From runway collisions to engine explosions to door plugs blowing out in mid-air, the seemingly ever-increasing number of aircraft accidents in recent years has probably made you think twice about boarding a commercial airline. However, based on all available evidence, the old adage is still true: it’s safer to fly the friendly skies than it is to climb into your car and go to work every day. Still, knowing which passenger jets have the worst safety record isn’t a bad idea.

According to USAFacts, during the 20-year span between 2003 and 2023, only 675 serious injuries aboard domestic airlines (about 32 per year) were documented. Before shouting that’s too many, ponder this: more than 47 million passenger vehicle occupants were hurt on highways in the U.S. during that same period, which breaks down to 2.2 million per year. In 2023 alone, commercial airplanes in the U.S. flew more than 773 billion miles, yet only 33 passengers were injured. For the mathletes out there, this shakes out to just 0.004 injuries for every 100 million miles flown. By comparison, vehicle occupant injuries in 2023 occurred at a far greater clip — 42.2 per 100 million miles driven.

One of the many safety measures the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) mandates to help keep air passengers safe specifically concerns airport runway safety. Unless you’re an aviation geek, you’ve probably never heard of the Engineered Materials Arresting System (EMAS). This key safety feature can literally stop an aircraft after it’s touched down in mere seconds, which might seem hard to fathom given the speeds at which these big commercial airplanes are going when they land (between 130 and 160 mph), but it’s true.

If a plane shoots past the end of a runway, EMAS will rapidly stop it thanks to lightweight, crushable material that lies beyond. The most common form — currently installed on 116 runways at 69 airports – is known as “EMASMAX” and uses collapsible cellular concrete blocks. The newer version is called “greenEMAS” — installed on four runways at just one airport — and uses silica foam made from recycled glass poured into a plastic mesh attached to the pavement, covered by cement, and topped with a layer of sealant.

A plane going as fast as 80 mph will be caught and stopped, its own weight causing the wheels to sink deeply into the crushable material, regardless of how the jet’s suspension works. Think of it as the airplane’s version of a runaway-truck ramp found at the bottom of steep highway grades. According to the FAA, this system has safely stopped 25 planes carrying a total of 491 crew and passengers.

EMAS has only been around since 1996, when it was first installed at New York’s JFK International Airport. It’s actually one part of a broader safety feature you may not be aware of, one that was first adopted in the 1980s after the FAA concluded that pre-existing obstacles like water, dense population, train tracks, and highways constricted existing runway safety areas (RSAs). All-encompassing RSAs surround the runway and can range between 250 and 500 feet to either side and 1,000 feet at both the beginning and end of the airstrip. When an airport doesn’t have the necessary land available to create the required RSA zone, they install the engineered materials.

If you have an old Amazon Echo or Echo Dot sitting in the drawer, don’t just give it away or toss it in the trash. That little plastic speaker is still a capable, interconnected computer. Even if the music quality is not great compared to the new one, the voice controls and smart features are perfectly fine for other tasks. 

Whether you want to keep your kids busy without handing them a pricey tablet, keep your dog calm when you are away, or use it as a personal assistant inside your old car, that old Amazon Echo can be put to good use. In this guide, we have compiled five creative ways to repurpose your old Amazon Echo.

People often use their smartphones in the bathroom. Smartphones may be water-resistant, but it’s still risky. Besides, you’ll get better sound quality from a dedicated speaker. This is where you can put your old Amazon Echo to good use. Your Amazon Echo can play your favorite music with easy voice commands instead of wet fingers on a slippery screen. Remember, Amazon Echo isn’t water-resistant, either, but it’s much cheaper than your smartphone.

Beyond just playing your favorite songs in the shower, Echo helps stock up on bathroom supplies. Imagine you’re showering and you find your shampoo bottle is empty. Instead of making a mental note and swiftly forgetting, you can instruct Amazon Echo to add shampoo to your shopping list. Also, if you’re guilty of losing track of time under the warm, relaxing water, get Alexa to add a timer. 

Learning a new language is difficult. Daily practice is necessary, and an Amazon Echo can be your personal language tutor. Using the Alexa app on your phone, you can change the default language on your Echo without changing the rest of the devices in your house. 

For instance, if you want to learn Spanish for your next trip to Mexico, you can set the speaker entirely to Spanish and talk to it at will. You can start with greetings and small talk, ask for the time, or request music. Since the speaker needs clear pronunciation to understand, it will give you instant feedback on the clarity of your accent. Your confidence should grow with everyday conversation, and you can start having longer chats with Alexa. You can also test yourself with language apps. 

Leaving your pets at home can be tough, but the Amazon Echo can act as a digital pet sitter. By using the Alexa app on your phone, you can set the smart speaker to listen to specific sounds in your home, such as barking or whimpering. All you need to do is place the Amazon Echo speaker close to your pet’s bed or crate.

Once set up, turn on the sound detection feature, and it will automatically start as soon as the speaker hears a loud sound. For example, if your nervous dog wakes up from sleep only to find you nowhere in the house, the speaker will hear their barking and react. You can set it to play classical music or whatever calms your dog. 

You can record your own voice saying things like “good boy” or your pet’s name and have the speaker play it back. This trick will help distract your dog from outside noise and calm them down.

Older cars are charming and refreshingly tech-lite. However, even a committed digital detoxer will concede the perks of smartphones and infotainment systems, and that’s where the Amazon Echo can come in. 

If your retro car has a cigarette lighter, you can plug in an AUX adapter to accommodate your Amazon Echo, which will need a USB charger for power. Once you have connected your smartphone to the Echo via a hotspot, you will have transformed your old dashboard into a fully working, hands-free smart assistant. You no longer need to look at your phone screen to play music, call contacts, set up navigation, and much more. 

Finding things for your kids that do not involve a screen can be difficult. You have your work and daily chores to look after, and constantly playing with your kid is not possible. Here is where you can put your old Amazon Echo device to good use. Instead of handing them a tablet, you can hand them the old Amazon device.

But before you do that, make sure to set parental controls, which will block bad words, stop them from buying stuff, and set bedtimes. Once the speaker is locked down, your kids can use their voice to play adventure games where they have to choose to unlock the next clue. They can ask Alexa for bedtime stories or play background noise for their little pirate adventure.

If they feel like dancing, they can easily ask for kid-friendly dancing songs or movie soundtracks. This keeps them away from the flashy colors of a tablet or smartphone screen. The best part is that you do not have to worry about the device breaking. Yes, the speaker can get damaged, but it won’t hurt your pocket as much as fixing a shattered iPad display.

When picturing an off-road oriented truck or 4×4, what are some thoughts that come to mind? A lift kit with increased suspension travel, that’s a given, or maybe even camping gear if you’re going overlanding. One universal mainstay of all of these is the specialized off-road tire, and possibly the most famous of them all is the traditional BFGoodrich Radial All-Terrain T/A, a tire which celebrates its 50th birthday in 2026. Yes, really — BFGoodrich debuted this universally-beloved tire some 50 years ago, an incredible milestone to reach for any automotive part, much less something as vital and technically demanding as tires.

It’s not hyperbole to say that this tire revolutionized the world of off-roading, providing the footprint for everything from basic all-terrain 4x4s like Jeep CJs and Ford Broncos, all the way up to Baja desert racers. It was present at the inception and popularization of desert racing as a sport, in fact, a point of pride reflected in the tire’s earliest advertisement campaigns. But what’s so special about it? After all, off-road tires existed well before BFGoodrich entered the chat.

What makes this tire special isn’t in its specialization, but rather its lack thereof. Unlike other dedicated off-road tires, the Radial All-Terrain T/A is a radial. In fact, it was the world’s first off-road radial tire. This grants an unparalleled level of capability versus previous tires, providing adequate grip on both on and off-highway surfaces, though lacking the exceptionalism of dedicated tires for these surfaces. Let’s take a deep dive and explore the tire’s history and what makes it so special that people continue using it to this day.

BFGoodrich is no stranger to auto racing; in fact, the company was the first in the world to assemble a street-legal radial racing tire, the BFGoodrich Tirebird in 1969. Several years later, the 1973 Oil Crisis struck a death blow to the Muscle Car Era, but motorsports continued unabated, and that includes off-road racing, and one of the most well-known and infamous races of that era was the Baja 1000. First run in 1969, the race encompasses a brutal 934-mile course through the Mexican desert. It was for this event, which BFGoodrich called America’s most torturous race, that the company first developed the Radial All-Terrain T/A.

There was one problem plaguing the off-road community — a lack of flexibility. Up to that point, all tires were either specialized for on or off-highway use, but nothing could do both. The tire market had a hole, and that provided a lucrative business opportunity for an enterprising company with racing expertise. So in 1975, the American tire manufacturer approached Baja racer Frank “Scoop” Vessels to test out a new design they were creating for the demanding race. Scoop obliged the request, fitting his Ford F-100 with the first Radial All-Terrain T/A, and ultimately securing wins in both the 1977 Baja 500 and 1000.

Marketing had a field day after these victories, advertising the Radial All-Terrain T/A as a 4×4 tire that was compliant for the road — quiet, smooth, and refined, with a long tread life to boot. It helped that the tire was bold and distinctive, with its aggressive pattern, radial construction, and distinctive white lettering, which BFGoodrich says made it a hot-ticket and iconic package.

The success of the BFGoodrich Radial All-Terrain T/A didn’t diminish whatsoever in the following years. In fact, it served as the basis upon which the company has built a long and storied line of tires for different market segments, with the centerpiece remaining that same pivotal tire from 1976 — albeit with some updates since then, of course. These days, the Radial All-Terrain T/A is in its fourth generation, debuting in 2024 with the KO3 pattern, which the company claims has a 50,000 mile warranty, 15 percent better wear performance, and 20 percent more durability on gravel roads versus the KO2.

BFGoodrich is also expanding its portfolio to celebrate the tire’s 50th anniversary, offering the All-Terrain T/A in 12 additional sizes ranging from 30×9.50R15/Cs; up to 35×12.50R22/Es as part of the KO3 Phase 8 launch package. This latest tire incorporates all the usual bells and whistles we’ve come to expect after 50 years of innovation, though it still features that same durability and iconic look that made the original so beloved.

Let’s not forget BFGoodrich’s racing commitments, which are still ongoing — in fact, the American manufacturer is the current sponsor of the SCORE Baja 1000. As such, these tires are virtually ubiquitous in the race, dominating the highest classes and remaining a perennial favorite among competitors. Moreover, because they maintained the same general look since 1976, they’re one of the few modern tires that still look correct on classics, tthough they’re still not dedicated classic car tires.