Play the state license plate game – Road trip tip

Best intended for long, multi-state trips, make a list of the 50 states for each participating member in the car, and they each check off the state when they see a car with that state’s license plate.

This can be entertaining for kids as well as adults and it can also be cooperative or competitive. An added challenge is not allowing checkoffs for the state you’re currently in. The game exercises one’s observational skills as well as teaching what each state’s license plate design looks like and can also be played simultaneously while conversing or listening to music, allowing it to last for hours.

For a twist, create individual BINGO cards for each player with various states listed.

License Plates Cost More Than Cars in Shanghai

In Shanghai, the largest city in China, you can expect to pay more for a vanity “number” license plate than one of China’s “hottest-selling subcompact cars,” the Chery QQ (pictured).

“Over the weekend, about 9,000 people bid for 6,000 car plate numbers, which were snapped up at an average price of 47,711 yuan [USD $6,262.68],” according to a Reuters article. Compare that to the QQ, which sells for only 39,800 yuan, or USD $5,224. Someone’s getting a raw deal.

Why are these number plates so coveted in China?