I laughed at my brother for keeping a paper map in his truck, then mine died on I-80 outside Cheyenne

Elliot Shah · 2026-10-01T03:35:04.737755+00:00

I used to say paper maps were for old guys who can't work a phone, and I gave my brother a hard time about the atlas he keeps behind his seat. Then two weeks ago my phone screen went black in the middle of a stretch of I-80 west of Cheyenne with no signal, and I sat there for 40 minutes not knowing which exit had gas. He showed up, pulled out that atlas, and got us to a station in 15 minutes flat. What got me was how he knew where we were just by the mile markers, not by waiting for the blue dot to load. I still use my phone 90 percent of the time, but there's a folded map in my glovebox now. Anyone else keep a paper backup, or am I just old now?

💡Thought Shares

Loading…

I laughed at my brother for keeping a paper map in his truck, then mine died on I-80 outside Cheyenne | Bad Takes Anonymous - Thought Shares