What are some interesting facts about hovercrafts?

The first hovercraft can be traced back to the 1700s, although it wasn't officially invented until the 1950s by Sir Christopher Cockerell. Since then, hovercrafts were used to carry more than 30 million passengers.

Hovercrafts fly above the Earth's surface on a cushion of air. This makes them a multiterrain vehicle, as they can leverage this pocket of air to go across terrain like sand, snow, marshlands and even in water like a boat. On average, they travel at speeds of about 40 miles per hour. However, in 1995, Bob Windt set the world speed record for a hovercraft by traveling 85 mph on the Rio Douro River in Portugal.