The "Hitch Hiker's Depot" in 1939 was a bench under a sign at a gas station

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Originally published at: The "Hitch Hiker's Depot" in 1939 was a bench under a sign at a gas station | Boing Boing

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Back when I was in the service, the surest way to get a ride while hitchhiking was to wear your uniform. You would never have to wait very long before someone stopped to pick you up.

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“It happen One Night” 1934

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I tried to find out if hitchhiking was really all that dangerous. There were certainly a few high profile cases, but outside of them, I couldn’t find any reports of attacks.

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Hitchhiking was cool until the 24 Hour news cycle found serial killers so interesting. So, right up until the late 70s-1980s. Once the serial killers started getting so much coverage hitchhiking fell off dramatically.

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I can’t comment on how “safe” or “dangerous” it is, but it was still fairly common when I was living in France (five years ago now), and France is hardly (IMO) a super ‘safe’ place. I had a friend who basically crossed the entire country with her (not small) dog - it apparently was easier than any of us expected.

Though, I think it’s probably fallen off with the popularity of ‘blabla’ car (an actual ride sharing app/website), since that’s overall a lot more reliable, etc.

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In Cuba it’s a main means of travel between cities. Picking up hitchhikers is socially obligatory. At many of the stops there’s an amarillo who, for a few cents, helps flag down cars and get you where you need to go.

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Those were different times. Cars were still relatively new, it’s not like you would really hitch on a horse with a lone rider, but I’ll bet people with wagons used to pick up riders all the time.

I hitched some when I was in college, never more than 20 miles, my only weird ride was a drunk who stopped to get more booze while we were driving.

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Hitchhiking was a main mode of transport for me and my friends back in the 70’s, until we had cars. I even recall my mother telling me I should hitch when asked how I should get somewhere. I recall knowing I was late to work when a regular picked me up.
Most memorable ride was when I asked a driver why he had a pistol in his console and was told he had just come back from shark hunting. Different times for sure.

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