in-sync with the movement of the stage.

Best known for its trademark brown trucks, vans, and scooters, UPS delivers almost sixteen million packages in 220 countries around the globe every day. The company also boasts one of the world’s largest plane fleets – 223 aircraft. Worldport, UPS’ main airhub, is home base for that fleet – almost half of all UPS’s air deliveries fly through here. Upon arrival, parcels are unloaded, scanned, sorted by size and location and then flown out of the facility – all within the hour.

Over a century in the making, the Chunnel is the longest undersea rail tunnel in the world. After eight years of leading edge construction, the Eurotunnel project rang in at a cost $21 billion dollars. Considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World, the Chunnel is a marvel of modern engineering and one of the most important rail systems in the world. Every hour multiple trains travel through the Chunnel’s 50-kilometer expanse; crossing the English Channel in just 33 minutes. With a departure once every ten minutes, any system breakdown could severely disrupt cross-channel traffic, affecting up to a hundred thousand people and costing Eurotunnel millions.

Suit up with one of the busiest all-hazards agencies in the U.S. They get more than 160,000 calls a year. That’s an average of 438 a day. Washington DC’s FEMS is one of the busiest all-hazards agencies in the US. When they’re not putting out fires, rescuing people from collapsing buildings or determining the contents of a suspicious package left on the steps of the White House, their units are protecting the district during special events at the nations’ capitol. Meet the men and women whose quick decisions can – and often do – save people’s lives daily.

Take a 24-hour ride through the most significant gateway in North America. Spread across 4,300 acres of land and 3,200 acres of water the port boasts nine container terminals. The Port of Los Angeles – known affectionately as “America’s Port”- is the biggest, busiest and most significant gateway to the North American market. With 500 million dollars worth of cargo passing through the LA wharves everyday, a delay at this port sends a ripple effect through the U.S. economy. With over 80 shipping lines constantly moving through its harbour, the Port of LA employs a team of 13 port pilots to guide all vessels through its waterways.

150,000 people from all over North America will descend upon the iconic Las Vegas Motor Speedway this October to watch one of the most thrilling car races of the year – the IndyCar World Championships. While most people know the Indy as a fast and furious ride – what they don’t get to see is the amazing technology, coordination and talent that work tirelessly behind the scenes to pull off this multi-million dollar event.

Since its inaugural performance, Cirque Du Soleil’s “O” has enthralled over 10 million spectators, during the course of 6000 shows. While the production on-stage is breath-taking, the real amazing feat of coordination happens behind the scenes. While 85 artists risk their lives performing over a 1.5 million-gallon pool, 145 technicians work tirelessly to ensure that everyone is safe right up until the final act – the death-defying ‘cerceaux’ – which pushes performers and technicians alike to their peak capacity.

It is one of the most important canals in the world providing a much-needed shortcut across a continental divide. Discover how Panama Canal – one of the largest canals in the world – moves nearly 14,000 vessels a year between Pacific and Atlantic, shaving off up to two weeks of travel time. Instead of forcing ships around the tip of South America, specially-trained marine traffic controllers track dozens of ships passing through the canal 24/7. See how the specially trained Canal “pilots” masterfully steer Panamax vessels through tight corners and tricky turns, with mere inches to spare.