Misc
U.S. Interstate Highways, as a Transit Map
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U.S. Interstate Highways, as a Transit Map
View the high-resolution infographic to see the most legible version.
Transit style maps are sort of a “rite of passage” for any upstart information designer.
People tend to be obsessed with them, and for good reason. What the maps lack in attention to fine details, they make up in their sheer ease of use, organization, and ability to reduce complex geography to simple, elegant shapes. They show the big picture in way that’s easy to follow, even for seemingly unrelated topics like the extensive road network of the Roman Empire.
Today’s infographic fits in with this theme, coming from designer Cameron Booth. Showcasing the network of Interstate Highways in the United States, it puts the transit map style to good use.
Note: The design shown is from about five years ago, but here’s an updated 2017 version in poster form.
The Interstate Highway System
You may know the network of roads simply as “the Interstate”, but it actually has a much longer and official sounding title: The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways. That’s because it was championed by President Eisenhower in the 1950s during his first term in office, after he saw the logistical effectiveness of the new Reichsautobahn in Germany.
Here are some facts about the Interstate Highway System that you may not know:
- Part of the justification of building the system was to have a means to evacuate citizens from major cities during nuclear attacks.
- The system was designed so that in an evacuation situation, traffic could be directed to move in all lanes in one direction.
- In today’s dollars, the cost of construction was approximately $526 billion.
- Activists got frustrated with the construction, and stopped highways in New York, Baltimore, Washington D.C., and New Orleans. As a result, some urban routes ended up as “roads to nowhere”.
- In a mile of highway, there are about 3 million tons of concrete. In comparison there are 6.6 million tons of concrete in the Hoover Dam.
- Roughly 374,000 vehicles travel on the I-405 in Los Angeles every day – no wonder it’s the city with the most traffic in the world.
Today, there are now approximately 47,856 miles (77,017 km) of highway in the system – about 6,000 miles (9,700 km) more than originally planned. Meanwhile, the Interstate Highway System accounts for one-quarter of all vehicle miles driven in the country.
Misc
Visualizing the Most Common Pets in the U.S.
Lions, tigers, and bears, oh my!—these animals do not feature on this list of popular American household pets.
Visualizing The Most Common Pets in the U.S.
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
In this graphic, we visualized the most common American household pets, based on 2023-2024 data from the American Pet Products Association (accessed via Forbes Advisor).
Figures represent the number of households that own each pet type, rather than the actual number of each animal. The “small animal” category includes hamsters, gerbils, rabbits, guinea pigs, chinchillas, mice, rats, and ferrets.
What is the Most Popular American Household Pet?
Based on this data, dogs—one of the first domesticated animals—are the most common pets in the United States. In fact, around 65 million households own a dog, and spend an average of $900 a year on their care.
Rank | Species | Households |
---|---|---|
1 | 🐶 Dog | 65M |
2 | 🐱 Cat | 47M |
3 | 🐟 Freshwater Fish | 11M |
4 | 🐰 Small Animals | 7M |
5 | 🐦 Bird | 6M |
6 | 🦎 Reptile | 6M |
7 | 🐴 Horse | 2M |
8 | 🐠 Saltwater Fish | 2M |
Note: Households can own multiple pets, and are counted for all relevant categories.
Cats rank second, at 47 million households, and these smaller felines are a little less expensive to own at $700/year according to Forbes estimates.
But aside from these two juggernauts, there are plenty of other common pet types found in households across the country.
Freshwater fish can be found in 11 million households, along with small animals—rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs—in 7 million. Meanwhile, nearly 6 million homes have birds or reptiles.
Pet Ownership is on the Rise in America
Forbes found that 66% of all American households (numbering 87 million) own at least one pet, up from 56% in 1988. One third of these (29 million) own multiple pets.
A combination of factors is driving this increase: rising incomes, delayed childbirth, and of course the impact of the pandemic which nearly cleared out animal shelters across the globe.
America’s loneliness epidemic may also be a factor. Fledgling research has shown that single-individual households with pets recorded lower rates of loneliness during the pandemic than those without a pet.
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