The most mundane things that you use every day (think post it notes, rubber bands, concrete) often have fascinating stories behind them.
In fact, people often only notice how something's designed when it goes wrong. But the process of discovery, testing and prototyping anything, no matter how ordinary, is full of pitfalls and the occasional exhilarating breakthrough.
Concorde
Concorde first flew in 1969 and commercial flights began seven years later in January 1977. But many of the passengers wouldn't have known about the engineering challenges posed by an aircraft flying at 1,450mph, twice the speed of sound. For example, the friction of the air against the fuselage in supersonic flight causes heat. So much so, that Concorde expanded and contracted by 30cm each flight, necessitating an expansion joint to be built behind the cockpit.
Heat was also the reason behind the white colour scheme, as any other colour was too heat absorbent. Cockpits had radiation monitors installed, as the higher-than-normal cruising altitude of 18,300m meant passengers could be exposed to twice as much extra-terrestrial ionising radiation as on a conventional airliner. Matters were equally impressive at ground level - Concorde was one of the first vehicles in the world to be fitted with anti-lock brakes.
Brunel