Walking: The New Trend

Between May 2002 and December 2004, Caleb Smith walked every street in Manhattan. The press, including a journalism school classmate, wrote about his exploits.

Today, All Things Considered aired an interview with a woman who walked all the streets of Minneapolis. Is this a new trend?

If I did something like that now, it would seem kind of derivative to me. (On his Web site, Smith mentions hearing from people who have tackled walks in Minneapolis as well as San Francisco, Christ Church, New Zealand, and Amsterdam.) I've always thought walking across the country might be fun, setting off like Forrest Gump, perhaps, and not stopping until, well, I guess Forrest Gump stopped when he felt like stopping. But I'd love to do a coast-to-coast tour, if not on foot then by car. I think in some ways, that impulse appeals to the side of me that prizes lists and organization. I'm fascinated by the thought of being able to catalog -- through words and pictures -- all the places I would visit.

Filed in: Culture Oddities