🚛 🚗 The Interstate's Forgotten Code 🚗 🚛

If you're interested in some of the behind-the-scenes of this video, I talked about them here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4_bqGqb4LQ

My Dad’s a truck driver. It amazed me that he could plan a cross-country road trip without even looking at a map. That sneak had a cheat code the whole time!

"I already cut so many from the script, you wouldn't believe it..." Grey, you made a 21-minute video explaining why one particular detail didn't make it into a 9-minute video and gave you sleepless nights for the better part of a year. We believe it.

I like how the DOT or department of transportation just sits in the back of the car with them.

I drove truck for about 7 years. I learned this code early on by myself without anyone showing me. I memorized where each highway was and how many miles were in each state I also drove in Canada, and memorized those, too. It's been so many years ago I just remember some of it but remember all the interstate numbers and where they are. I miss those days.

My 3 year old has recently become obsesed with all the 'big roads' that we drive on an their names and numbers, thanks for making this video so I can keep up the illusion that dad knows about everything!

I'm so lucky to be living in Australia. All I need to remember is that if I dive in any direction long enough I run the risk of dying in the middle of nowhere.

My dad explained all of this to me when I was learning to drive, and it gave me enough of a basic understanding of Kansas City's geography that if I could only get to a highway I always knew where I was. We used I-70 every day.

As someone from Minneapolis who was annoyed simply that 35W was considered the "exit" off I-35 from the South whereas 35E was the continuation, 35W (Minneapolis) and 35E (Saint Paul) were definitely named to not be bypasses. The rivalry is real!

As a Pennsylvanian I appreciate the shout out to I-99.

The 35E/35W finally makes sense! This was fun

Ok. So this video popped into my feed today, on the 18th anniversary of my dad’s passing. Downer of a lead but stay with me. I grew up spending my summers in a van with my family, going coast to coast & back. Dad had long distance travel by car on his list of must-learn life skills. He taught me as early as I can remember the numbers system. All my siblings learned it as we all were either navigating or piloting the van(s) later in life. We were doing it for vacation like the truckers did. Dad even had a CB in the old Dodge Sportsman to listen in for ‘intel’, naturally. So thank you for this. It made me laugh & cry a bit. The yootoob algorithm seemed to know when & where to send this. I copied my entire family. They’ll love it.

5:50 - I-90 in New York has a “complete set” of auxiliary interstates, there is an I-190 through I-990 in the state. Also, I-238 was numbered as such because, at the time, I-80 in California also had a “complete set” of auxiliary Interstates and they didn’t want to cause confusion by duplicating numbers within the state, so it was just numbered after the original highway, CA-238.

As a twin cities resident, I can say with authority that: Yes the E & W designations are there to keep the peace between the fragile egos of the state's largest city, Minneapolis, and the state capital, St. Paul. However, since the exit numbers on 35E remain consistent with the rest of I35s numbers, while 35Ws exits start at 1 and end around 20, its clear that 35W is the bypass.

I love how Grey consistently makes videos about topics I didn't even know were topics before and manages to make the most seemingly "boring" fact into something whimsical and entertaining! :3

0:09 Props to you for using the actual constellations there. Attention to detail!

Fellow Long Islander here. As soon as you explained the even number rule, I was trying to figure out how the LIE got 495 moniker. Fantastic video and I will always remember this when driving on that pothole riddled hell scape.

I think the 805 in San Diego legitimizes the “05 in our hearts” part. It’s an interstate minor, so it has three digits; it starts in an even number, so it diverges from and reconnects to a major; but that major is the 5, so its last two digits have to be “05.”

If someone has asked me yesterday "Hey, would you care to learn about the American interstates?", I would've probably said no, but CGP Grey always seems to be able to take any subject and make it interesting and intriguing.

You know, this knowledge may actually be very helpful for geoguessr...