Before a calm voice told you to turn left in 400 feet, getting somewhere new meant folded paper maps, handwritten notes, and the occasional wrong turn down a gravel road that went nowhere. Road navigation has changed more dramatically than almost any other part of travel — and we barely stopped to notice.
Mar 13, 2026
A century ago, traveling to Europe meant packing for weeks, boarding a ocean liner, and watching the American coastline disappear for seven days. Today, you can leave JFK after dinner and land in Paris before your morning coffee gets cold. The story of how that happened — and what it cost us — is wilder than most people realize.
Mar 13, 2026