Intersting tidbit from the "Writer's Alamanac"

Ninety years ago today, in 1926, the United States Numbered Highway System was established. In the early days of automobile travel, the federal government wasn't involved in interstate roads. Various local trails had their own boosters, who gave them catchy names and collected dues from any businesses that lay on the route. The booster organizations would then put up signposts and promote the route, which brought in customers to those businesses. But it was a confusing system for travelers, who were faced with many choices and weren't sure which of the competing claims to believe. In some cases - especially out in the sparsely populated West - trails overlapped one another. And the auto associations came to be viewed with suspicion. In 1924, the Reno Gazette commented: "In nine cases out of ten these transcontinental highway associations are common nuisances and nothing else. They are more mischievous than constructive. And in many instances they are organized by clever boomers who are not interested in building roads but in obtaining salaries at the expense of an easily beguiled public." Wisconsin was the first state to step in to organize and number its trails. The federal government took up the cause and on this date unveiled a standardized numbering and signage system for United States highways.