DAILY DIRT: No excuses needed for the top two license plates

January 19, 2025 | By Steve Eighinger Muddy River News Minister of Culture and Doctor of Love

Daily Dirt for Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025

I think RIV’LIF is the first plate to ever medal with an apostrophe … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 1,178 of The Daily Dirt.

1. Still the leader!

The XQQQME entry held off a cast of challengers over the past week to retain its gold medal status in the early going of the 2024 Great Plater Debate. It’s obviously a long way until December — and no early leader has ever finished upon the throne — but could XQQQME possibly run the table during our fourth season of looking for the most creative personal license plates across West-Central Illinois and Northeast Missouri? Only time will tell, my friends.

On the meantime, keep those entries rolling in.

While XQQQME maintains its gold-medal status, we do have two entries residing on the medal stand: XCUSEUS is now in the silver-medal spot and RIV’LIF is holding down the bronze medal. Gone but not forgotten are former silver medalist GA DAWG and bronze medalist BE HAP E 2.

The current frontrunners now look like this:

Gold medal: XQQQME (Our leader held off some stiff challenges over the past week.)

Silver medal: XCUSEUS (It was a tough call as to whether this should be the new No. 1, but the Great Plate Debate Board of Control voted 4-3 in favor of XQQQME.)

Bronze medal: RIV’LIF (The apostrophe is a nice touch on these Missouri plates. Well done, Mizzou driver. Well done.)

This week’s best o’ the rest:

TATER
USA FAN
PSLM 33
STAR WO
MADDOG 5
RELACZN
24 GOAT
MUTGR 1
HUNEBE 3

2. Did you know that (Part 251)

That the average number of eyelashes shed by a human during his/her lifetime would measure about 98 feet. In Brittany Boll’s case, quadruple that number.
That in ancient Greece, throwing an apple to a woman was considered a marriage proposal. (How about a whole pie?)
That there is a volcano in Indonesia that spews blue lava (due to the high amount of sulfur dioxide it contains).
That the Eiffel Tower in Paris was originally scheduled to be turn down 20 years after it was built for the 1889 World’s Fair.
That Casey’s is now offering an Italian Deli pizza, featuring salami, marinara, mozzarella, bacon, banana peppers and a special parmesan blend.

3. Forty years ago in January 1985, these were the top-ranked hits you were listening to:

1. “I Want to Know What Love Is,” by Foreigner.
2. “Like A Virgin,” by Madonna.
3. “Ghostbusters,” by Ray Parker Jr.
4. “One Night in Bangkok,” by Murray Head. (My personal favorite of the bunch.)
5. “I Just Called to Say I Love You,” by Stevie Wonder.

Honorable mention: “We Belong,” by Pat Benatar and “You’re the Inspiration,” by Chicago

Steve Thought O’ The Day – File this under things that really don’t make a lot of sense: No chewing gum is permitted in Singapore in an effort to maintain the cleanliness of the city.