#motels

#motels

Of the options famously offered by hip-hop group The Sugarhill Gang, motels are often the cheapest. They also poke a soft spot in the heart of nostalgia-lovers. Some might look down upon them, but a road trip wouldn't be complete without these bastions of terrible coffee and neon splendor. Last year marked the 100th anniversary of the first motor hotel in the world - the Milestone Mo-Tel in San Luis Obispo.

"Since that beginning in 1925, motels have multiplied like bunnies. They have been implicated in countless crimes and liaisons, but certain survivors have done some dramatic social climbing."

From the late 1950s into the '80s, thousands of motels proudly advertised their Magic Fingers - a little collection of vibrating electric nodes under your mattress that would give you a 15-minute 'massage' for 25 cents, inspiring creators from Kurt Vonnegut to Frank Zappa. Alas, their moment passed.