Furthur (bus)

Furthur, also spelled Further, was the name of the bus used by Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters in their cross-country road trip during the summer of 1964. The bus, a 1939 International Harvester school bus, was driven by Neal Cassady and was intended to be a vehicle for experiencing and documenting the "Acid Tests" and other psychedelic experiences.

Painted in vibrant, psychedelic colors and designs by the Pranksters, Furthur became a symbol of the counterculture movement and the experimentation with consciousness expansion. The bus was equipped with a sound system and recording equipment to document the journey and the experiences of those on board.

The journey across America was largely undocumented publicly at the time, with only later accounts and Tom Wolfe's book, The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test, providing a narrative of the events. The journey exposed the Pranksters to a wide variety of American landscapes and people, further influencing their perspectives and artistic endeavors.

After the original journey, the bus fell into disrepair. Several replica buses were created to honor the original, and the original bus underwent a restoration process led by Kesey's son, Zane Kesey. This restoration allowed the original Furthur to be displayed and toured, continuing to serve as a symbol of the 1960s counterculture.