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Road signs were virtually nonexistent, Bauer says, because until cars came along there was no need for them. Long trips were made by train, and virtually all short trips were made by local people who already had a mental map of the roads in their area.
> It’s ironic that nearly a century later, after decades of relying on road maps and atlases, so many drivers have gone back to turn-by-turn directions as their preferred navigational aid. If only Siri could flag the landmarks and throw out some trivia along the way. Yes! This is exactly what I would love. Be able to tell Google "tell me about interesting things within two miles of my route" and then have it start to…
Google does publish an app called Field Trip that they acquired from Niantic. It tells you about historical tidbits for the place around you. Doesn't seem to have been updated lately. https://www.fieldtripper.com/
There used to be guide book for African American travelers called the green book. It helped them know places they could use the bathroom, eat, and lodge. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Negro_Motorist_Green_Boo...
Thank you for posting it!
"The Negro Motorist's Green Book"
Locations of "sundown" towns, where to get a meal at a restaurant, where you can get a motel room.
http://www.autolife.umd.umich.edu/Race/R_Casestudy/87_135_17...
> It’s ironic that nearly a century later, after decades of relying on road maps and atlases, so many drivers have gone back to turn-by-turn directions as their preferred navigational aid. If only Siri could flag the landmarks and throw out some trivia along the way. Yes! This is exactly what I would love. Be able to tell Google "tell me about interesting things within two miles of my route" and then have it start to…
Long story short, the guides were created to drum up interest in tires—by encouraging customers to actually take their cars to go on road trips. The fascinating part about them is that the guide's reputation at rating restaurants became so strong that the fine dining guides turned into a huge side business for the company.
There used to be guide book for African American travelers called the green book. It helped them know places they could use the bathroom, eat, and lodge. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Negro_Motorist_Green_Boo...
Assholes.
There used to be guide book for African American travelers called the green book. It helped them know places they could use the bathroom, eat, and lodge. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Negro_Motorist_Green_Boo...
Even in Canada today you can still see instances of this. Fairly disgusting, to put it mildly. I found this out when we employed the one person of color in the community as a gas station attendant, the reverse situation sketched in the wikipedia article linked. Large customers would contact me and pointedly demand we fire the person or they'd cease doing business (this was fine with me, the nearest alternative was a…
Amazing how things we take for granted now were simply unnecessary in the past: Road signs were virtually nonexistent, Bauer says, because until cars came along there was no need for them. Long trips were made by train, and virtually all short trips were made by local people who already had a mental map of the roads in their area.