Frazz by Jef Mallett for July 25, 2017

Sounds like an early interpretation of Geoguessr.

We usta play with license plates. Quebec, New Mexico and Arizona were highly prized.

She didn’t drive up I-15 past the exit for Zzyzx, I bet…

That’s because that ‘old person’ believes that sympathy for a youngster who can’t see beyond her ‘wants’ is not as helpful to her as pointing out how she might use her imagination and inventiveness to supply entertainment.

Always been that way – always will be.

When was the last time we considered someone over 30 as being old? Even Frazz is getting on the old people bandwagon in the last panel. On long trips my dad would tell us to count the number of lines we pass on the highway, then divide by a certain number, and that would tell us how many miles we had gone. I usually fell asleep before getting to 100 lines, which I think was his intention all along. Literal hwy hypnosis.

My favorite was spotting the different locations advertised on the sides of U-Haul Trucks! Try it, you will be amazed at how many different ones there are, since they are rotated every few years.

Bah, X is easy. Unless you’re off the highway or way out in the boonies, you see one every mile or so. All those exit signs.

Now Q and Z on the other hand… Since we played on the same route most of the time we knew where the Dairy Queen, the Quality Farm and Fleet and the Antique store were, also the Azar’s Big Boy. I know there were other spots for Z but 40 years later, can’t recall any of them.

Zanesville and Xenia Ohio.

We were farm kids. We counted horses, or cows. Cows are easier. County, and divide by four, although that’s just an average.

I mostly played tailgunner in the back of my parents station wagon, shared comic books with my siblings and car watched, mostly looking for interesting cars. Easier to do back in the 60s and 70s.

I could always coast on this game, because I knew that 10 blocks away from home was the University of Wisconsin Extension’s Enzyme Institute, so I could always finish up with a bang.

Must not be much of a lawn at that school.

My family plays and sometimes devises quite a few oral games during long waits. That should satisfy all but the kids who crave visual stimulation.

Old Goodman/Todson TV game shows and similar parlor games (but not charades) can be played. Most people have had so many jobs, I have contended that even What’s My Line is feasible if you include your age at the time.

I love the Alphabet Game

I still play the Alphabet game myself on long road trips :)

The “Z” isn’t hard in rural Illinois (not an expressway). Lots of “No Passing Zone” signs.