Karl Benz's wife, Bertha, took the world's first long-distance road trip in 1888 without telling her husband, effectively inventing the concept of joyriding.

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Karl Benz's wife, Bertha, took the world's first long-distance road trip in 1888 without telling her husband, effectively inventing the concept of joyriding. She drove 66 miles to visit her mother, solving severe mechanical issues along the way with a long hatpin and her own garter. She even invented the concept of brake pads by asking a local cobbler to nail thick leather to the wooden brakes when they started failing on hills. Today, we have luxury vehicles equipped with artificial intelligence, lane-assist, and heated massage seats, yet modern drivers will still have a complete mental breakdown if their wireless Bluetooth connection drops for three seconds while navigating to a drive-thru window located two blocks from their house