License Plates

Since 1998 David Nicholson of Saco, Maine, has been building a superb online resource about everything to do with automobile license plates.

He's a dedicated collector who not only has put up his tremendous trove of plates but has also annotated them with all manner of interesting arcana.

In addition to a pictorial history of U.S. plates since 1969 he's created a database of Canadian and Mexican plates as well.

The site design and ease of use is impressive.

I happened on his site when reader BT sent me an email with the subject heading "License Plates"; it read, "Is New Mexico the only state that has a yellow background with red writing?"

I honestly didn't know and had written her a reply to that effect when, just before I hit the "send" button I said to myself and my crack research team, "Let's find out."

Which of course means you find out and I'll go chill.

Anyway, they brought back Nicholson's excellent website along with the results of their exhaustive state–by–state, province–by–province study of all the plates on the site.

The answer?

Illinois, for one year only (1970)

had a yellow plate with red writing.

That was the only one outside New Mexico.

Wyoming for a couple years had a yellow and burgundy plate

and Manitoba featured

a purple on yellow one but that's it for North America since 1969.

So you see, no question is too small to provoke great interest and intense effort here at bookofjoe, just as no question is too formidable for us to tackle on your behalf.

Because we never forget our motto: "Can we build one for you?"

Wait a minute... that's not our motto.

"Finger lickin' good."

No, no, that's not it either.

"The relentless pursuit of perfection."

I like it.

So I'm appropriating it.

Sorry, Lexus: see you in court.