Seeing a good vanity plate on a car makes waiting in traffic a lot of fun. Yesterday, we were behind SIOUXZEN. Vanity plates have a slogan, phrase, or abbreviation that is customized. The owner picks something meaningful, pays extra, and as long as it is not an offensive (in some way) term, and nobody else in the state has it, the plate is your for an uncharge. Sometimes the message is so opaque it is not possible for most to decipher it, especially at a traffic light.

The above plate is a good one; it combines two words Sioux and Zen. Sioux are groups of Native American tribes  and First Nations people of North America. Zen is a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism that values meditation. However, reading the eight letters together can sound like you are saying the name “Susan.” So what is it? On the surface, the meaning of the tag is transparent; yet, there may be a deeper meaning. Is there a Zen Sioux driving around Greensboro? Is the owner’s name pronounced “Susan?”

It would be fun to see a database of all vanity tags issued in Guilford County. Or, a list of North Carolina tags that reference things in Greensboro. If you were to have a vanity tag, what would it be. What is the most interesting vanity tag you’ve seen recently? We’d love to have you post it in the chat. Remember, a combination of eight letters and characters is the limit and it can’t be an offensive word in another language. However, we’re betting some slip by the censors.