# A license plate I saw this morning. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 18, 2009, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-license-plate-i-saw-this-morning/486399 "2009-02-18T14:57:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-license-plate-i-saw-this-morning/486399/61 "2009-08-19T15:04:59Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > So the OP was February 19. I was just at a red light behind the same car again today. Tell the truth: was your first thought, “I can’t believe I’m behind that car again!” or “Hey, I heard about something like that on the Dope!” having completely forgotten that you had posted the thread? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-license-plate-i-saw-this-morning/486399/62 "2009-08-19T15:59:33Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > Tell the truth: was your first thought, “I can’t believe I’m behind that car again!” or “Hey, I heard about something like that on the Dope!” having completely forgotten that you had posted the thread? > > 😃 No, I knew I posted it. I even tried to take the same picture, but there was a glare from the sun and the plate was washed out. I have always wondered how often, on my way to work, I wind up next to the same car. Apparently it’s once every 6 months, of course I only take this road about once a week. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-license-plate-i-saw-this-morning/486399/63 "2009-08-19T18:10:45Z")
Funny how those driving coincidences work out. Many years ago, I’d find myself behind a white car with the plate ARCHTCT about once every other week on the way to work. Who was that guy and how did we manage to leave home at the same moment so often? ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-license-plate-i-saw-this-morning/486399/64 "2009-08-19T18:25:23Z")
> [@Misnomer](#): > > Different show, but the other day I saw a license plate frame that said “The gorram reavers ate my gorram ship.” I couldn’t find those exact words out there, but I just Googled one that says, “Reavers ate my gorram ship,” which is close enough for me. I’m gonna have to order me one of those. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-license-plate-i-saw-this-morning/486399/65 "2009-08-19T19:01:51Z")
I’d rather have [this](http://www.boingboing.net/2005/12/28/proud-owner-poses-wi.html) one. ---
**Author:** ![luv2draw](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/46a35a/32.png) [@luv2draw](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/luv2draw)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-license-plate-i-saw-this-morning/486399/66 "2009-08-19T23:14:50Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > OMG, I have this exact complaint about an episode of _The X-Files_. Don’t remember which, but I’m pretty sure it’s Scully (I believe a well-established East Coast native character) who refers to that big interstate that goes up the coast as “the I-95.” > > No! No! No! Let me add my similar complaint. On House, which is supposed to be set in Princeton, NJ, they said there was traffic on the Interstate. We have MANY Interstate highways crossing through NJ, so we call them by their number. They also said something about tolls… we do have toll roads in NJ but none are near Princeton. That and continuity issues drive me nuts. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-license-plate-i-saw-this-morning/486399/67 "2009-08-19T23:30:48Z")
Maybe this is the right thread to comment on a license plate I saw a few weeks ago, since I wasn’t sure if it was an explanation or a command. The car was driven by a little old lady, and the plate read: BRK WND ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-license-plate-i-saw-this-morning/486399/68 "2009-08-19T23:31:40Z")
In the UK, number plates (licence plates) have to fit certain combinations of letters and numbers, so people have to be more creative. And the DVLA won’t issue any that it considers might appear rude. Two that did supposedly slip through the net a few years back were \*\*X351ARO \*\*and **X351ANA**. Now imagine the car is behind you… ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-license-plate-i-saw-this-morning/486399/69 "2009-08-19T23:43:10Z")
> [@Colophon](#): > > Two that did supposedly slip through the net a few years back were \*\*X351ARO \*\*and **X351ANA**. Now imagine the car is behind you… … and then further imagine, if necessary, that you live someplace that requires plates on the front of the car. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2009, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-license-plate-i-saw-this-morning/486399/70 "2009-08-19T23:46:42Z")
I was behind a Mini Cooper the other day with a tag that said “NANO HMR” - it made me giggle. ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-license-plate-i-saw-this-morning/486399/71 "2009-08-20T00:01:05Z")
North Carolina issues its plates in a “three-letter” - “four-number” format. Not too long ago, some teacher registered her new car and received a “WTF-####” plate from the DMV. Her students clued her in as to what it meant. The state ended up recalling the entire “WTF” line of plates, including any personalized ones that had slipped through initially. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-license-plate-i-saw-this-morning/486399/72 "2009-08-20T00:35:46Z")
> [@EJsGirl](#): > > I know I’ve mentioned this one before, but there is a Ninja-type motorcycle around here with “NAZGUL” as it’s plate. > > And I have a pic in my phone right now of a car my son and I saw yesterday at the coffee place. It was a nice BMW being driven by an older lady (maybe 70)- the plate said “APOLOGY.” > > 😃 Similar… I spotted a middle-aged lady the other evening, driving a brand-new Mercedes sedan with plates that said BIGFU. First, I was shocked that the plates passed muster with the DMV. Then, I figured that the car might have been purchased with a nice alimony settlement. At least, that was the scenario that made the most sense to me! ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-license-plate-i-saw-this-morning/486399/73 "2009-08-20T03:14:19Z")
The Cooper Minis around here always seem to have interesting plates. Two different Minis, both yellow. BTRCUP ESCPOD ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-license-plate-i-saw-this-morning/486399/74 "2009-08-20T04:15:35Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > OMG, I have this exact complaint about an episode of _The X-Files_. Don’t remember which, but I’m pretty sure it’s Scully (I believe a well-established East Coast native character) who refers to that big interstate that goes up the coast as “the I-95.” > > No! No! No! While “The I-95” sounds wrong, it’s doesn’t sound totally wrong. West Coast people never seem to include the I to indicate they’re talking about an Interstate. In the South, we have Expressways. But we still have I-10, I-12, I-59 and I-55 and that’s what we call 'em (with the exception of bypasses and spurs, which are just 610, 310 and 510. The extra prefix digit replaces the I. But not “The 610”. Anyway, to stay on topic, several years ago, a friend of mine bought a black late 70s Mercury Marquis. It looked like an old police car, even though the big Marquis and LTD was never used as a police car in this area. He applied for a Louisiana plate through the DMV website. A few weeks later, he got his plate. It said “FBI”. The car was 25 years old and looked completely out of place, but on the interstate, cars would come up in the left lane, slow down and stay behind him as if they were afraid to pass. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-license-plate-i-saw-this-morning/486399/75 "2009-08-20T05:13:38Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > There was once a large, prosperous car manufacturer call Chrysler. Really! > They once sold a line of cars call the Plymouth > One model of Plymouth was called the Horizon > In California, a blue Horizon was plated “Beyond” Worst. Limerick. Ever. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-license-plate-i-saw-this-morning/486399/76 "2009-08-20T14:48:02Z")
> [@bienville](#): > > In California the standard format for non-personalized liscence plates is: > > Number, Letter, Letter, Letter, Number, Number, Number > > I once saw a plate that read: > > **1YOU694** > > Now this is the standard format, so it is _possible_ that this was randomly assigned- which is what I find so fascinating: Hilarious if someone got it by accident while brillaint if it was chosen as a personalized plate (as being in standard format allows plausible deniability). > > So either a random “one wy oh yu six nine four” or a calculated “One for whom you sixty-nine”. It’s random. Sorry to destroy the fantasy, but CA DMV won’t issue custom plates in the standard format. Why yes, I do spend a fair amount of time making up amusing license plate numbers in the standard format – how did you know? ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2009, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-license-plate-i-saw-this-morning/486399/77 "2009-08-20T19:57:15Z")
Today, I saw a Subaru WRX STi. License plate? AWDSOME [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-license-plate-i-saw-this-morning/486399.md?page=3)