We're no strangers to motor vehicle departments restricting certain words from personalized license plates. Typically, genitalia, other sex themes, and things related to fecal matter and racism (same thing, really) are verboten. But what about words like PITA, SCOTCH, and RAIN?
Granted, putting SCOTCH on a license plate could be construed as an endorsement of drinking and driving. But only if you were a tight-assed/unimaginative DMV administrator in a city full of people who want to put things like RAPEME, UMYBTCH, PUSYLQR, and COKEMAN on their tags. Such is the case in our nation's capital, where the DMV release a list of forbidden words they've been compiling for years.
The guidelines the District of Columbia's DMV uses to limit vanity plate slogans is actually pretty simple. D.C.'s mayor and city council have called dibs on all numbers between 1 and 1,250. Other than that, everything that isn't deemed "confusing or offensive to the general public" can be used. That means nothing about sex, sexually related body parts, drugs or drug use, religion, race, government institutions or officials, or any kind of abbreviations which would get those points across will be approved for use on a license plate.
Add to that the fact that the D.C. DMV has put the kibosh on things like DCRUGBY, H2OPROF, and PNCHBGY, and it begins to seem a bit more arbitrary. Peruse the list below and you'll see what I mean. The city has been keeping track for so long, the list now numbers in the thousands. Is this the most comprehensive list of DMV-outlawed words in existence?
Hat tip to Andrew!)
Photo credit: Getty