Hacking is a Baltimore phenomenon that allows citizens to get cheap "illegal" rides across town. A hack indicates they want a ride by motioning their pointer finger towards the ground as they walk along the street. Inevitably a driver will stop, the two parties will negotiate a price and a ride will be given. It is both a dangerous and necessary part of the blighted Baltimore economy.
posted by cloeburner on Nov 9, 2009 - 84 comments

Fingering What Make Us Human: Did a gene enhancer humanise our thumbs?
posted by homunculus on Sep 7, 2008 - 41 comments

Pictures from hitchhiking across America. {via}
posted by dobbs on Nov 29, 2007 - 29 comments

Luke Vaughn has no car, but he wanted to travel from his home in Eugene, OR to the East Coast for the holidays. So he asked his fellow fans of the show with zefrank for a little help. He's becoming the Human Baton, and with the help of dozens of internet strangers, he's started his trip cross-country. They're each putting a pin on his jacket, posting photos, and blogging it. Oh, and they're planning meetups with him all through his route.
posted by Plutor on Dec 12, 2006 - 10 comments

Wondering what to do with your disquiet? Check out Protest.Net and see who's taking it to the streets in your area. Angry, but your town isn't listed? Don't worry, maybe you can find a ride on HitchHikers. Disgusted, but prefer a more decorous exchange? So do the folks at Progressive Secretary.
posted by owhydididoit on Oct 11, 2006 - 14 comments

Hitch 50. Starting at 10:00am Tuesday in NYC, these two guys will be attempting to visit all 50 state capitals in 50 days or less by hitchhiking. (No word yet on how they're going to get to Honolulu.) Despite falling out of fashion in the US in the 1980s, thumbing a ride is still a safe and sustainable means of transportation, even for female hitchers, and those who'd rather call it by other names. Good luck Scotty and Fiddy.
posted by toxic on Oct 10, 2006 - 20 comments

What Killed Hitchhiking? Well, some people don't think it is dead.
posted by BrodieShadeTree on Dec 17, 2004 - 30 comments

The 24 Hour Hitch. Howell Parry, a student at Manchester in the early 90s, undertook three fund-raising 24-Hr Hitchhikes with the aim of getting as far as possible. Parry kept logs of his second and third trips (the first hadn't been too successful, getting only as far as London). Nomadic Simes, a wandering web designer, presents hitchhiking tips. See also history's hitchhiking record holders.
posted by nthdegx on Sep 28, 2003 - 6 comments

american-pictures.com
Arriving in America with only $40 for a short visit, a young Dane, Jacob Holdt ended up staying over five years, hitchhiking more than 100,000 miles throughout the USA.
He sold blood plasma twice weekly to be able to buy film. He lived in more than 400 homes - from the poorest migrant workers to America's wealthiest families such as the Rockefellers.
He joined the Indian rebellion in Wounded Knee, followed criminals in the ghettos during muggings, sneaked inside to work in Southern slave camps and infiltrated secret Ku Klux Klan meetings as well as Republican presidential campaign headquarters. See his work !
posted by bureaustyle on Apr 24, 2003 - 22 comments

Australians! Give Ramon a bed for the night.. 'After almost 8 months of travelling through 13 countries, I took a break back home again in January 2002. Now it's time to hit the road again. I have put my mind on Australia.' I really enjoyed meeting Ramon last year, and it seems he is ready to hit the road again.. so take a chance, and invite him over. Or if you would rather read the weblog of a guy who has just been attacked by natives in Borneo, check out Marlow Bidforth's backpack adventure.
posted by wackybrit on Feb 12, 2002 - 5 comments

Let him stay for a day. Dutch student and weblogger Ramon Stoppelenburg plans to hitchhike around the world... from one submitted place-to-stay to the next on a no-budget basis. We can vouch for his sanity and wish him safe trip. Why not offer him your sofa for a night?
posted by prolific on Mar 12, 2001 - 14 comments