Contrary to long-held claims made by an infamous Interstate 82 billboard, geographic experts at the prestigious Center for Obvious Studies shocked the world today when they announced there are actually exactly zero similarities between Palm Springs, Calif. and Yakima, Wash.
“After years of rigorous study conducted on several 10-minute gas breaks, we’ve determined that—unlike Palm Springs—Yakima is not flush with immaculate retro interior design nor is it at all the secret center of the gay universe,” said lead road-trip researcher Ian Ng. “There are even times of the year in Yakima when you can stand outside for a whole five minutes without being cooked alive into a baked human ham – it’s not like Palm Springs at all.”
Although there were some minor similarities between the areas, researchers determined none of them were fun ones.
“While both areas are rife with agricultural workers being treated like shit, I don’t know how much of a sell that is to tourists,” Ng said. “Even if they’re the ones creating the whole thing tourists want to look at like up in the Skagit Valley tulip and daffodil farms, unless you’re only trying to attract Applebee’s executives, I’m pretty sure that’s nothing to brag about.”
At press time, the researchers also confirmed that there’s also no way the Tri-Cities are the Palm Springs of Washington either.
