On November 12, 1939, ordinary traffic on the roads of Boston turned into a colossal traffic chaos, which history remembers with a smile and a slight horror. The reason? A 27-ton giant on wheels, whose purpose was to conquer the icy wastes of Antarctica, but before that the "monster" managed to paralyze thousands of American drivers.
We are talking about the Antarctic Snow Cruiser, also known as "Penguin I" - a machine created for the expedition of the famous Admiral Richard Byrd. This futuristic project with unearthly proportions and huge tires for that time is on its way to the port of Boston, from where it is to set off on a sea voyage to the Ice Continent. Its very appearance - huge, slow and absolutely atypical for the road - attracts attention like a magnet.
The result of this spectacular sight and the heavy, dragging gait of the cruiser is an absolute collapse of the infrastructure. Drivers, who stopped to stare at the incredible machine, cause a chain reaction that grew into a staggering traffic jam with a length of more than thirty kilometers.
Estimates show that 70,000 vehicles fell into this unprecedented trap, which were forced to wait patiently (or not so patiently) for the road to be cleared by this 27-ton "whale" on land. The 1939 event remains an iconic moment in the annals of road transport, proving that even the most ambitious dreams of scientific discovery can cause a logistical nightmare in the urban jungle.