Trivia Tuesday, September 23

Last week’s answer

Question: How did Route 66 earn its name?

Answer: Federal planners thought ‘66’ was catchier than ‘62’

In 1925, a group of federal planners proposed Route 60, a highway from Chicago to Los Angeles. The name changed to Route 62 a year later. This wouldn’t be the final title, however.

The federal planners met in Springfield, Missouri, in 1926 to finalize the road. They decided U.S. Highway 66 — also to be referred as Route 66 — was catchier and sounded better.

A telegram from the meeting sent to Washington, D.C., reads “Regarding Chicago-Los Angeles Road…if California, Arizona, New Mexico and Illinois will accept Sixty-Six instead of Sixty we are inclined to agree to this change. We prefer Sixty-Six to Sixty-Two.”

The highway became one of the most famous roadways in the U.S. It spanned about 2,448 miles across two-thirds of North America. Route 66 was decommissioned in 1985, but many sections were later designated as historic and preserved.

Sources: The History Museum on the Square, National Park Service