Top 13 Weirdest License Plates Around the World

Top 13 Weirdest License Plates Around the World. Photo KnowInsiders

License plates (or registration plates) have been around for vehicles for over 100 years. Like most things, they started out being used in only some places with limited effectiveness, and over the years they became standardized and a part of every vehicle on the road.

Interesting Facts: License Plates Around the World

• France was the first country to introduce a ‘registration plate’ in 1893 with the passage of the Paris Police Ordinance.

• The Netherlands was the first country to introduce a nationally registered license plate in 1898.

• New York was the first US state to require automobiles to have license plates in 1901. These plates were made by the individual owners and were only required to have the owner’s initials clearly visible on the back of the vehicle.

• Massachusetts became the first state to issue license plates beginning in 1903. These plates were numbered numerically starting with 1.

• The earliest license plates were made of porcelain baked onto iron or were ceramic with no backing. This made them extremely fragile and easy to break.

• A potato was the first graphic on a license plate in 1928 in the state of Iowa.

Top 13 Weirdest License Plates Around the World

1. Eat the Kids First

Photo metaweb

This Virginia personalized plate is one parents will understand. If things go to shit and the world is on the brink of collapse, it’s good to know you can trade your kids for food. It’s great to have options right? What makes this license plate even funnier is the use of childlike handwriting and the two child handprints. The different colors also give it a made-in-kindergarten feel.

While we are sure this family doesn’t actually want people to eat their children, it would no doubt give you a laugh if you saw it while driving on the freeway.

2. U R Next

Photo metaweb

Here is something you don’t want to see while driving. This hearse has a license plate that reads ‘U R Next.’ Pointing out your demise could be coming up soon isn’t great reading when behind the wheel. It would be interesting to know what funeral parlor this hearse belongs to, as they must have a dark sense of humor to put something like this for its vanity plate.

3. Epic Fail

Photo metaweb

Now here is a creative way to highlight your license plate. This Virginian driver’s personalized plate might not look complete at first, but that is all part of the joke. Reading ‘Epic Fai,’ the clever driver has added an L in paper so the plate reads ‘Epic Fail’ in full.

See what they did there? This license plate gets extra points for the setup of a joke that is quite clever and sure to provide plenty of laughs to any passersby.

4. Clumsy

Photo metaweb

This license plate and the picture of the car it is on are all you need to see to get a laugh. The car has a plate that reads ‘Clumsy.’ The car also happens to have been in an accident and is lying on its roof. There is a story behind the picture though. The person driving was apparently eating a bowl of cereal when they dropped it in their lap.

So not only are they a clumsy driver, but a clumsy eater as well. Might be best if they stay away from driving for a while.

Check More: Why Do Many US License Plates Feature The Gold Star Family or Mother

5. Not A Cop

Photo car throttle

Would you believe this driver? Their license plate clearly states that they are not a cop, but maybe that’s what they want you to think? Or maybe the owner is actually a criminal who hopes their personalized plate will keep the actual police away? Whatever the reason, it is a funny license plate that deserves a spot on this list.

6. O 10 UK Plates

Photo rarest

The O 10 UK plate is a one-of-a-kind license plate, making it among the rarest of the rare. It sold for $170,000 at auction in 2020. The plate’s history, as well as UK customs regarding license plates, explains its value. Unlike the US, many other countries don’t allow for license plate personalization. Additionally, UK drivers keep the plates when they switch cars, which isn’t true for many American states. The O 10 plate, for example, belonged to a family for 118 years. Their grandfather was tenth in line when the Birmingham vehicle registration office first opened. All of these factors combine to create a plate worth well over $100,000.

7. Tofu plate

Photo Daily Mail

Kelley Coffman-Lee of Centennial, Colorado is vegetarian who loves tofu so much that she wants to tell the world with a personalized license plate.

She submitted her application for a plate reading, ILVTOFU, but was told that her message was disallowed because it would be offensive to others who might interpret the letters as an X-rated message.

Coffman-Lee was disappointed that she was not allowed to display her passion for tofu on her plate.

Maybe she should move to California or Ohio. Judging from tofu license plate photos on the Internet, those states don’t share Colorado’s TOFU issues.

8. Bear plate

It’s an icon of the North known to drivers—and coveted by collectors—all over the world. But where did the Northwest Territories’ famous polar bear licence plate come from?

To find out, we have to go back to a time when automobiles were rarer here than polar bears. Back when the Northwest Territories stretched westward from Baffin Island to the Mackenzie Mountains.

For the first half of the twentieth century, there were no highways into the NWT and few streets to drive when you did have a car.

It wasn’t until 1941 that the government required motorists in the NWT to register their vehicles and display a licence plate. Those first plate designs were rectangular, with simple colour schemes like orange numbers over a black backdrop—not unlike the standard issue plates you find pretty much everywhere.

Photo spectacularnwt

But when the Mackenzie Highway was extended north of Great Slave Lake in the early 1960s, drivers could access more of the Northwest Territories by road, bringing droves of new vehicles into the territory.

When it came time to commemorate the NWT’s centennial in 1970, the government introduced the first version of its now-famous polar bear plate. This was designed by none other than legendary NWT Commissioner Stuart Hodgson—the first appointed leader from Ottawa to reside in the territory. The original licence plate featured a blue background with white numbering and the first plate issued (‘1’) was given to Hodgson.

9. COVID-19 plate

A gray BMW sedan with a “COVID 19” license plate has been left unattended for over four months at the Adelaide airport. Its owner contacted the airport staff after the picture of the car was published in several newspapers.

Photo pantau

The expensive sedan was sitting in the parking lot at the airport and was unnoticed until one day its cover was blown, so to speak. An airport worker’s attention was captured by the car’s unique, but curiously weird license plate. It read “COVID 19.” He took a picture of the car and shared it on his social media. The internet went into a frenzy. People started posting funny comments about the number plate. According to the worker, the car had been parked there since before February. Initially, everyone thought that it belonged to a long-haul pilot who hasn’t returned.

After the image of the car was splashed onto the newspapers around the world, the owner got in touch with the airport staff. He told them that they were out of state. Meanwhile, in the months since its discovery, it was found out that the car is registered until the end of September 2020. In South Australia, personalized license plates are registered for a period of 12 to 36 months. That means the car’s license plate was registered in September 2019, long before the current pandemic was given its name. (1, 2)

10. Lucky number 88888

Photo GenK

A Chinese man spent $145,000 on acquiring a vanity license plate with the number “88888.” He got pulled over eight times on the very first day he took out his vehicle. Incidentally, the number “8” is considered very lucky in Chinese culture.

Every culture around the world has its lucky charms and trinkets. In Chinese culture, the number “8” is considered one of the luckiest. The pronunciation of the number sounds a lot like the Mandarin word for “prosperity” and “wealth.” A man from Zhenzhou in central China, however, faced the other side of luck with that number. Kai Long, a fruit seller, bought a new car to aid in his fruit selling business. He then decided to add some luck to it. Kai spent a whopping one million yuan (approximately $145,000) to buy the luckiest license plate with five 8s for his new vehicle. But, when he took his vehicle out for the very first time, he was stopped by traffic police 8 times.

The police thought that the license plate ought to be fake as acquiring it would be very expensive. Something a mere fruit seller cannot afford. Kai was let go after they ascertained that all his papers were in order. He didn’t get into any trouble, but it didn’t pan out like the first drive he hoped for.

11. Plate with your own name

Photo Pinterest

Lorne Grabher, a man from Canada, registered a personalized license place in his surname. “GRABHER” is what his license plate reads.

In 2016 an anonymous person registered a complaint with the Department of Motor Vehicles in Canada against a weird license plate. The complainant said that the plate reading “GRABHER” is derogatory towards women. Acting upon the complaint the Department canceled Grabher’s personalized license plate. DMV first approved the license plate in 1990.

It has been renewed several times since without any issue. Lorne Grabher is now appealing against the court ruling on the grounds that it is discriminatory and violates his freedom of expression.

12. “IM GOD”

An atheist man in Ohio owns a personalized license plate that reads “IM GOD.”

Bennie Hart of Ohio is an atheist. He has been roaming around Ohio in his with a custom license plate reading “IM GOD” for over a decade. It was just a simple way to let people know about his beliefs. After moving from Ohio to a town in Kentucky, Bennie sought permission from the local transportation office to carry on with his custom license plate. His request was turned down as the department believed that it might cause problems for other drivers or may even lead to a confrontation. Hart went to court against the order.

The court ruled in his favor and ordered the Transportation Cabinet to pay over $150,000 that he incurred in attorney fees and litigation costs

13. Not OJ

Photo Pinterest

Remember when OJ Simpson was on the run from police after the murder of his ex-wife and her new partner? Well if you need your memory jogged, he was being chased in a white Fiord Bronco. This driver has obviously remembered and got a license plate that serves as both a warning and a joke. While maybe not in the best taste, depending on how you feel about OJ, it is sure to have people talking when they drive past. It’s also sure to keep the police off this driver’s tail.

Conclusion

Many choose to show personality through customized license plates. You can be creative with your own license plates but remember to follow traffic rules of your country. Share this article if you find it interesting!

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