The UHaul Page of Interesting Facts, as Found on the Sides of A UHaul Truck

[sleepy]

Among the things that I loved while travelling along the U.S. Routes, Route 66, etc. from Pennsylvania to California and back again, and back to California, are/were the curios, the shops, the tourist dives, the truckstops, the Burma Shave Signs (long gone?), Stuckey's, and such, and some time ago I noticed the informative bits that have been painted on the sides of UHaul Rental Trucks. Aligned with the States and Canada, these Supergraphic displays of paint and information run the gambit from Birds of a State to highways to the story of The Midnight Special and the Emancipation of Slaves.

Wonderful stuff this is:
http://www.uhaul.com/SuperGraphics/

 

[Shockman]

Nice graphics... for a truck. Oregon is kind of lame though, having a technical drawing of a vehicle that tourists will never see that explores a place where tourists will never go. Could have been the columbia river gorge, the high desert where you can still the ruts left by the wagons on the Oregon trail, or the capes in the 20 Miracle Miles on the coast.

 

[sleepy]

And not all of the graphics have a story.
It looks like their is only one feature story for each State or Province.
So that is disappointing, but I wonder if the graphics and feature story are in rotation?

 

[Itchigo]

Illinois's is wrong. It should be an orange barrel. I hate moving, everything gets turned uʍop ǝpısdn.....

 

[faralos]

what is Pennsylvania's graphic?
I swear that looks like a birds eye view of a Chinese junk!
it should have been the liberty bell
but at least they beat looking at a pure white truck side

 

[faralos]

for tourist dives and active truck stops try the jersey shore highways
they seem to still have roadside stops
selling everything from watermelons to sunglasses
and their truck stops are some of the best imo
especially the ones off the beaten path
not the turnpike stops they suck at best
with the worst and most expensive foods available

 

[sleepy]

What about that "Park-n-Eat", somewhere near Pittsburgh?
I originated from the area and I've never been there, but being raised by country (no-count) gentlemen, and I say that lightly, and among farmers, I do trust their taste on this matter.

And this is because, as late as 1998 now, the farming regions offer fresh from the field produce and fresh meats and dairy from Mom and Pop roadside stops and the local market, but go to the Giant Eagle or, in times past, the A&P and these chain supermarket's version of produce is piled high and sickly with corn smut and white spots. It is Unbelievable that the stores think they can sell that low quality stuff to the people from the farming areas who still know what produce is supposed to be like. And it doesn't sell well at all.

 

[faralos]

I live in east pa and never went as far west as Pittsburgh
so can't say about anything there. I hail originally from New 'Joisey'
where we excel in roadside stands selling fresh produce!
I grew up frequenting Stewarts Root Beer road side stops,
the occasional Dairy Queen and of course White Castle
the crappiest but cheapest fast food ever to hit your toilet!

 

[sleepy]

I'll defend the White Castle burger. It itself is not bad, though the quality at various White Castle restaurants might vary. We had one in Los Angeles that lasted about 6 months before it went out of business.

And they still sell the frozen Boxes of 8 White Castle burgers, in regular and in cheeseburger, at the supermarkets.
When I get a decent box of them that haven't been thawed out by the shitty store stockers until they are rotting, I like slipping a slice of tomato in them.

 

[sleepy]

Wendys punked the White Castle.

http://www.whitecastle.com/

 

[Patch]

We're in the first 'Cittaslow' town in Oz. There isn't supposed to be any fast food outlets, yet there's a Wendy's in the local mall. There is a Subway, but no Macca's, KFC etc., here.

 

[sleepy]

How is Citaslow working out? Are the locals staying in town, or travelling for their food?
Are the kids satisfied with it?

I appreciate the slow food movements intent to preserve heirloom seeds and local quality production and their concerns against GM seeds, and many of their goals, but I would also be concerned about political manipulation. I asked about the kids because the surest way to provoke unrest and migration to 'the enemy's camp' so to speak is to deprive the people of the things that we want so that we end up on the opposite side of the argument and working for the ruling classes in order to get whatever it may be that is being deprived.

 

[Patch]

That's a tough one to answer, only been here 15 months, more a retirement/tourist town
than a place for younger families to reside. So we don't really know people here with kids
& none of our younger family are here. It's a 2 pub town, about 6000 population. About 20 minutes drive to bigger town that has Macca's, KFC etc.
Doesn't affect us, as we prefer cooking at home to eating out

 

[faralos]

Wendys also has the Baconator and Baconator Jr.
the first being a full half pound of meat with bacon on it
the second one is only a third pounder with bacon
both are heart attacks on buns but S-o-o-o worth it!
sure they're more expensive than White Castle
but they taste so decadently delicious!

 

[sleepy]

Some of my sensitivity on the subject of food is due to the fact that it has become impossible to buy a quality prepared frozen Salisbury Steak dinner, or a traditional frozen pizza. In the States the manufacturers are cutting costs by making phony pepperoni with inferior beef, pork, chicken, turkey, anything but good beef and pork, and the Salisbury Steaks are now pork or chicken with little beef, and they are not great. And the government is letting them get away with it.

 

[Patch]

Do you think govts. may just bow down to corporate bullies?
Seems that way to me

 

[sleepy]

I think the governments are Staffed by corporate bullies.
Where do you suppose the politicians come from with their millions of dollars in 'campaign funding' and their connections to media?

Meanwhile, I've heard rumors that The Empire faked The Revolutions, though I have little to go on personally...
Just that the vast Majority of colonialists were not involved in the revolts, while the Patriots pulled it off with 'no apparent funding'.

 

[Patch]

A while ago, saw a report on a current affairs show ...
was about a well known frozen food brand, of (imported) peas
found to have traces of pesticides.
Similar pesticides have been outlawed here, long ago.
I recall there was no follow up ... seems it was just hushed & no more said

 

[Patch]

was nice to see the koalas - San Diego Zoo
on the UHaul site

 

[sleepy]

I love those critters myself. Are they ever a nuisance, and if they are, then is it a matter of, they know what's right and respecting themselves against the trespasses of foolish humans?

 

[Patch]

TBH, I can't recall seeing one in the wild, but probably because they're so sedate,
I haven't noticed, even tho' I've most likely walked underneath them ...
No nuisance whatsoever

 

[Isaac Sauvage]

I really like these graphics. They offer wallpaper versions for each state, as well as featuring more graphics for other places in the state.


And then if you click "Learn More," you get a cool little menu of factoids. For example, for Ohio's Serpent Mound:

“High on a ridge in Adams County, Ohio, the Serpent Mound has puzzled Archaeologists and Historians for 200 years. Who built this 1/4-mile-long earthwork: When and why was it built? What purpose did it serve and what are the magic qualities of this mound?”

“Scientists have been trying to answer these questions since the mid-1800s. Most have come up with logical theories, based on serious research and analysis. Others have come up with more far-fetched theories, based on little to no evidence, including one published theory that claimed the mound wasn’t and old serpent, but rather the serpent from the Garden of Eden, built by none other than God himself!”

“Today, Archaeologist are much closer to knowing the truth behind the mysteries of Serpent Mound than ever before. Using Radiocarbon Dating and other technological advances, scientist have narrowed down a range of dates for the Mound’s creation and discovered other facts that help us understand the effigy better.”

“But that doesn’t mean there’s no more mystery to the Serpent Mound. The beauty of science and history is that behind each door you open you will find a whole new set of unopened doors, a whole new set of mysteries waiting to be discovered. For a thousand questions with no answers.”

So check out your state / province and see what they have.

I hope someone's able to archive this stuff, because this is quite an excellent little online museum. Including the cool little Flash applets, which will probably be the first thing to go as of January 1st, 2021.

Thanks to the late, great @sleepy for sharing this a few years ago.