I’ve always played various drive “punching” games with my friends and family. You know, those games that Volkswagon emphasized in its “Punch Buggy” campaign a few years back—a Volkswagon would drive by and one person would proclaim “Red!” or whichever color the VW was then punch a friend in the arm. There are other variations of the game (spotting police cars or vanity license plates, for example), but my favorite was always the out-of-state license plate version. While in the car, if you saw a non-state license plate you would shout the plate’s state to earn a punch. So, for example, because I’m from California, if I saw a license plate from Louisiana, I would shout “Louisiana!” and proceed to pummel my friend’s arm.
Looking back, it may seem stupid, but it continually kept everyone in the car on the alert, so I rationalize that it possibly managed to do more good than harm. Regardless, after a while my friends and I would spot non-state license plates from far enough away that the writing was illegible. That’s where recognizing a state’s license plate without reading its name came in handy. We got quite good at it. How do you compare?
