Vanity license plates

December 5th, 2010 at 8:00 am (Art, Society)

Vanity license plates can be an interesting form of constrained art, like the sonnet or haiku, but much, much shorter. In California, they can contain up to 7 characters, which are letters, numbers, and a few special symbols (like ♥ and a handprint). To while away the tedium of my commute to work, I enjoy spotting new and interesting plates. This being California, I always have plenty of plates to consider.

On July 28, I started recording the vanity plates I’d seen. As of today, I’ve collected 167 distinct plates. It surprises me that I’m able to find at least one new one practically every day I drive to work. There must be just enough variability in my (or everyone else’s) travel time that I get a slightly different sample of cars each day.

Some of the plates are funny, some are clever, and some are cryptic (probably in-jokes that don’t make sense unless you know the person). Here are some of my favorites:

  • 1 HOBBIT
  • BK WERM
  • BMRNATR (on a BMW)
  • C ATROX: a good puzzle — hint (rot13): fanxr
  • CAKE 4 U: it’s not a lie?
  • DTH STR
  • ESC2PCH: local reference
  • FTDHTR: really?
  • GODZLLA
  • HAUNT3D
  • HTLIKME
  • HYR N U (on a jacked-up SUV)
  • IDIG K9Z
  • IFYTE4U (the vehicle was emblazoned with lawyer ads)
  • KNEADY (the vehicle had massage therapist ads)
  • KRPT2NT
  • LYSDXIC
  • MI♥ZTKN
  • MJSSAYN
  • RMAGETN
  • SASSIQT
  • TUF CKY
  • UKARYOT: go science!
  • ULIV1NS
  • WB OUIVR: a French geek?

Another cool one, which I didn’t spot but a friend did, is “TWS BRLG”.

Some are just a bit weird, or too obscure for me to “get” them:

  • 1MADHUN
  • 7THSONN
  • AE6KO: ham radio call sign?
  • BYE BTZ
  • EOEOEO
  • IOWE GOD
  • KHAL8
  • LMN DROP
  • MY2CATZ
  • MY MUZIK
  • NOR DO I
  • OWL BAIT
  • YYYYYY2
  • Z DAWGZ

What’s your favorite vanity plate?

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