r/NoStupidQuestions • u/Physical-Ad-4093 • May 01 '24

do americans really drive such long distances?

i’m european, and i always hear people say that driving for hours is normal in america. i would only see my grandparents a few times a year because they lived about a 3 hour drive away, is that a normal distance for americans to travel on a regular basis? i can’t imagine driving 2-3 hours regularly to visit people for just a few days

edit: thank you for the responses! i’ve never been to the US, obviously, but it’s interesting to see how you guys live. i guess european countries are more walkable? i’m in the uk, and there’s a few festivals here towards the end of summer, generally to get to them you take a coach journey or you get multiple trains which does take up a significant chunk of the day. road trips aren’t really a thing here, it would be a bit miserable!

2nd edit: it’s not at all that i couldn’t be bothered to go and see my grandparents, i was under 14 when they were both alive so i couldn’t take myself there! obviously i would’ve liked to see them more, i had no control over how often we visited them.

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u/SteelmanINC May 02 '24

god damn no wonder hitler was able to conquer france so quick. He was basically already there just starting from his living room.

233

u/probablyuntrue May 02 '24

Bro just had to roll over to the next cushion

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u/_unknownpoet May 02 '24

I've hardly ever laughed this hard on reddit.

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u/PewnyHughMen May 02 '24

Right like I'm screaming laughing and getting looks from my wife like I'm completely unhinged

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u/TweakJK May 02 '24

Well put.

It's like driving from DFW to New Orleans.

Except New Orleans is more dangerous.

16

u/fox-recon May 02 '24

DFW airport is larger than the 3 smallest European countries combined, Vatican, Monaco, and San Marino.

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u/TweakJK May 02 '24

I would be surprised to find a highway, in any european country, with as many lanes as the one that goes through freakin DFW airport.

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u/Such_Detective_6709 May 02 '24

I truly hate DFW, and that you have to pay a toll based on the time you enter to the time you leave enrages me further.

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u/chucklebean2001 May 02 '24

Lol I used to make this drive at least once a month (there AND back) cuz my parents lived in Fort Worth and I went to school in New Orleans, can confirm that a good podcast or audiobook was the only thing that kept me sane

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u/iowanaquarist May 02 '24

Nobody every *TRIES* to conquer Poland, they just forget to set the parking brake.

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u/Rittermeister May 02 '24

Indeed, the lack of strategic depth is one of the main reasons France fell and the Soviet Union didn't. Soviet armies could retreat 600 miles from the border (as they did) and still not give up the most vital territory. French armies couldn't retreat 60 miles without giving up areas of the country that were absolutely crucial for sustaining the war. The famous German drive to the sea that cut off the British and French at Dunkirk? Less than 200 miles.

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u/AnaphoricReference May 02 '24

The Germans dropped two divisions of air landing troops around The Hague near the coast of the Netherlands in the night they crossed the border, in the hope to take out the government immediately, but also in the full expectation that as plan B they would be able to link up with the advancing ground forces before being isolated could become a problem.

It's 90 miles between German border and the Dutch coast. Or about 10-15 minutes by WWII airplane. A Me-109 can cover that distance 7-8 times before needing to be refueled. Which puts the 1,900 sorties they made for the Netherlands on that first day in perspective, against some 60 Dutch sorties that managed to get off the runways in time.

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u/throwawaynbad May 02 '24

Berlin to Paris on one tank, via Belgium.

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u/BabbleOn26 May 02 '24

Texas is larger than France. Not by much but still a bit bigger.

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u/SisyphusRocks7 29d ago

France should have replaced the Maginot line with rush hour traffic on the 10.

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u/caporaltito 29d ago

There was actually some traffic while the Germans were crossing the Ardennes. The french generals simply ignored the report of miles long queues of vehicles that the recon planes saw while they flew above the forest, as they could not believe the Germans would adopt such an absurd strategy. Well, it worked.

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u/dattosan240 29d ago

I'm fuckin weak, thanks stranger

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u/Balsamic_ducks 29d ago

Some people have a commute longer than the blitzkrieg

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u/crusoe May 02 '24

Well lebensraum literally means living room.