The first bicycle, the Draisine, was invented in 1817. It had two wheels but no pedals, people walked it along.
The first car had only three wheels.
In 1930, 2 men drove their car backward from New York City to Los Angeles and back—nonstop. It took them 42 days.
1949, Chrysler introduces first cars made with ignition keys.
In 2003, a Japanese train set an all-time world record for train speed when its MAGLEV (magnetic levitation) train reached 361 mph.
The interstate system totals 46,300 miles. All interstate highways are marked by blue signs with red tops.
- The north-south highways have odd numbers with 1 or 2 digits, usually including a 5. The lowest numbers are on the West Coast and increase as they move east. For example, I-5 is on the West Coast, I-95 on the East Coast.
- The east-west highways have even numbers with 1 or 2 digits. The lowest numbers are in the South and increase as they go north. For example, I-4 runs through Florida; I-96 is the northernmost route.
- An interstate highway with 3 digits is a connector or offshoot of a main route.
U.S. routes are posted in black letters on white signs.
- The north-south routes have odd numbers, with 1 to 3 digits. These numbers increase from east to west (just the opposite of the interstate system). For example, U.S. 1 runs along the East Coast; U.S. 101 runs along the West Coast.
- The east-west routes have even numbers, with 1 to 3 digits. The lowest numbers are in the North and increase moving south (just the opposite of the interstates). For example, U.S. 2 runs along the Canadian border; U.S. 90 runs through Texas.
