Hit mile marker 77,777 on my old Ford and that felt way too specific

I was driving back from Moline last Tuesday and my odometer rolled over to exactly 77,777 miles. It's a 2003 F-150 I bought used, and seeing that number made me realize how many trips and repairs that truck has survived. Has anyone else had a random milestone like that make you stop and think about what you've put a vehicle through?

3 comments

3 Comments

blakestone20d ago

Did you catch yourself talking to the truck when you saw that number? My old Chevy hit 222,222 and I swear I patted the dashboard like it was a dog.

jadej5020d ago

Oh man, I once caught myself apologizing to my F-250 for taking a pothole too hard. Said "sorry buddy" out loud before I even realized it. So yeah, I definitely would have patted that dashboard. But here's what I wonder - do you think we do this because the truck feels like a living thing to us, or is it just some weird reflex from years of talking to dogs and kids?

bennett.harper19d ago

Oh man, I read somewhere that humans are just wired to anthropomorphize anything we spend a lot of time with. @jadej50 it makes total sense that you'd apologize to your F-250 after a pothole. You're in that thing every day, it probably feels like a partner in crime more than a hunk of metal. I remember reading a study about people naming their Roombas and getting sad when they broke down. It's not just trucks, it's anything that has a personality or helps us get through the day. So yeah, patting the dashboard after hitting a cool milestone like 222,222 is basically just instinct kicking in.