For over 100 years, travelers have checked into US motel rooms and found the Gideon Bible

For more than a century, the Gideon Bible has been a standard fixture in United States motel and hotel rooms. The presence of these religious texts in American lodging has become a notable cultural touchstone, recognized for its ubiquity across the country.

The prominence of the Gideon Bible in American travel culture is highlighted by its appearance in popular music, specifically in The Beatles' song 'Rocky Raccoon.' Paul McCartney has noted that the lyric referencing the Bible was inspired by his observation that such texts were present in every hotel in America, a phenomenon he had not previously encountered in England.