This one's purple, this one's yellow and they're both headed from Minneapolis to Half as Town, a small town in Colorado where I am the mayor.

這個是紫色的，這個是黃色的，他們都從明尼阿波利斯前往 Half as Town，科羅拉多州的一個小鎮，我是那裡的鎮長。

But they'll take very different journeys.

但他們將踏上截然不同的旅程。

The purple one's a carry-on and the yellow one's getting checked.

紫色的是隨身行李，黃色的要託運。

Its owner is entrusting the airport system of conveyors, scanners, carts, trucks and people to get his bag to Half as Town's forbidden merry-go-round at the same time as if not before he gets there even though he's self ploting and his bag is a bag.

它的主人正在委託機場系統的傳送帶、掃描儀、手推車、卡車和人員將他的行李同時送到 Half as Town 禁止的旋轉木馬，就好像不是在他到達那里之前一樣，儘管他和他的行李是自我策劃的是一個袋子。

So how do airports pull this trick off?

那麼，機場是如何做到這一點的呢？

And what happens when they don't?

他們沒做到時又發生什麼呢？

To answer, let's see what happens to these guys, property of, let's say, Chet Bagg and Carrie Ohn.

為了回答這個問題，讓我們看看這些 Chet Bagg 和 Carrie Ohn 的行李會發生什麼。（Chet Bagg 是托運行李的諧音；Carrie Ohn是隨身行李的諧音）

We're an hour before takeoff in Minneapolis, and while Carrie's presenting the TSA with a Ziploc full of shampoo, Chet hands a suitcase to the check-in agent who slaps on a bag tag with all his info written out, stored in this barcode and load it on a paper-thin RFID chip.

距離明尼阿波利斯起飛還有一個小時，當 Carrie 向 TSA 提交裝滿洗髮水的密封塑料時，Chet 將一個手提箱遞給辦理登機手續的工作人員，工作人員拍打行李標籤，上面寫著他的所有訊息，儲存在這個條碼中並將其加載到薄如紙的 RFID 晶片上。

This way, no matter how high or low tech and air the bag travels through, they'll be able to read its info and keep Chet's stuff on track to Half as Town.

這樣，無論袋子經過多少高科技或低科技和空氣，他們都能夠讀取其資訊並確保切特的東西順利運往 Half as Town。

Chet's bag takes a conveyor to the baggage room, which at MSP is right below the ticketing counter.

Chet 的行李透過傳送帶到達行李室，該行李室位於 MSP 售票櫃檯的正下方。

Down here, seven miles of conveyor shuttle bags around to piers, each of which is assigned an upcoming flight.

在這裡，長達七英里的傳送帶將行李運送到登機門，每個登機門都分配了一個即將起飛的航班。

Thanks to barcode scanners surrounding them, MSP's belts know which pier Chet's bag needs to get to and they automatically bump it around until it arrives.

借助周圍的條碼掃描儀，MSP 的傳送帶知道 Chet 的行李需要到達哪個登機門，並自動將其顛簸直至到達。

At the pier, an employee unloads it onto one of two cars.

在碼頭，一名員工將其卸到兩輛汽車中的一輛。

The first is for bags whose next stop is their final destination, but since Chet's connecting through Denver, his goes with all the other transfers.

第一個是下一站是最終目的地的行李，但由於 Chet 是透過丹佛轉機的，所以他的行李會與所有其他轉機一起進行。

About 45 minutes before takeoff, a driver towed both carts to the gate.

起飛前約 45 分鐘，一名司機將兩輛推車拖至登機口。

Meanwhile, Carrie's bag is also making its way there, dragged behind her as she weighs whether she has the time or gastrointestinal fortitude for airport Cinnabon.

與此同時，Carrie 的包包也被拖到了那裡，她在權衡自己是否有時間或腸胃承受力去機場 Cinnabon。

At the gate, workers load all the checked bags into the cargo hold, keeping the Denver-bound bags separate from the ones making a connection.

在登機口，工作人員將所有托運行李裝入貨艙，將前往丹佛的行李與轉機的行李分開。

Up above, Carrie shoves hers into the overhead and the plane takes off.

在上方，Carrie 將她的行李放到頭頂的置物櫃，飛機起飛了。

Upon arrival in Denver, Carrie yanks her bag down the aisle and off the plane, while Chet's bag comes out of the cargo hold.

抵達丹佛後，Carrie 將她的包包拖過走道並下了飛機，而 Chet 的包包則從貨艙中出來。

And because this is the massive Denver International Airport, it's about to make a very long, very technologically advanced journey to its next gate, because why drive it over there when you can take what else?

因為這是巨大的丹佛國際機場，它將進行一段非常漫長、技術非常先進的旅程到達下一個登機口，因為當你可以乘坐其他東西時為什麼還要開車過去呢？

A perpetual motion suitcase superhighway.

永動機手提箱高速公路。

It's called the DCV, short for destination-coded vehicles.

它稱為 DCV，是目的地編碼車輛的縮寫。

And it's made up of over 19 miles or 30 kilometers of track, whipping 4000 little carts around the IA nonstop at roughly the speed of an electric scooter.

它由超過 19 英里（30 公里）的軌道組成，4000 輛小推車以大約電動滑板車的速度繞著 IA 不停地行駛。

At this terminal, two DCV tracks make a loop; one going clockwise and the other going counterclockwise.

在此終端，兩條 DCV 軌道形成一個環路； 一個是順時針方向，一個是逆時針方向。

Chet's bag delays on a standard conveyor belt where it's scanned and bumped towards whichever one of those tracks will get it to its next gate faster.

Chet 的行李在標準傳送帶上延遲，在那裡它被掃描並撞向任何一條軌道，以便更快地到達下一個登機口。

An eye at the end of that conveyor belt sees when the DCV cart is coming and times the drop so that the cart doesn't even have to stop.

傳送帶末端的一隻眼睛可以看到 DCV 推車何時到來，並對下降時間進行計時，這樣推車甚至不必停下來。

The DCV scans the bag too, so it knows what gate it's going to and which standard conveyor to dump Chet's bag onto to get there.

DCV 也會掃描行李，因此它知道行李要去哪個登機口，以及將 Chet 的行李傾倒到哪個標準傳送帶上。

There it joins the other HAT-bound bags as Carrie wrestles hers into another overhead.

在那裡，當 Carrie 將她的包摔進頭頂上的另一個包時，它與其他戴帽子的包匯合在一起。

On the flight to Half as Town, Carrie watches an HAI video she downloaded which catches Chet's attention because he also loves HAI.

在飛往 Half as Town 的航班上，Carrie 觀看了她下載的影片，該影片引起了 Chet 的注意，因為他也喜歡 HAI。

They spend the whole flight chatting about what good taste they have and go their separate ways when the plane lands.

他們在整個飛行過程中都在談論自己的品味，並在飛機著陸後分道揚鑣。

Carrie towed her bag home and Chet heads to the baggage claim.

Carrie 把包包拖回家，Chet 則前往行李認領處。

The airport is designed such that Chet's walk there takes about the same amount of time as unloading the plane and driving the bags over.

機場的設計使得 Chet 步行到機場的時間與從飛機上卸下行李並開車送行李的時間大致相同。

So once he gets to the carousel, he doesn't have to wait long.

所以，一旦他到了行李轉盤那裡，就不用等太久了。

But, oh, no. What's this?

但是，哦，不，這是什麼？

The last bag just came out and Chet's wasn't there?

最後一個行李剛出來，Chet 的不在那？

Uh, oh, it becomes one of the 0.059% of Chet's bags that gets mishandled.

呃，哦，它成為 Chet 0.059% 處理不當的行李之一。

Why?

為什麼？

Impossible to know. But here are the odds.

不可能知道。 但可能性是這樣的。

Chet complains to his airline and they upload a claim to World Tracer.

Chet 向他的航空公司投訴，他們將索賠上傳到 World Tracer。

The bag finding software most world Airlines in over 2000 airports use.

全球 2000 多個機場的大多數航空公司都使用的行李查找軟體。

When a bag surface is somewhere it shouldn't be, World Tracer uses the info on its tag or a description of its contents to match it to missing bag claims in the system and start the reunion process.

當行李表面出現在不該出現的地方時，World Tracer 會使用其標籤上的信息或內容描述將其與系統中丟失的行李索賠進行匹配，並啟動團聚流程。

And because it's so ubiquitous, it can do that even if your bag slips to a wrong airport or airline.

而且由於它無處不在，即使你的行李送到了錯誤的機場或航空公司，它也可以做到這一點。

So if back in Denver, Chet's bag is still zooming around the DCV for some reason, someone will plonk it into World Tracer then get it on the next flight from DIA to HAT.

因此，如果回到丹佛，Chet 的包出於某種原因仍在 DCV 周圍快速移動，有人會將其輸入 World Tracer，然後在從 DIA 飛往 HAT 的下一趟航班上將其取出。

But it might not be so easy.

但這可能沒那麼容易。

World Tracer will keep its metaphorical eye out for Chet's bag for three months and if it doesn't pop up by then, the airline will compensate him up to $3800 for the bag and its contents and hooray.

World Tracer 將在三個月內密切關注 Chet 的行李，如果到那時行李還沒有出現，航空公司將為他的包及其內容物賠償高達 3800 美元，萬歲。

Now they didn't lose the bag, they technically bought it and all of Chet's favorite pants.

現在他們並沒有失去那個行李，從技術上講，他們買了它和 Chet 最喜歡的所有褲子。

In 95% of mishandling cases, the bag gets back to its owner and there's no buying or selling.

在 95% 的處理不當案例中，行李會回到主人手中，並且不會發生任何買賣。

But that other 5% translates to airlines acquiring millions of bags every year.

但另外 5% 意味著航空公司每年購買數百萬件行李。

So they need some plan for what to do with it all.

所以他們需要制定一些處理計劃。

That usually means some kind of charitable donation.

這通常意味著某種慈善捐贈。

But some places like the UK also send lost bags to auction houses.

但英國等一些地方也會將遺失的行李送到拍賣行。

But Chet lost his bag in the United States, meaning there's only one place it'll go: Scottsboro, Alabama.

但 Chet 在美國丟了行李，這意味著它只能去一個地方：阿拉巴馬州斯科茨伯勒。

There they've got a store the size of an entire city block called Unclaimed Baggage that collects and sells the contents of every bag lost on every major airline in our great nation.

在那裡，他們有一家名為「無人認領行李」的商店，有整個街區那麼大，負責收集和出售我們偉大國家每家主要航空公司丟失的每件行李中的物品。

At the time of writing, they've got this, this and $1000 bucket hat that's somehow half off.

在撰寫本文時，他們已經推出了這款、這款以及 1000 美元的漁夫帽，不知何故半價出售。

And in a few months, they'll also have Chet's favorite pants.

幾個月後，他們還將擁有 Chet 最喜歡的褲子。

But for now, Chet leaves the airport empty handed, regretting his unwillingness to carry his own stuff.

但現在，Chet 空手離開機場，對自己不願攜帶自己的東西感到遺憾。

Dejected, he wanders into the local tavern for a sad boy pint.

他沮喪地走進當地的小酒館，喝了一品脫悲傷的男孩酒。

And what, who's there? Could it be?

什麼，誰在那裡？ 有可能嗎？

It's his friend from the plane, Carrie Ohn.

是他在飛機上的朋友 Carrie Ohn。

He tells her all about what happened to his suitcase.

他向她講述了自己行李發生的一切。

They talk all night.

他們徹夜長談。

They fall in love.

他們相愛了。

Oh, wait, sorry, I got my HAI script mixed up with the Christmas movie I'm writing.

哦，等等，對不起，我把 HAI 劇本和我在寫作的聖誕電影弄混了。

It's also about checked bags.

這也與托運行李有關。

It's called Checking it Twice, and yes, we are still looking for fun.

這就是所謂的「Checking it Twice」，是的，我們仍在尋找樂趣。

At the end, Chet and Carrie go to Atlanta to see the big airport and take a side trip to Scottsboro, where they find Chet's favorite pants, the one he lost the day they met.

最後，Chet 和 Carrie 前往亞特蘭大參觀大機場，並順便去了斯科茨伯勒，在那裡他們找到了 Chet 最喜歡的褲子，就是他們見面那天他丟失的那條。

He buys them back and the world at last knows peace.

他買回了它們，世界終於迎來了和平。

Ok. Now, hold on.

好的。等一下。

How did Carrie watch an HAI video on the plane back there?

Carrie 是怎麼在飛機上看 HAI 影片的？

Surely she didn't shell out for in-flight Wi-Fi, given that she didn't pay to check it back.

她肯定沒有花錢購買機上無線網絡，因為她沒有花錢託運行李。

Of course not. No.

當然不是。不對。

Carrie was able to download and watch HAI along with countless hours of amazing exclusive content from all her favorite creators with the help of this video sponsor, Nebula.

在影片贊助商 Nebula 的幫助下，Carrie 能夠下載並觀看 HAI 以及她最喜歡的所有創作者的無數小時的精彩獨家內容。

If you don't know Nebula, it's a creator-run streaming service I started with some friends a few years back that gives us an algorithm-free and free place to make and share our most ambitious and exciting projects.

如果您不了解Nebula，這是一個由創作者經營的串流媒體服務，幾年前我和一些朋友一起創辦了它，它為我們提供了一個無演算法且免費的地方來製作和分享我們最雄心勃勃、最令人興奮的項目。

Projects like Broey Deschanel's fascinating new series about how taboos like sex scenes are presented in film, or our series Logistics of X which dives way too deep on the inner workings of things like Search & Rescue, Commercial Fishing and the Hajj.

像是布羅伊·丹斯切爾關於如何在電影中呈現性愛場面等禁忌的迷人新系列這樣的項目，或者我們的系列「Logistics of X」深入探討了搜索與救援、商業捕魚和朝覲等事物的內部運作。

And if you like any of all these people's videos or okay, yeah, mine,

如果你喜歡這些人的影片或好吧，是的，我的，

Nebula is the absolute best way to support us.

星雲絕對是支持我們的最佳方式。

Plus you get access to early and exclusive content all without ads and downloadable so you can watch wherever, whenever, as Hannah Montana would say, "It's the best of both worlds."

此外，你還可以訪問早期的獨家內容，所有內容均無廣告且可下載，因此你可以隨時隨地觀看，正如孟漢娜所說：「這是兩全其美的選擇。」

So what are you waiting for? If you sign up using the link below, you can get access to all this for a full year or 40% off,

還在等什麼？ 如果你使用下面的連結註冊，你可以全年使用所有這些內容或享受 40% 的折扣，

meaning you pay less than $3 a month and you never have to hear one of my ad reads again.

也就是說，你每月只需支付不到 3 美元，就再也不用聽我讀廣告了。

Thanks in advance.

預先表示感謝。