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Michigan DOT Snowplow Names
- kyleblarson 5y agoWA state does this as well. https://www.yaktrinews.com/introducing-sir-plows-a-lot-newest-wsdot-snow-plow/ https://www.yaktrinews.com/introducing-sir-plows-a-lot-newes...
- readthenotes1 5y ago"ol' seven fingers" means "son, go to college."
- jcpst 5y agoThis made my day
- TheSwordsman 5y ago"The Big LePlowski" Hahaha. Some of these are great!
- gregfjohnson 5y agoA similar collection, some really funny: https://www.jetblue.com/flying-with-us/our-planes/plane-names https://www.jetblue.com/flying-with-us/our-planes/plane-name...
- cachvico 5y agoRusty McSaltmeister
- h2odragon 5y ago"Plowderpuff" should be wearing the headlight eyelashes things. "Sir Aaron Brr" prolly likes to splash the snow back into traffic.
- ejdyksen 5y agoEven better, the "MI Drive" site (for Michigan road conditions) actually shows live webcam footage from many (all?) of the DOT plows. This is valuable during the winter to see the road conditions outside of areas like metro Detroit or Grand Rapids (which have fixed road cameras). https://mdotjboss.state.mi.us/MiDrive/map?plows=true https://mdotjboss.state.mi.us/MiDrive/map?plows=true EDIT: I mostly drive between Grand Rapids and Lansing, and I haven't looked in a while, but there are actually a lot of fixed cameras on major highways now, even outside metro areas: https://mdotjboss.state.mi.us/MiDrive/map?cameras=true https://mdotjboss.state.mi.us/MiDrive/map?cameras=true
- whalesalad 5y agoLove watching the plows during a storm and seeing the live updates on their state: salting, plowing, etc.
- LegitShady 5y agothe "Transportation" name for those fixed camera systems are "Rwis" (Road Weather Information System) stations. Definitely check them out before you highway drive but also be aware that changing weather conditions can make roads slippery or otherwise dangerous. The plow cameras and sensors (plow position, salt/aggregate activity, etc) are more useful for transportation operations staff to know what's been plowed and what still needs plowing but technically do take pictures of the whole highway instead of just the rwis stations.
- earleybird 5y agoWorked on this one some time ago[0]. Webcams are a big reason folks come to the site. Clicking on the "Princeton" icon get you a popup of the current image and clicking on that gets you the detail page[1]. On the detail page there is a "Replay the day" button which will "card flip" the images for the last 24hrs to give you a sense of what conditions have been like (no time machine yet :-) ). Site went live back in 2005 with the current look appearing around about 2009 (memory is getting fuzzy). Baseline network activity on a typical day ran about 4 MByte/sec continuous; on "snow days"[2] the load increases an order of magnitude to 24 MByte/second. That was 5+ years ago - I expect there's been growth since then. [0] https://drivebc.ca/#mapView&z=11&ll=49.485664%2C-120.367187 https://drivebc.ca/#mapView&z=11&ll=49.485664%2C-120.367187 [1] https://images.drivebc.ca/bchighwaycam/pub/html/dbc/452.html https://images.drivebc.ca/bchighwaycam/pub/html/dbc/452.html [2] "Snow day" might be "the Coquihalla is getting about 50cm over the next 12 hours"
- avs733 5y agotoday I learned the name of RWIS cameras. I actually used one recently. My wife was caught in a traffic jam due to an accident/car fire. I was able to actually find a visual of her car on the highway from my laptop. She had our baby in the car who was screaming and I was able to narrate what was happening with the accident - which gave her enough time to change a diaper while stopped and then get safely back in the driver seat before traffic started moving.
- lxe 5y agoDo the snowplow Minds name themselves?
- h2odragon 5y ago"Self Driving v3: Self Awareness! Only $15k!"
- loeg 5y agoIs that Iain Banks?
- wlesieutre 5y agoExperiencing A Significant Gravitas Snowfall
- Loughla 5y agoOh man, finally something I can do. Irregular Snowpocalypse. Snow More Mr Nice Guy. Clear Road Turbulence. Clear Surface. So Much for Snowdays. Of Course Ice till love you (that one's a stretch). Precipitation Effect. It'll be over by christmas (that one works on its own). There's a lot more, but I'm at work and people are walking in now.
- rektide 5y agoIn the old space 4x game series "Space Empires", one could upload a txt file of ship names. This would be a great list of names.
- cbfrench 5y agoI do think the Scots still have some better ones: https://www.cnet.com/google-amp/news/scotland-snow-plows-names-titles/ https://www.cnet.com/google-amp/news/scotland-snow-plows-nam... Clearopathra is inspired, though.
- djokkataja 5y ago"You're a Blizzard, Harry" is fantastic
- arcticbull 5y agoMichigan does have "Snowbegone Kenobi"!
- cwp 5y agoMinnesota with "Darth Blader"!
- luhn 5y agoWhat bugs me is "Lord Coldemort & You're a Blizzard Harry" is a single name, which is just awkward. Both are excellent puns and should be two separate snowplows.
- r00fus 5y agoCtrl-Salt-Delete is a close 2nd IMHO.
- kevin_thibedeau 5y agoThere used to be a lot of punny band names like Gritallica. It looks like only Sled Zepplin is out now.
- Zenst 5y agoIndeed some utter gems and nice list here: https://www.motortrend.com/news/scotland-gritter-snowplows-names/ https://www.motortrend.com/news/scotland-gritter-snowplows-n...
- 5y ago
- torstenvl 5y agoI like Biboon Ogichidaa (Ojibwe for Winter Warrior)
- candiddevmike 5y agoSome Minnesota snowplow names: https://www.dot.state.mn.us/news/2021/03/02-snowplow.html https://www.dot.state.mn.us/news/2021/03/02-snowplow.html
- Minor49er 5y ago"Duck Duck Orange Truck" is perfect
- reaperducer 5y agoFor those of you not from Minnesota, "Duck Duck Gray Duck" is their version of "Duck Duck Goose." (I'm not sure if it's just a Minnesota thing, but I never heard it in any of the other upper midwest states in which I lived.)
- icambron 5y agoDo they...not have geese there? (I'm Ohioan, and can confirm never having heard of this... questionable variant)
- Minor49er 5y agoWe definitely have geese. But to us, the game has always been called Duck Duck Gray Duck
- pigbearpig 5y agoI believe this is the authoritative reference on the subject https://www.christopherpollard.com/2013/02/22/in-minnesota-its-duck-duck-grey-duck/ https://www.christopherpollard.com/2013/02/22/in-minnesota-i...
- sprobertson 5y ago"Abolish ICE" was a punny (but disqualified) option on the Minnesota ballot last year https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/22/us/abolish-ice-minnesota-snowplow.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/22/us/abolish-ice-minnesota-...
- oogali 5y agoI was really hoping for a "Mr. Plow". EDIT: H/T to capableweb for a working Ctrl+F
- smudgy 5y agoThere's a Mr Plow because that's his name, Mr Plow.
- edoceo 5y agoMr plow is a loser (and I think he is a boozer) so you'd better make that call to the Plow King
- spookthesunset 5y agoI love singing that song…
- coverman 5y agoBut sadly no “The Plow King”
- capableweb 5y agoThere is a Mr. Plow! It's under "Southwest Region". Many others could be considered Mr. Plow as well, Gordie Plow, Herbert H. Plow, Marco Plowo and more.
- oogali 5y agoYes! Thank you for finding that! (How did I miss that?)
- MaxBareiss 5y agoJohn Oliver called out a number of similarly interesting names on The Bugle: https://youtu.be/Q-i1M1Oh3h0?t=220 https://youtu.be/Q-i1M1Oh3h0?t=220
- pranavjoneja 5y agowhere's Plowy McPlowface? See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boaty_McBoatface https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boaty_McBoatface and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Mcface_spoofs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Mcface_spoofs
- dtparr 5y agoMinnesota, actually https://www.dot.state.mn.us/news/2021/03/02-snowplow.html https://www.dot.state.mn.us/news/2021/03/02-snowplow.html
- kevinpet 5y agoThe Truck Formerly Known As Plow is particularly appropriate since it's Prince's home state.
- klyrs 5y agoThey do have Rusty McSaltmeister...
- SippinLean 5y agoApparently these names were submitted in a contest, it appears Plowy McPlowface was one of them, but sadly didn't make the final cut https://www.audacy.com/wwjnewsradio/news/local/mdot-names-all-330-of-michigans-snow-plows-after-contest https://www.audacy.com/wwjnewsradio/news/local/mdot-names-al...
- hoppyhoppy2 5y agoVermont has a Plowy McPlowface. https://vtrans.vermont.gov/name-a-plow https://vtrans.vermont.gov/name-a-plow
- TacticalCoder 5y agoI vote for: "Han Snow-Lo" to be the best in that list.
- geenew 5y agoMy vote is for 'Mr Plow'
- beastman82 5y agoSaul T. Streets is a strong contender
- dole 5y ago"Ctrl Salt Delete" - hoo hah!
- epalm 5y agoThese look like names a 100-flavor wing place would have, except snow-themed.
- 0000011111 5y agoSnow Force 1 is the one I link the most.
- EFreethought 5y agoTruck Norris does not plow snow. The snow sees Truck Norris coming and the snow jumps out of the way.
- Noumenon72 5y agoThe Northwest Passage exists, but only when Truck Norris is going that way to pick up a Klondike bar.
- rdiddly 5y agoSalt Salt Baby was where I LOL'd, but what, no Tony Snowprano? No Spred Zeppelin? Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Road?
- smarx007 5y agoUsain Salt [1] [1]: https://metro.co.uk/2017/11/19/new-council-gritter-named-gritsy-bitsy-teeny-weeny-yellow-anti-slip-machiney-7090279/ https://metro.co.uk/2017/11/19/new-council-gritter-named-gri...
- TheDudeMan 5y ago
- batch12 5y agoWhy? The front page isn't holy ground. It is interesting and entertaining. Edit: It is interesting and entertaining to me to see humanity peek through the uninspired Vogon bureaucracy that usually saturates government.
- reaperducer 5y agoThis would be a good fit for Facebook or Reddit. No so much Hacker News, much less #1 on the front page. You must not have been on the internet, or its predecessors, in the 1980's and 90's. It was full of wonderful things like this.
- swader999 5y ago
- dnanaag 5y ago
- bicx 5y agoThis being HN, I initially read this as "michigan.snowplow" names and thought Michigan had come up with some oddly-specific TLD.
- disillusioned 5y agoMissed opportunities for: * Snowpiercer * Plowly McPlowFace
- vvanders 5y agoThese are all fantastic but Yooper Scooper is really inspired.
- maxerickson 5y agoIt's a long used name for a snow removal device: https://upsupply.co/steez/yooper-scooper https://upsupply.co/steez/yooper-scooper
- MrCookie 5y agoI present to you the gritters of Scotland. https://scotgov.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=2de764a9303848ffb9a4cac0bd0b1aab https://scotgov.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html...
- anotheraccount9 5y agoPeppy Le Plow
- mauvehaus 5y agoVermont too: https://vtdigger.org/2021/11/21/vermont-schoolchildren-got-to-name-163-snowplows-and-the-results-are-as-fantastic-as-youd-think/ https://vtdigger.org/2021/11/21/vermont-schoolchildren-got-t...
- Ericson2314 5y agoCan we goad Disney into sueing Michigan over this so bad IP law gets more bad press?
- cnees 5y agoNever been more proud to be a Michigander
- sabujp 5y agoi'm just happy that HN has a sense of humor and every US DOT that has snowplows should have such a page. these are too good. TIL: Heikki Lunta is the embodiment of the Finnish snow god character who originated in the mythology of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The character of Heikki Lunta is a product of the heavy Finnish-American presence in Michigan's Upper Peninsula combined with a tremendous annual snowfall. ...and Snowbegone Kenobi lol
- hodgesrm 5y agoI figured there must be Finns somewhere up there because one of the plows is named "Sisu." It means prolonged determination in the face of adversity. [0] It's a quality that Finns value very highly. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisu https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisu
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- speed_spread 5y agoI'm just disappointed that there isn't a Snowplowy McSnowplowFace.
- parsimo2010 5y agoMinnesota has Plowy McPlowFace from a link in another comment.
- yurishimo 5y agoI wish there was some way to objectively measure how much snow has been displaced by each truck. Then there can be some sort of competition bracket for the most throughput!
- alpb 5y agoSoo there's no "Salt Bae". I see. https://mobile.twitter.com/401_da_sarpanch/status/1339235481243021315 https://mobile.twitter.com/401_da_sarpanch/status/1339235481...
- WalterBright 5y agoWW2 airplane nose art: https://www.google.com/search?q=ww2+nose+art&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjviaqSy6j1AhV-IDQIHQm6BNoQ_AUoAXoECBUQAw&biw=1424&bih=1283&dpr=1.5 https://www.google.com/search?q=ww2+nose+art&source=lnms&tbm... My dad's was "Round Trip Ticket III"
- aghilmort 5y agoone of my portfolio companies turned list into public gsheet if want to vote / comment on fave names / etc. https://twitter.com/drivespotter/status/1480732040953839618 https://twitter.com/drivespotter/status/1480732040953839618
- Zenst 5y agoBrilliant and they have "Mr. Plow", so clearly some Simpsons fans. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Plow https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Plow
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- lamontcg 5y agoSo happy they didn't go with the laziest name possible that has been beaten to death already.
- Stratoscope 5y agoI read a dozen of these names to a friend just now and she said, "This is genius! They must have let the snowplow crews name their own plows. After all, who is going to take better care of their machine, the crew who drives Snowplow 437 or the crew who drives Clearopathra?" This made me curious: who did come up with these names? Was it top down from the DOT? Or did they let the crews name their plows?
- Symbiote 5y agoOn the other side of the Atlantic: > The story of these hilarious gritter names goes back to 2006 when Transport for Scotland decided to run a competition in Scottish primary schools. Pupils were tasked with inventing the best possible names for a fleet of gritters. (Gritter = salt/grit spreader, more common than an actual plough in Britain, although Scotland presumably needs some of each.) I don't know if Scotland was first with the idea. Big vehicles have been named for centuries, officially and unofficially. (Ships, trains, planes etc.)
- _zooted 5y agoI thought this was going to be a story about a domain name ending with .snowplow
- maratc 5y agoObservers of contemporary culture coined the term "McBoatfacing", defined as "making the critical mistake of letting the internet decide things". In one such observation, Jennifer Finney Boylan of The New York Times wrote that to be "McBoatfaced" was to allow people to "deliberately make their choices not in order to foster the greatest societal good, but, instead, to mess with you". The results of the poll inspired numerous similar spoofs in other naming polls. From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boaty_McBoatface https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boaty_McBoatface See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Mcface_spoofs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Mcface_spoofs
- VHRanger 5y agoI dont think it was a spoof. People just preferred the silly name
- midasuni 5y agoDoes anyone know how long this has been going? I know Scotland didn’t start until 2006, but what about other countries?
- romeoblade 5y agoSaltimus Brine... "Now, All We Need Is A Little Salt And A Lot Of Luck!" "There's A Thin Line Between Roads Being A Closed, And Roads Being Open." "One Day, An Plow Truck Will Rise From Our Ranks And Use The Power Of Salt To Clear Our Worst Roads. Until That Day, Til' All Are One." "Snow Shall Stand, Salt Shall Fall!"
- egberts1 5y agoSo… many… Star Wars … references, indirectly of course.
- lilrkt 5y ago"The Edge"? No? U2 fans where are you?