Inside a metal-clad tower at the gas technology Institute in suburban Des Plaines, Ill. sits a narrow, 40-foot steel tube bristling with instrumentation ports and pressurized pipes.

FORBES: $100 Oil? We Love It

Although he is the pedestrian's friend (he has travelled by foot and Tube for years), he is not necessarily the motorist's enemy (a threat to levy charges on cars entering inner London has grown vaguer as the election has approached).

ECONOMIST: Mayor Ken

Mr. Walker says 142 pairs of "tube" stations are closer by foot than by train, once factoring in time spent descending to and ascending from the platform, and waiting.

WSJ: Timing an Urban Stroll Isn't a Walk in the Park

You can tell a guy has raced before when you see him whip out a tube of super glue to stick a flap of skin back onto his foot.

FORBES: Hypothermia for Fun and Profit