For its Instagram TV debut Monday, Mercedes-Benz uploaded a short film portraying the (re-enacted) car ride Bertha Benz took in 1888.
On an August morning, Benz took out her husband Karl's newly invented automobile (more like a motorized carriage), the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, and started off on a 60-mile journey through Germany with her two teenage sons. (In the video, they help send her off by pushing the car's wheels.) This became the first real drive in an automobile. Today, that's some people's daily commute — one way. But back then this was quite an accomplishment. The vehicle went about 10 mph, so it took a full day.
The route she took from Mannehim to Pforzheim has become the Bertha Benz Memorial Route. The route is still maintained by a nonprofit working to ensure that the scenic route doesn't fall into obscurity. The carmaker has tons of history about the pioneering woman behind the wheel, who financed the car project but as a married woman didn't get full recognition for her role in driving the car industry.
That road trip has gone down in history. And now it's Insta-worthy.
