WEBVTT - Can You Put Emoji on License Plates?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain

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<v Speaker 1>Stuff Lauren bog Obam here. The state of Vermont could

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<v Speaker 1>soon be giving its license plates and upgrade. The plates,

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<v Speaker 1>which currently have white lettering on a leafy green background,

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<v Speaker 1>are some of the most basic you'll find anywhere in

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<v Speaker 1>the United States. Even Vermont's special interest plates, which signify,

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<v Speaker 1>for example, the motorists fondness for Ham radios or affiliation

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<v Speaker 1>with the National Ski Patrol, feature the relevant logo on

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<v Speaker 1>the side of the plate like an afterthought, and the

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<v Speaker 1>list of special interests that motorists can choose from is

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<v Speaker 1>shorter than in many other states. They can't even buy

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<v Speaker 1>a plate to boast about their favorite national sports team

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<v Speaker 1>because Vermont doesn't have any. In other words, when it

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<v Speaker 1>comes to license plates, the Green Mountain State is traditionally

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<v Speaker 1>all business. Until now. That is, Vermont has a new

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<v Speaker 1>bill that would let motorists add one of six yet

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<v Speaker 1>to be determined emoji two new license plates. The bill

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<v Speaker 1>was introduced by state Representative Rebecca White and passed onto

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<v Speaker 1>the state's Committee on Transportation in late January. Of the

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<v Speaker 1>emoji would be in addition to the standard letter and

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<v Speaker 1>number combination. Either assigned by the state or chosen by

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<v Speaker 1>the motorist, rather than replacing any of those characters. That

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<v Speaker 1>means the letter number combo will remain the official plate number.

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<v Speaker 1>In other words, it's unlikely that Vermont State troopers will

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<v Speaker 1>be calling out eggplant or sunglasses emoji over the radio

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<v Speaker 1>in much the same way they don't identify special interest

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<v Speaker 1>or other special types of plates. However, that's just speculation.

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<v Speaker 1>Weirder things have happened, and by recording time, Representative White's

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<v Speaker 1>office did not respond to our requests for comment. Believe

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<v Speaker 1>it or not, there's already precedent for what seems like

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<v Speaker 1>this pretty off the wall idea. Queensland, Australia has had

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<v Speaker 1>emoji license plates since five. Emoji are available for the

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<v Speaker 1>plates faces with a laugh, a wink, sunglasses, heart eyes,

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<v Speaker 1>and the standard smile, and as in the proposed Vermont plates,

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<v Speaker 1>they're not part of the identification sequence there. In addition

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<v Speaker 1>to three letters and two numbers, in Queensland, motorists also

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<v Speaker 1>get to choose text and background colors and from a

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<v Speaker 1>variety of background designs, including scenic landscapes and cartoon character logos.

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<v Speaker 1>Certain plates can also be inscribed with custom captions to

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<v Speaker 1>Motorists can even buy duplicate sets of plates with different

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<v Speaker 1>designs and swap them out on a whim. If the

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<v Speaker 1>Vermont bill passes, it would be the first state in

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<v Speaker 1>the US to offer such an option, though it's a

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<v Speaker 1>little too early to let imaginations run truly wild. Pricing

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<v Speaker 1>and other details have yet to be worked out. As

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<v Speaker 1>for whether will eventually see a plethora of emoji license

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<v Speaker 1>plates across the country is anybody's guests, but we certainly

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<v Speaker 1>hope that other states catch on and lighten our moods

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<v Speaker 1>in traffic jams. Today's episode for Certain by Shery's three

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<v Speaker 1>Wit and produced by Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is production

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<v Speaker 1>of i Heeart Radios has Stuff Works. For more in

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<v Speaker 1>this and lots of other curious topics, visit our home

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