70. Horatio Nelson Jackson: The first person to drive an automobile across America

In 1903 a Horatio Nelson Jackson, an eccentric doctor from Vermont, makes a $50 bet that he can be the first person to drive an automobile coast to coast in under 90 days. Despite not even owning a car, having no driving experience, and no road maps to plan the route Jackson heads out within five days of making the wager. The story was first written in the book, Horatio's Drive: America's first road trip, by Dayton Duncan, who would later unite with documentary film maker Ken Burns to create a feature PBS documentary film.

Highlights from the show include:

What makes a really good road trip?

Road tripping basics

Dayton earliest road trip memory

Dayton's first impression of Ken Burns

The Brooklyn Bridge film

The most unusual $50 wager at a California social club

Discovering Horatio Nelson Jackson

Settling on the Winton touring car

The start of the 1903 trip in San Francisco

Documenting the trip