The Definitive Road Trip? It's Data-Driven
Spring is here, and a number of families are plotting road trips for school break.
Randy Olson, a Ph.D. candidate at Michigan State University and a self-proclaimed "data tinkerer," believes he's devised a route that could allow a family to hit a landmark in each of the Lower 48 states, from Grand Canyon in Arizona to the Gateway Arch in St. Louis to the Statue of Liberty in New York, in just nine days of driving.
"About 9.33 days, if you drove non-stop," Olson clarifies.
That means no time sleeping or using the restroom — and no bad traffic.
Olson tells NPR's Scott Simon that he and his team spent a few days deciding where to go, based on a set of criteria: They had to hit at least one spot in each state; they had to be national parks, natural landmarks or national historic sites; and they had to be reachable by car without leaving the U.S.
The team aimed for a mix of big-city and rural locations. They used TripAdvisor to find the best family friendly places.
"Once we chose 50 stops around the U.S., that's when the algorithm kicked in," he says.
The optimal but improbable road trip takes in major landmarks such as Acadia National Park, Lincoln's home, and even Frank Lloyd Wright's home in Wisconsin — known as Taliesin. More obscure spots make the map as well: the C.W. Parker Carousel Museum in Leavenworth, Kan.; the Ashfall Fossil Beds in Royal, Neb.; and Woodward Avenue in Detroit.
His interactive map details all the sites.
Olson says the algorithm can shape excursions beyond this round-the-country ramble. He's used it to plan tours of hot spots in major cities and a road trips around continents.
"And also," he says, "last month I used a very similar algorithm, strangely enough, to solve the Where's Waldo children's book as well."
He means the popular series by Martin Handford, in which a character in a red and white striped hat "hides" in detailed illustrations crammed with seemingly hundreds of people in various places. As a kid, Olson spent hours poring over the pages, trying to find Waldo.
"I finally decided, now as a Ph.D. student, I can actually analyze this and sort of find the optimal route to look through the page to find Waldo," he says.
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Transcript
SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
It's officially spring. A number of families may plot road trips when school break comes. Randy Olson is a Ph.D. candidate at Michigan State and a self-proclaimed data tinkerer. He believes he's devised a route that could allow a family to hit a landmark in each of the lower 48 states. From Grand Canyon in Arizona to the Gateway Arch in St. Louis to the Statue of Liberty and beyond with just nine days of driving, but no time sleeping or using the restroom - start planning now. Mr. Olson joins us from Michigan State University. Thanks so much for being with us.
RANDY OLSON: Hi, thank you for having me.
SIMON: So how long would this trip take?
OLSON: Approximately about 9.33 days if you drove nonstop.
SIMON: Yeah, but that's not stopping to eat, use the bathroom, sleep, shower...
OLSON: Yeah.
SIMON: Imagine that car, you know, like even two days into a trip like that.
OLSON: (Laughter) I'd imagine it'd be pretty smelly by that point.
SIMON: So how did you plot this optimal route?
OLSON: Yeah, so plotting the route sort of started by picking where exactly we wanted to go. So we sort of sat down and we actually spent a few days, you know, setting out some criteria. So once we chose 50 stops around the U.S., that's when the algorithm kicked in.
SIMON: All right, I understand landmarks you have listed like, you know, Statue of Liberty or Lincoln's home in Springfield, Ill. or Taliesin - Frank Lloyd Wright's home in Wisconsin - C.W. Parker Carousel Museum in Kansas?
OLSON: Yeah, so basically we were using this criteria that we came to at the beginning of the project, which was we had to hit at least one spot in each state. It had to be a national natural landmark or a historic site or something like that. And so when we took these lists of the landmarks in each state, we then sort of relied on TripAdvisor to tell us, well, where's a good spot that would be family-friendly and so on.
SIMON: OK, now, does this also explain, for example, why in Illinois, it's Lincoln's home in Springfield, which is a great place to see, but not any of the architectural marvels in Chicago because that way you don't get caught up in traffic or have to go that far north?
OLSON: Exactly. I mean, we weren't particularly trying to avoid big cities, but we were trying to sort of get a nice mix of the countryside and big cities throughout the trip.
SIMON: Let me try and put this nicely. Does the algorithm you develop have any use other than this utterly ridiculous trip you've plotted?
OLSON: (Laughter) Absolutely, it does.
SIMON: All right.
OLSON: So I mean, I followed up on this trip with sort of other road trips - you know, road trips hitting major cities in the U.S., road trips hitting major sites in Europe. I've also started using it when you're walking around a city as a tourist and trying to hit all the hotspots there. And also, actually last month, I used a very similar algorithm, strangely enough, to solve the "Where's Waldo" children's book as well.
SIMON: What do you mean you solved "Where's Waldo?"
OLSON: Well, so the trouble of the "Where's Waldo?..."
SIMON: Wait, hold on for a moment. I want to tell my daughters don't listen. Go ahead.
OLSON: (Laughter) Yeah, cover their ears please. So basically, the goal of "Where's Waldo?" is you're trying to find a guy that's always wearing the same clothes - you know, it's red and white stripes and beanie hat and everything. And I remember as a kid I'd spend hours poring over this book trying to find Waldo, you know, and, oh, my gosh, where is he? And so I finally decided, well, you know what? Now as a Ph.D. student, I can actually analyze this and sort of find the optimal route to look through the page to find Waldo.
SIMON: (Laughter) This is your revenge on Waldo, isn't it?
OLSON: Exactly.
SIMON: Randy Olson, a Ph.D. candidate at Michigan State University, researching artificial intelligence. Thanks so much for being with us.
OLSON: Great chatting with you.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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