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Comment by zabzonk | Hacker News Reader

I came across both on the same day back in the early 1970s. I was hitching up the A1 to Edinburgh and got stuck, then I came across a hog trying to cross the very busy road, so I grabbed it and ran across and dumped it in the verge. A little later, still with thumb stuck out, I heard rustling in the undergrowth, and this black and white critter waddled past me as if I wasn't there.

Kind of sad that people don't hitch anymore. You come across all sorts of stuff and people. My little brother was in a garage band and wrote a song called "Stick Out Your Thumb And Have Some Fun", which I liked.

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I'd love if hitchhiking made a revival. I've tried it once, but didn't get far. Well, actually, I didn't get anywhere at all!

There's something about looking personable, well-groomed and attentive, and still being ignored by a succession of mostly empty vehicles that takes a toll on one's ego :(

Good on you for rescuing the hedgehog though!

> didn't get anywhere at all

I know, it was a bit soul destroying. In my experience, the thing to do was not to try too hard (a bit of Zen here, perhaps). I remember being dropped at a roundabout outside Doncaster UK where there were already a couple of other guys, which is usually the kiss of death for all concerned. So I went up the road's embankment, laid down and slept for an hour or so - it was a sunny day. When I woke the other guys had got lifts and I stuck out my thumb and got one too.

The thing about hitching is that you want a little money in your pocket so that if you really do get stuck somewhere you can maybe get a bus to somewhere better, and you don't feel too powerless and miserable. Also, hitch with a pretty woman - me and my ex-wife hitched Edinburgh-Yorkshire-Wales and back, doing camping. The last bit back to Edinburgh was in a Rolls Royce!

Ha, thanks for the tips! Knowing me though I'd lie down for a 'nap' and wake up eight hours later!

Re. public transport, indeed the occasion when I tried hitchhiking was after missing the one of the two twice-a-day buses on a recent journey of mine from a remote village. However, I eventually caught a succession of unlikely connections further on; I ended up arriving earlier than expected even without successfully hitchhiking, so all's well that ends well!

There were still quite a few hitchhikers in the mid-1990s and I would always pick them up. I heard some tall tales but I never felt threatened. People have become absurdly risk-averse.

It is increasingly illegal, for the drivers too. They don't want people walking on highways, nor cars stopping randomly.

The people who deliver new cars in the UK are well known for hitchhiking home. I think they are on a fixed fee, so hitching saves them money. You will see them holding their 'trade plates' (temporary registration plates that dealers can use without having to tax and insure the car registration) out to let other professional drivers know they are professionals. I met one in the Midlands once who had already driven to Edinburgh and hitched all the way back in the day. You often see them on the exits of motorway services where a lorry driver has dropped them so they can find someone going their way.

I used to thumb a lot, standing by the side of the road you often see these car delivery lads, but only briefly; always picked up within a few minutes. I toyed with the idea of getting myself some fake trade-plates but thought better of it (they're mostly pretty hard looking blokes ...)

Also works if you're a serial killer.

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