# Route 666 and, uh, holy water
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/route-666-and-uh-holy-water/192451
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [August 1, 2003, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/route-666-and-uh-holy-water/192451 "2003-08-01T22:13:33Z")
**Posts on this page:** 18
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2003, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/route-666-and-uh-holy-water/192451/1 "2003-08-01T22:13:33Z")
A couple postcards from the state of ignorance dropped into my Inbox today; nothing earth shattering but I thought I’d share…
As of today, [Highway 666](http://www.startribune.com/stories/1513/4004111.html), which runs though parts of news Mexico, Colorado and Utah, has been officially renamed to Route 491, apparently because of complaints that the old number was reminiscent of the ‘mark of the beast’ mentioned in Revelations. Although one article I read mentions that the road supposedly has a higher than average accident rate, this appears to be more due to narrow lanes, blind curves and heavy truck traffic than any Satanic connection. Besides which, wasn’t the mark supposed to appear on people, not road signs in some obscure rural location?
Unrelated but for the cultish aspects, in amongst the usual couple dozen spam messages for generic herbal Viagra and penis enlargement, was this gem:
> [@](#):
>
> IT’S A MIRACLE !!! The Church acknowledged it!
>
> I am sure you have already heard of the Holy site of Lourdes in France, the number 1 pilgrim center in the World. We are offering a unique opportunity for all christian in the world to finally have the chance to get the Holy Water from Lourdes in France without having to travel there! It is a limited one time offer that you can see on the following website:
>
> (url deleted)
>
> How would you like to have a bottle of this miraculous Holy Water directly to your home? Wherever you live in the world, shipping is free so don’t wait any longer and check this out at (url deleted) (offer includes free gift)
>
> You may have seen reports on TV or articles in magazines about this unique place in the world. Try it for yourself and see why everyday people are going to lourdes by thousands just to get the holy water. See all the details of the story on our website here:
>
> (url deleted)
>
> God bless you!
Man, gen-u-wine holy water; that’s gotta be the oldest con there is…
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### Author:  [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2003, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/route-666-and-uh-holy-water/192451/2 "2003-08-01T22:17:30Z")
Yeah, there’s this big building with really colorful windows near my home, and this guy in there tries to pass off the water as “holy” too.
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### Author:  [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2003, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/route-666-and-uh-holy-water/192451/3 "2003-08-01T23:03:02Z")
Yeah, but this one is a naked scam. The deleted link was inoperative, but the domain name was that of a company that sells tooth-whitening products and I’m guessing the site was somehow hijacked by the spammer. I’m guessing this was some sort of CC number-harvesting operation.
Anyway, setting aside for a moment the concept of some water being holy while some is not, there are dozens if not hundreds of more or less legitimate on-line sources for Lourdes water, so this is not a one-time offer, nor does anyone have to travel to obtain the water.
Also,
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### Author:  [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2003, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/route-666-and-uh-holy-water/192451/4 "2003-08-01T23:08:33Z")
Whoops, ignore the last “also”.
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### Author:  [@mojave66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mojave66)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2003, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/route-666-and-uh-holy-water/192451/5 "2003-08-01T23:23:29Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by El\_Kabong \*
> \*\*
>
> As of today, [Highway 666](http://www.startribune.com/stories/1513/4004111.html), which runs though parts of news Mexico, Colorado and Utah, has been officially renamed to Route 491, apparently because of complaints that the old number was reminiscent of the ‘mark of the beast’ mentioned in Revelations. Although one article I read mentions that the road supposedly has a higher than average accident rate, this appears to be more due to narrow lanes, blind curves and heavy truck traffic than any Satanic connection. Besides which, wasn’t the mark supposed to appear on people, not road signs in some obscure rural location?
> \*\*
Sigh. Route 666 was one of the Western offshoots of the Mother Road, Route 66. I thought they had some sense up there not to touch it; but no. Several years ago the Arizona part of 666 through the White Mountains got renamed (don’t remember the number).
For the record, neither extension had significantly more accidents than any other similar two-lane roads.
Another little bit of Americana just up and died. Not a horribly significant bit granted, but in this age of anonymous interstates lined with boringly similar MacDonald’s and Motel 6’s, it still hurts.
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### Author:  [@Yumanite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumanite)
#### Post date: [August 1, 2003, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/route-666-and-uh-holy-water/192451/6 "2003-08-01T23:47:56Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by mojave66 \*
> \*\*Sigh. Route 666 was one of the Western offshoots of the Mother Road, Route 66. I thought they had some sense up there not to touch it; but no. Several years ago the Arizona part of 666 through the White Mountains got renamed (don’t remember the number).
> \*\*
In Arizona it was renamed to 181. That was quite a while ago – I used to tell people that it was a sign that New Mexicans were less superstitious than us Arizonans, but I guess I was wrong.
I actually found out about the renaming as I drove to Tucson from southern Colorado, this month. I got on the Highway of the Beast, and noticed that (most of) the signs were changed. I had been living out in the boonies and so I missed the news, I guess. It damn near ruined my drive back – life is more fun when you’re driving on a satanic road.
To be honest, I thought they changed it because they had a problem with people stealing the signs.
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### Author:  [@Road\_Rash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Road_Rash)
#### Post date: [August 2, 2003, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/route-666-and-uh-holy-water/192451/7 "2003-08-02T00:14:09Z")
I vaguely remember a previous thread about this. I could be wrong. A post on that thread discussed the theft level of Route 666 signs, and its possible impact on changing the name. Having one on my wall would be cool.
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### Author:  [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)
#### Post date: [August 2, 2003, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/route-666-and-uh-holy-water/192451/8 "2003-08-02T00:24:46Z")
I confess…if I’d ever been out that way, I’d have stolen one and hung it on my wall.
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### Author:  [@Doomtrain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doomtrain)
#### Post date: [August 2, 2003, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/route-666-and-uh-holy-water/192451/9 "2003-08-02T00:26:15Z")
That said…you know, the state should just wise up and keep making the signs and sell em on EBay or something. I’d buy one!
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### Author:  [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)
#### Post date: [August 2, 2003, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/route-666-and-uh-holy-water/192451/10 "2003-08-02T03:33:22Z")
What? There really _was_ a Route 666? Holy crap. Did Lou Diamond Phillips’ dad haunt it as part of a zombie chain gang?
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### Author:  [@CaptBushido](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptBushido)
#### Post date: [August 2, 2003, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/route-666-and-uh-holy-water/192451/11 "2003-08-02T04:21:10Z")
I really have no comprehension of “highway nostalgia” … Really, is Rt 66 not still there? What does it matter what its named? Why does an arbitrary number make it “americana?” I just dont see the evil of “anonymous interstates?” I know, I know. I’m not a roamer. I have less than 20 years to me name. There’s no way I can ever “get it.”
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### Author:  [@CaptBushido](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptBushido)
#### Post date: [August 2, 2003, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/route-666-and-uh-holy-water/192451/12 "2003-08-02T04:23:02Z")
Ok, reading over that, I think I might have overdone it with those so-called “quotation marks”
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### Author:  [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)
#### Post date: [August 2, 2003, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/route-666-and-uh-holy-water/192451/13 "2003-08-02T04:32:06Z")
Rte 66 still exists as a road but you’ll never get the same experience driving down it now. Swell little motels with nifty architecture, weird tourist traps, drive-in movie theaters… all gone. You see the same thing wherever they’d put an interstate through next to an old U.S. Route - I live near where I-20 runs parallel to US 80, and 80 used to have a bunch of cool stuff on it until they put the interstate through in the '70s. And it’s not like the stuff moved - it’s _gone_. The restaurants, the drive-ins in Marshall and Longview, the motels, all gone. They didn’t reopen somewhere else, because the interstate system is different from the old routes. It’s less “travel” and more “getting where I’m going.” Haven’t you ever noticed that there is NOTHING by the sides of the interstates? Travel centers and gas stations every few miles, and a chain hotel in some cities, but that’s it. The sides of the interstates are free of distractions from your noble task of getting your ass where it’s going.
I, personally, find it sad, and I’m only a year older than you, **CaptBushido**.
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### Author:  [@lel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lel)
#### Post date: [August 2, 2003, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/route-666-and-uh-holy-water/192451/14 "2003-08-02T04:34:52Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Yumanite \*
> **In Arizona it was renamed to 181. That was quite a while ago – I used to tell people that it was a sign that New Mexicans were less superstitious than us Arizonans, but I guess I was wrong.**
Actually, it is now 191, and it was changed in 1992. ([Cite](http://www.arizonaroads.com/us/us666.html))
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### Author:  [@CherryBomb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CherryBomb)
#### Post date: [August 2, 2003, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/route-666-and-uh-holy-water/192451/15 "2003-08-02T05:01:35Z")
I drove to California with my hubby down through the Four Corners and hit 666 to get down to 40. He was so tickled by the highway number (he’d never been to that part of the country before) that he pulled us over and took a picture of our car underneath the sign.
He wouldn’t let me steal it.
_sigh_
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### Author:  [@Spooky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spooky)
#### Post date: [August 2, 2003, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/route-666-and-uh-holy-water/192451/16 "2003-08-02T05:55:30Z")
It will always be Route 666 to me.
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### Author:  [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)
#### Post date: [August 2, 2003, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/route-666-and-uh-holy-water/192451/17 "2003-08-02T09:52:17Z")
I made several trips from Texas to California on Route 66 back in the bad old days. I remember Route 666 as being truly spectacular and would love to drive it again.
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### Author:  [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)
#### Post date: [August 2, 2003, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/route-666-and-uh-holy-water/192451/18 "2003-08-02T10:54:14Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by CaptBushido \*
> \*\*I really have no comprehension of “highway nostalgia” \*\*
Read the book “Blue Highways” by William Least Heat-Moon. I read it about 15 years ago and it made _me_ feel nostalgic for America’s Blue Highways …and I’m a Kiwi who has never been to the US! Seriously it is a good read.