Daily conversation: What is the worst possible answer?

[Big John]

10-13-25

How do you define the Midwest?

"es" is the mid part of "west"

[xonhulu]

10-13-25

How do you define the Midwest?

I'd use a dictionary.

[Henry]

10/12/25

Why hasn't I-69 been completed yet?

Same reason I-74 has not been completed yet: Because extending out-of-place 2dis hundreds of miles is a really bad idea.

10-13-25

How do you define the Midwest?

That big region between the Sierra Nevadas and Appalachia.

[Roadgeekteen]

10/14/25:

Why did they decommission US 66?

[GaryV]

10/14/25:

Why did they decommission US 66?

So the Cars movie could be made.

[xonhulu]

10/14/25:

Why did they decommission US 66?

The potential liability from drivers injured from all the kicks they were getting.

[Max Rockatansky]

10/14/25:

Why did they decommission US 66?

Why does the shadowy organization know as "they" do anything?  Best I can tell it is just evil doing for evil's sake. 

[kurumi]

10/14/25:

Why did they decommission US 66?

"They" was one person, Opabinio Burgess, Adjunct Secretary of the Standing Committee on Highways, Route Numbering Group, of the American Association of State Highway Officials (FHWA).

Fueled by hate, enabled by the media, and helped by a governing body that relied on handshake norms rather than enforcing the law, Burgess carried out his jihad against all US route numbers divisible by 11. Fortunately he was only partially successful in his plans.

US 11: untouched. This one was too popular, and he was planning to get around to this one last.
US 22: he didn't know about this one
US 33: on his enemies list, but his golfing buddy bribed him to look the other way
US 44: twice a year, for more than a decade, he tried to change this to US 8
US 55: gone.
US 66: also gone.
US 77: truncated at Sioux City
US 88: renumbered to US 160. Ironically, he circulated the idea (which became true) that this number was a nazi dogwhistle
US 99: gone.
US 110: gone.
US 121: he passed away in 1980, before this was an idea
US 143: deleted.
US 154: deleted.
US 165: passed through his home town and was spared
US 176: truncated; it used to go coast to coast. Truncation was unfortunate because this highway is needed.
US 187: not sure
US 209: he insisted that Kerhonkson, NY, where 44 and 209 meet, was a gateway to Hell
US 220: the I-99 thing (and keeping US 220) was Bud Shuster's middle finger to Opabinio Burgess
US 232: he completely erased this from all historical documents and maps. Most people will insist it never existed. A great success that he intended to adapt to other routes.

[1995hoo]

10/14/25:

Why did they decommission US 66?

They were concerned that the same people—obviously people of exceptionally high intelligence—who find it unbearably confusing that there are multiple Interstate Highways numbered "695" would be confounded by the duplication of the number "66" between the US route and the Interstate Highway that both bore that number. They didn't want those people making wrong turns, so they decided it was best to delete US-66.

[Scott5114]

10/14/25:

Why did they decommission US 66?

It is not a prime number, and they like prime numbers very greatly.

10-13-25

How do you define the Midwest?

[xonhulu]

"They" was one person, Opabinio Burgess, Adjunct Secretary of the Standing Committee on Highways, Route Numbering Group, of the American Association of State Highway Officials (FHWA).

Fueled by hate, enabled by the media, and helped by a governing body that relied on handshake norms rather than enforcing the law, Burgess carried out his jihad against all US route numbers divisible by 11.

I met him once. He stole candy from my dog and kicked my baby. One bad hombre.

[Mav94]

10/14/25:

Why did they decommission US 66?

The states felt that it was an unfair advantage for Bobby Troup in his feud with Chet Baker.

Also, I am old.

[Henry]

10/14/25:

Why did they decommission US 66?

It was outdated by '70s and '80s standards, and AASHTO declared I-40 and other similar highways the next great thing. Another factor in this decommissioning is that the aerodynamic Corvettes ('63 and later) were such poor fits for the old road when compared to the first generation, so the Interstates were tailored to their better performance and handling abilities.

[TheCatalyst31]

10-13-25

How do you define the Midwest?

Any states west of the Appalachians that I think are mid.

10/14/25:

Why did they decommission US 66?

To send a message to children of the 1950s that their youthful days were over and would never come back. It's also why they canceled M*A*S*H.

[kkt]

10/14/25:

Why did they decommission US 66?

Professional highway engineers have no sense of humor and did not appreciate a popular song about their work.

[MikeTheActuary]

10/14/25:

Why did they decommission US 66?

The Office of Redundancy Department was on holiday that week.

[MikeTheActuary]

15 October 2025:

Why did they designate I-99?

[GaryV]

15 October 2025:

Why did they designate I-99?

Those who were bemoaning the decommissioning of US-66 got it designated as a sort of tribute. They changed US to I and inverted the 66 to 99.

[Roadgeekteen]

I-99 was established as a conspiracy by the Pennslyvania government and Penn State to take media attention off of the Jerry Sandusky scandal.

[1995hoo]

15 October 2025:

Why did they designate I-99?

They had made arrangements to film a biography of a well-known hockey player and were going to use Pennsylvania to stand in for some of the places he played in his junior years before turning pro. They named the highway after the movie as a promotional stunt, which then backfired when the movie was cancelled because the player's NHL team didn't give him time off to participate in filming.

[Henry]

15 October 2025:

Why did they designate I-99?

There were plans for an I-99 along the Atlantic coast that was to run from Savannah to New York as far back as 1968, when the system was expanded to include 1,500 more miles through the Federal Highway Aid Act. As originally proposed, I-99 was to be the ultimate bypass for Fayetteville, Richmond, Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia, while providing Charleston, Wilmington, Norfolk and Atlantic City with a north-south corridor. But by the late '80s, the project was cancelled, and the I-99 number was suddenly up for grabs. The late Bud Shuster realized that the coastal Interstate was never going to be built, so he took it for himself, and the rest is history.

[xonhulu]

15 October 2025:

Why did they designate I-99?

Bud Shuster also had a dog/baby-related vendetta against Opabinio Burgess.

[Big John]

Schuster had a hard on for Agent 99 in Get Smart.