A closer look
Generations of Americans confidently repeat the massive urban legend that the interstate highway system was legally required to include one mile of perfectly straight road for every five miles built so military airplanes could land during a crisis. This completely fabricated myth sounds like a brilliant piece of Cold War strategy, but the Federal Highway Administration has spent decades desperately trying to convince the public that they do not design civilian infrastructure around the erratic landing needs of lost bomber pilots. While it is true that small aircraft occasionally make terrifying emergency landings on the interstate, engineers actually design curves into the roads specifically to prevent drivers from getting dangerously bored and falling asleep at the wheel. It is genuinely impressive how an entire country just collectively agreed to believe a fake infrastructure law because it sounded vaguely patriotic
