Most drivers stick to ordinary highways, but the world hides a handful of truly extraordinary routes. In this roundup of 10 unusual motorways, we’ll take you on a global tour of roads that sound, float, soar, and even house a stubborn homeowner. Buckle up and enjoy the ride!

Discover 10 Unusual Motorways That Defy Expectations

10 The Highway That Sings

Speeding is a leading cause of crashes, yet New Mexico’s Department of Transportation has turned the problem into a melody. Along Route 66, a set of rumble strips on the right‑hand side emits the patriotic tune “America the Beautiful” when a vehicle cruises at exactly 72 km/h (45 mph). The musical cue not only rewards drivers for obeying the limit but also keeps them alert, combating the fatigue that often leads to accidents.

Drivers hear the anthem only when they maintain the prescribed speed, turning the road itself into a giant instrument. By slowing down to enjoy the tune, motorists also gain a better view of the surrounding desert landscape, turning a safety measure into a scenic experience.

The project was funded by the National Geographic Channel as part of its series Crowd Control, which experiments with human behavior. The channel’s involvement turned a practical traffic solution into a headline‑grabbing, road‑side concert.

9 The Highway With A House In The Middle

Imagine refusing to move when a highway is planned right through your front yard. That’s exactly what 67‑year‑old Luo Baogen and his 65‑year‑old wife did in China. When authorities announced a new road to a railway station, they offered compensation that the couple deemed insufficient for rebuilding their home.

Undeterred, the government proceeded, constructing a four‑lane highway that wrapped around their five‑story residence, creating a literal “nail house” perched amid traffic. Chinese law protects private property from forced demolition, leading to several high‑profile standoffs like this one.

Eventually, Baogen accepted a payout of 260,000 yuan (about $41,000) and the house was demolished, allowing the road to continue unimpeded. The couple chose anonymity, weary of the media spotlight their unique situation attracted.

8 The Highway Through A Runway

Gibraltar’s cramped geography forces a remarkable compromise: Winston Churchill Avenue, the peninsula’s busiest road, literally runs across the Gibraltar International Airport’s runway. Every time a plane lands or takes off, massive barriers seal the highway, stopping all traffic until the aircraft passes.

The intertwining of road and runway creates safety challenges for both drivers and pilots. Litter or debris left on the runway can jeopardize aircraft, prompting strict warnings to keep the strip spotless.

With only about 30 flights a week, the disruption is manageable, but plans are afoot to tunnel the road beneath the runway. The proposed underground passage would eliminate the stop‑and‑go routine, boosting safety and traffic flow.

7 The Road With The Highest Speed Limit

If you crave velocity beyond the ordinary, the High Speed Test Track at Holloman Air Force Base offers a sign that reads “Mach 10.” This isn’t a speed‑trap; it’s an invitation to celebrate breaking the sound barrier, not a ticket‑issuing menace.

Built in the late 1940s and early 1950s, the track isn’t meant for casual cruising. It serves as a proving ground for rockets, parachutes, and seat‑belt technologies. In 1954, Captain John P. Stapp rode the Sonic Wind Rocket Sled 1 to a record‑breaking 1,017 km/h (632 mph), a feat still revered today.

The closest any other driver has come to the posted Mach 10 limit was Mach 8.5, achieved with a later rocket sled. The track remains a testament to human ambition and engineering daring.

6 The Atlantic Ocean Road

Norway’s Atlanterhavsveien, known as the Atlantic Ocean Road, stretches 8.3 km (5.2 mi) along a jagged coastline, linking islands via a series of bridges, causeways, and viaducts. Originally conceived as a single bridge, the project morphed into this iconic ribbon of road after six years of construction.

The build faced twelve hurricanes and a budget of 12 million Norwegian kroner (roughly $1.5 million). When it opened on July 7, 1989, it earned the title “Norwegian Construction of the Century” and quickly became a national tourist route.

Tourists and cyclists flock to its dramatic sea‑level views, and eight of its bridges even feature dedicated fishing landings, blending utility with pure scenic wonder.

5 The Tallest Bridge In The World

The Millau Viaduct, completed in 2004, towers 343 m (1,125 ft) above the Tarn valley, making it the world’s tallest bridge. French President Jacques Chirac praised it as a “marvel of art and architecture,” while architect Lord Norman Foster and engineer Michel Virlogeux oversaw its sleek design.

Spanning 2,460 m (8,070 ft), the bridge was built to ease traffic between Paris and Barcelona. Construction cost roughly €400 million ($440 million) and was financed privately by Eiffage, the firm behind the Eiffel Tower. Tolls collected until at least 2080 (or as early as 2044 if profitability so dictates) fund its upkeep.

On clear days, the viaduct appears to float among the clouds, dwarfing even the Eiffel Tower, and offering drivers an unforgettable high‑altitude crossing.

4 The Extraterrestrial Highway

Nevada State Highway 375, affectionately dubbed the “Extraterrestrial Highway,” stretches 158 km (98 mi) through the stark desert of the American Southwest. The moniker stems from a long‑standing tradition of UFO sightings reported by travelers along the route.

The highway’s fame skyrocketed after engineer Bob Lazar claimed on television in 1989 to have worked on alien spacecraft at nearby Area 51. The state capitalized on the buzz, officially naming the road during a ceremony attended by the lead actors of the movie Independence and Fox executives.

While UFO lore captivates the imagination, most sightings have mundane explanations. The road also skirts Nellis Air Force Base, a hub for secret aircraft and missile testing since the 1950s, adding a tangible layer of intrigue.

3 The Highway Without Vehicles

M‑185 winds around Mackinac Island, Michigan, and holds the distinction of being America’s only car‑free highway. Spanning 13.4 km (8.3 mi), it’s reserved for pedestrians, horses, carriages, and bicycles, a ban that dates back to the 1890s when locals protested the “mechanical monster” of early automobiles.

The island’s 1898 ordinance still stands, with only a few exceptions: a police Jeep assists elderly residents in winter, and snowmobiles are permitted for children over 12. Even electric bikes are barred to protect the island’s horses.

Occasional mishaps occur, typically tourists who ride while intoxicated, but overall the highway offers a tranquil, vehicle‑free experience reminiscent of a bygone era.

2 The Underwater Motorway

The Chesapeake Bay Bridge‑Tunnel, celebrated among modern engineering’s “seven wonders,” spans 37 km (23 mi) of water, linking Virginia’s mainland to the Eastern Shore via four artificial islands, two high‑level bridges, and two submerged tunnels each 1.6 km (1 mi) long.

Conceived in 1956 and championed by Lucius J. Kellam Jr., the project cost nearly $200 million. The U.S. Navy initially opposed a solid bridge, fearing it would block naval access, prompting the inclusion of the underwater tunnels to satisfy military concerns.

Extreme weather can close the bridge‑tunnel 15‑20 times a year, with wind gusts strong enough to lift cars off the road. These closures ensure safety amid the Bay’s notorious storms.

1 The Highest Highway

The Karakoram Highway climbs to an astonishing 5,000 m (16,000 ft), making it the world’s highest paved international road. Stretching 1,300 km (800 mi), it links Pakistan and China through the rugged Karakoram range, a joint venture completed in 1986 after a decade of grueling construction.

Every mile claimed a life, underscoring the perilous nature of the project. Today, the route remains hazardous, plagued by terrorist attacks, frequent landslides that can bury entire villages, and occasional encounters with elusive snow leopards.

Ah, Los Angeles! The shimmering heart of Hollywood and the ultimate playground for filmmakers. In this top 10 iconic roundup we wander through the city’s most feverish cinematic visions, from neon‑lit nightmares to sun‑kissed fantasies, each one turning the City of Angels into a surreal dreamscape. Grab your popcorn and enjoy a spoiler‑free tour of L.A.’s most unforgettable screen moments.

Top 10 Iconic Films That Turn Los Angeles Into a Dreamscape

10 Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood (2019)

Writer‑director Quentin Tarantino offers a fresh, hyper‑stylized spin on the notorious 1969 Manson‑family tragedy, weaving together the real‑life drama of Roman Polanski, Sharon Tate and the cult killers with his own fictional flourishes.

The story trails fading TV star Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his loyal stunt double‑turned‑best‑friend, Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), as their lives intersect with the era’s glittering yet crumbling studio system. Tarantino’s signature flair bursts into an unforgettable climax that leaves viewers both breathless and speechless.

New Yorker critic Richard Brody praises the film’s razor‑sharp period focus, noting, “The movie draws a very clear line regarding the end of that classic age: it’s set in 1969, at a time when the studios were in financial crisis owing to their trouble keeping up with the changing times, and its plot involves the event that’s widely cited as the end of an era, the Manson Family killings of Sharon Tate and four others at the house she shared with her husband, Roman Polanski.”

9 Nightcrawler (2014)

Dan Gilroy’s razor‑edge neo‑noir thrusts Jake Gyllenhaal into the skin of Louis Bloom, a ruthless, night‑obsessed stringer who prowls L.A.’s dimly lit streets to film grisly crime scenes. Bloom sells the raw footage to news outlets that pay top dollar for the most graphic, blood‑soaked shots, and his single‑minded quest for the ultimate “money shot” drives him to moral oblivion. Gilroy’s screenplay earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

8 The Neon Demon (2016)

Nicolas Winding Refn’s psychological horror follows sixteen‑year‑old model Jesse (Elle Fanning) as she migrates to Los Angeles to chase runway glory. Instantly hailed as the next big thing, Jesse’s ethereal beauty ignites envy and hostility among the cutthroat fashion elite, who conspire to shatter her rise at any cost.

Refn describes the film as an “adult fairy tale,” choosing L.A. as his backdrop because his wife would only accompany him there if they had to travel outside Copenhagen, making the city the perfect stage for his unsettling vision.

7 Lost Highway (1997)

David Lynch’s 1997 neo‑noir intertwines two perplexing narratives. Jazz musician Fred (Bill Pullman) receives a chilling intercom message proclaiming, “Dick Laurent is dead.” The following day, his wife Renee (Patricia Arquette) discovers a VHS tape on their porch that records their own home, prompting a cascade of eerie recordings that infiltrate their lives.

As police remain ineffective, Fred and Renee attend a party thrown by Renee’s friend Andy—a gathering Fred suspects is an affair. The next day another tape arrives, showing Fred standing over Renee’s lifeless body, deepening the nightmare.

Fred is convicted of murdering his wife and sentenced to death, only to vanish from his cell and be replaced by a young auto mechanic named Pete (Balthazar Getty). Pete becomes entangled with a mysterious woman, also portrayed by Arquette, named Alice, blurring identities further.

New York Times critic Janet Maslin observes, “[Lost Highway] constructs an intricate puzzle out of dream logic, lurid eroticism, violence, shifting identities, and fierce intimations of doom.”

6 Sunset Boulevard (1950)

Billy Wilder’s 1950 classic noir centers on aging silent‑film diva Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson), who enlists struggling screenwriter Joe Gillis (William Holden) to pen a comeback script. Desperate for cash and a roof, Gillis moves into Norma’s opulent mansion, only to discover her fragile psyche and delusional grasp on fame.

Film critics agree the movie brilliantly illustrates the truth behind Hollywood’s glitter:

“Sunset Boulevard isn’t only Billy Wilder at his finest, but the film is easily the best film ever made about Hollywood in cinematic history.” – Danielle Solzman, Solzy at the Movies

“Sunset Boulevard, the blackest of Hollywood’s self‑portraits, is an old dark house of a ghost story inhabited by the living shadows of its discarded stars.” – Sean Axmaker, Seanax.com

“Rarely is fiction shot through so glitteringly with real life.” – Marc Lee, Daily Telegraph

“One of Wilder’s finest, and certainly the blackest, of all Hollywood’s scab‑scratching accounts of itself.” – Geoff Andrew, Time Out

“Still the best Hollywood movie ever made about Hollywood.” – Andrew Sarris, Observer

Top 10 Things Hollywood Does To Kowtow To The Chinese

5 La La Land (2016)

Despite the infamous 2017 Oscars mishap that saw it mistakenly crowned Best Picture over Moonlight, Damien Chazelle’s La La Land remains a modern musical masterpiece. The film follows jazz pianist Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) and aspiring actress Mia (Emma Stone) as they chase lofty dreams amid L.A.’s unforgiving spotlight.

Although it fell short of the Best Picture Oscar, La La Land shattered records: it swept all seven Golden Globe nominations, captured five BAFTA awards (including Best Film), and secured six Academy Award nods, with Chazelle winning Best Director and Stone taking Best Actress.

4 Under The Silver Lake (2018)

David Robert Mitchell’s genre‑bending 2018 effort is a neo‑noir black comedy, conspiracy thriller, and mystery rolled into one. It follows disaffected slacker Sam (Andrew Garfield), who drifts through Silver Lake, L.A., smoking, reading underground comics, and spying on pool‑side neighbors.

When Sam befriends swimmer Sarah (Riley Keough), she invites him inside, sparking a budding romance. The next day, Sarah vanishes, thrusting Sam into a city‑wide scavenger hunt that intertwines cryptic comic clues with Los Angeles’s shadowy underbelly.

Variety’s Owen Gleiberman notes the film’s “Old Los Angeles” vibe, tracing lineage from Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler through Chinatown, Altman’s The Long Goodbye, Lynch’s Mulholland Drive, Kiss Me Deadly, and Inherent Vice.

3 Drive (2011)

Nicolas Winding Refn’s 2011 neo‑noir action drama adapts James Sallis’s novel, spotlighting a mute Hollywood stuntman (Ryan Gosling) who moonlights as a getaway driver. After forming a tender bond with his neighbor (Carey Mulligan) and her son, he is roped into a high‑stakes heist orchestrated by the neighbor’s newly‑released husband.

The robbery spirals out of control, forcing the driver to risk everything to shield his newfound family. Rotten Tomatoes awards the film a 92% fresh rating, but warns viewers: the violence is graphic and relentless.

2 Nocturnal Animals (2016)

Fashion mogul‑turned‑director Tom Ford delivers a stylish yet harrowing neo‑noir thriller. The film follows Los Angeles art‑gallery owner Susan (Amy Adams) as she receives a manuscript from her estranged ex‑husband (Jake Gyllenhaal), prompting a triptych of timelines.

The narrative weaves together Susan’s past romance with her ex, her present life with her current husband, and the dark, visceral world of the manuscript itself—forcing Susan to confront unsettling parallels between fiction and her own history.

RogerEbert.com’s Glenn Kenny lauds a sequence as “one of the most discomfortingly suspenseful in a Hollywood film since, maybe, Blue Velvet.” The cast—Adams, Gyllenhaal, Michael Shannon, and Aaron Taylor‑Johnson—delivers performances that will blow your socks off.

1 Mulholland Drive (2001)

David Lynch’s 2001 masterpiece, hailed by a BBC poll of critics as the best film of the new millennium, plunges viewers into a surreal neo‑noir mystery. After a car crash on Mulholland Drive, amnesiac brunette Rita (Laura Harring) seeks refuge in a Sunset Boulevard apartment.

There she meets bright‑eyed aspiring actress Betty (Naomi Watts), who stays with her aunt. As Rita can’t recall her identity, the duo embarks on a quest to untangle her past, weaving dreams, nightmares, and reality into a labyrinthine narrative.

Los Angeles Times critic Justin Chang notes, “Like a lot of critics who adore the movie, none of us got it the first time… It very lovingly recreates the grand old Hollywood of yesteryear and yet it’s a movie about the evils underlying the industry and particularly what it does to actresses and to women who dream of working in the business.”

See Also: Top 10 Ways Hollywood Ruined Your Favorite TV Shows

Scary movies, gripping crime shows, certain meds, and daily stress can all stir up nightmares. But did you know that the snacks you reach for at night can also throw a wrench into your slumber? In this roundup we’ll explore how 10 foods can hijack your REM cycle and send you straight into a night‑time horror flick.

How 10 Foods Can Mess With Your Dreamscape

10 Hot Sauce

You’ve probably heard the old wives’ tale that a dash of heat before bed can lead to unsettling dreams, and many of us have felt the truth of it. Recent research backs that rumor up, confirming that the fiery kick of hot sauce can indeed sabotage sleep.

A study published in Frontiers in Psychology found participants who added hot sauce to their evening meals struggled to drift off and reported more stressful, vivid dreams. The spice spikes body temperature, which in turn throws off the brain’s dream‑weaving machinery.

Another investigation conducted by an Australian university gave volunteers hot sauce and mustard alongside dinner. The researchers tracked sleep patterns and discovered that the fiery condiments lengthened the time participants stayed awake after lights‑out.

The heat‑induced temperature rise jolts brain activity, producing unsettling night‑time scenes and leaving you drenched in sweat—sometimes even more than the sauce itself.

9 Cookies And Cake

Remember the parental warning: “No sweets before bedtime!” It turns out there’s science behind that admonition. Sugar not only fuels weight gain, heart disease, diabetes, and even certain cancers, but it also has a dark side for your dreaming mind.

In a study featured in Frontiers in Psychology, 31 % of participants who indulged in sugary treats like cookies and cake reported bizarre, unsettling dreams later that night.

Those sweet bites can disrupt the REM stage, the phase where most vivid dreaming occurs. To keep your night‑time narrative pleasant, aim to finish sugary snacks at least six hours before you tuck in.

8 Cheese

Dairy tops the nightmare‑inducing list, with cheese leading the charge. In the same Frontiers study, a striking 44 % of volunteers said dairy products, especially cheese, triggered disturbing dreams.

Back in 2005, the British Cheese Board launched its own investigation to settle the age‑old myth that cheese causes spooky visions. The researchers sampled a variety of cheeses and recorded participants’ dream experiences.

Some cheeses proved the board’s hypothesis right, while others produced oddly vivid, yet not necessarily frightening, dreamscapes.

Stilton, in particular, was a nightmare catalyst: 85 % of female participants and 75 % of male participants reported bizarre dream content after savoring it. No wonder Charles Dickens’ Scrooge blames cheese for his ghostly encounters.

7 Salad Dressing

Surprise! It’s not just the obvious culprits—sweet salad dressings and sauces can also sabotage your slumber. Many commercial dressings hide sugars that linger in your bloodstream, keeping you alert when you should be drifting off.

The Frontiers in Psychology study flagged these hidden sugars as a cause of scary, unsettling dreams for a subset of participants. Excess sugar combined with a mismatch of dietary fat can fragment sleep, prompting night‑time awakenings or vivid nightmares. Swapping to low‑sugar, fat‑balanced dressings can keep the dream monsters at bay.

6 Pasta

Carbohydrates are the body’s primary fuel, converting into glucose to power every cell. However, loading up on carbs right before bedtime can spike blood sugar, a known disruptor of the sleep cycle.

Recent participants reported unsettling, even bizarre, dream content after tucking into a plate of pasta or a slice of bread before lights‑out. In the study, pasta ranked just behind dairy and spicy foods for provoking disturbing dreams.

Enjoy a hearty Italian dinner, but give yourself a few hours before you hit the pillow. That buffer lets your body process the carbs without turning your night into a surreal saga.

5 Potato Chips

Greasy snacks like potato chips pack calories, raise cardiovascular risk, and push nutritious foods to the sidelines. One study linked these salty bites to poorer, less restorative sleep and frequent nighttime awakenings.

Published in Frontiers of Psychology, the research showed roughly 12.5 % of disturbing dreams were tied to fatty, greasy foods such as chips. The heavy fat load taxes your digestive system, keeping it active when you should be winding down.

Switching to a lighter, healthier snack can lower the nightmare count, but the most reliable method is to skip late‑night snacking altogether.

4 Soda

While technically a beverage, soda plays the same role as food when it comes to bedtime habits. The caffeine and sugar cocktail in most soft drinks makes it tough for the brain to settle into deep sleep.

Beyond the well‑known health concerns—weight gain, diabetes, heart disease—sodas also stir up nightmare‑fueling chemistry. The caffeine spikes brain activity even while you’re supposed to be snoozing, while the sugar can cause blood‑glucose spikes that disturb the dream cycle.

Because caffeine keeps the brain alert, sleepers often experience lighter, fragmented sleep and bizarre dream content. To protect your night, avoid caffeine for four to eight hours before bedtime; if you’re especially sensitive, stretch that window to twelve hours.

3 Chocolate

Researchers featured in New Scientist found that chocolate can jolt the brain, leading to vivid, sometimes violent nightmares. Like soda, chocolate contains caffeine, which can trigger unsettling dream content, especially among men.

The cocoa bean also houses psychoactive compounds that heighten brain activity during REM sleep, amplifying dream intensity. Dark chocolate offers antioxidants, but the stimulant load still poses a risk to peaceful slumber.

Adding to the mix, chocolate’s theobromine—a relative of caffeine—raises heart rate, keeping you alert when you should be drifting. Enjoy chocolate as an afternoon treat rather than a midnight indulgence.

2 Fries

Fried foods have long earned a bad‑reputation, and for good reason. From deep‑fried Oreos to battered butter, the market is awash with greasy delights. French fries, the quintessential side, are a fan favorite at fairs and fast‑food joints alike.

When diners consume fries—whether dipped in ketchup, smothered in chili, or simply salted—they report an uptick in nightmare frequency. The heavy carb and fat load slows digestion, leaving the body busy when you should be in restorative sleep.

Opt for baked potatoes or air‑fried alternatives to cut down on fat, giving your body a smoother transition into dreamland and reducing the likelihood of night‑time terror.

1 Ice Cream

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream… or perhaps we’re screaming because of it. This beloved frozen treat, while delightful, can be a nightmare catalyst when devoured before bedtime.

Ice cream is a double‑whammy of fat and sugar. The body simply can’t burn that energy in the short window before sleep, so the excess glucose fuels the brain, sending mixed signals that culminate in unsettling dream scenes.

Enjoying a bowl of ice cream while binge‑watching TV may seem harmless, but it not only invites bad dreams—it also converts that sugar into stored fat, turning a sweet snack into a not‑so‑sweet consequence.

— I’m just another bearded guy trying to write my way through life. Visit me at www.MDavidScott.com.