DAILY DIRT: Move over, here comes Edward Blizzardhands and Sled Zeppelin

In a state where vanity license plates are such a big deal, I can’t believe Illinois is lagging behind in naming its snow plows … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 474 of The Daily Dirt.

1. Sooner or later, it’s going to snow and we’ll see those big plows going up and down our streets.

I think a great idea would be for our city fathers should name each of those ground-pounding behemoths, even put a big sign on each one of them.

Here are some suggestions, none of which are my own. I gathered the following list from various states across the country where they have actually given names to their plows:

• Edgar Allan Snow
• Edward Blizzardhands
• Snowprah Winfrey.
• Alice Scooper
• Clearapathra
• Snow Big Deal
• Kid Rock Salt
• Buzz Iceclear
• Lightning McClean
• Jennifer Snowpez
• Scoop Dogg
• Sled Zeppelin
• Snowbegone Kenobi
• Betty Whiteout
• Melton John
• Truck Norris
• William Scrape-speare
• No More Mr. Ice Guy
• Fast and Flurryous
• Sleetwood Mac

2. The race for our No. 1 license plate continues to work its way to the finish line, which is Dec. 31.

That’s because we start a new contest Jan. 1. Here’s our favorites from the past week:

• IIRISH 8
• QCY JEM 1
• PAT PAT 1
• 4LOLLI
• U ZUMBA 2
• ROBB ROY
• T JABA 2

These remain the top finds for the year to date:

• Gold medal: IMDUMB. 
• Silver medal:OHYO ST8. 
• Bronze medal: B BRAVE
• Honorable mention: 1 KWIKI.
• Honorable mention: LUV YADI.
• Honorable mention: GOL D LOX.
• Honorable mention: QUINCY.
• Honorable mention: CAJUN.

3. Here’s this week’s “I-can’t-believe-people-really-eat-this stuff”:

Chicken testicles are popular in China, according to listverse.com. Their casings contain flesh, making them like little sausages. They are lightly cooked to keep them tender, and juice will ooze into your mouth as you take the first bite. After boiling or frying the chicken testicles, they will offer a mild flavor and are best served with rice, noodles, or even broth. They are available in both pink and black, and their size ranges anywhere from one to two inches long.

Steve Thought O’ The Day — According to datayze.com, one out of every 13,885 U.S. baby boys are named Steve. Those lucky dogs.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. He doesn’t have his own vanity plate.