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Tuesday 16 February 2016

Lorry or Truck

A motor vehicle designed to transport cargo is called a lorry in the Indian sub continent, Ireland, South Africa, and the United Kingdom and a truck in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and United States.


The word 'truck' comes from the Greek word for wheel: 'trochos.' It first appeared in English around 1611 meaning small wheel or roller, specifically the sort mounted under cannons aboard warships.

The word lorry was first seen in English in 1838 when it referred to the luggage truck on a train.

The Oxford English Dictionary states that its etymology is obscure but it may be related to the dialect verb 'lurry,' meaning to lug or drag along, which dates back to the 17th century.

The first motorized lorry was designed and built in 1895 by Karl Benz using the internal combustion engine.  A year later, in 1896, another internal combustion engine truck was built by Gottlieb Daimler, who also produced the first motorbike and the first taxi. Other companies, such as Peugeot, Renault and Büssing, also built their own versions.

A Benz truck modified by Netphener company (1895)

The first truck in the United States was built by Autocar in 1899 and was available with optional 5 or 8 horsepower motors.

Motor trucks begin to replace horse drawn carriages as delivery vehicles in the early 1910s, beginning a new era for many industries.

The earliest record reference to a "lorry driver" was in 1926.

Bea Arthur from the TV Show Golden Girls was a Marine truck driver in World War II serving in Marine Corps and Navy air stations in Virginia and North Carolina reaching the rank of Staff Sergeant.

A cement truck crashed near Wingamon, Oklahoma in the 1950s and the mixer was too heavy to move. It's still there, and locals have painted it to look like an abandoned NASA space capsule.

Author and anti-globalization advocate Tim Costello started his writing career in the back of his truck while traveling as a long-haul vehicle driver.

It was reported in 2016 that there is only one female lorry driver in Pakistan.


All of McDonalds’ delivery lorries in the UK, have been running on used cooking oil from their restaurants since 2007.

Source Daily Express

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