99% Invisible Artistic License Redux
57 snips
Feb 10, 2026 
Daniel Ackerman, a reporter who dug into license plate history and collectors, walks through how a 1928 Idaho potato plate sparked souvenir theft and turned plates into state marketing. Hear stories of design fights, legal battles over mottos, specialty plate controversies, and the evolution from porcelain tags to modern busy graphics.
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Idaho's Potato Plate Phenomenon
- In 1928 Idaho put a giant potato and the slogan "Idaho Potatoes" on its license plates as a promotional idea. Tourists loved them so much they started stealing the plates as souvenirs, causing a statewide problem.
License Plates Became Mini Billboards
- After Idaho's potato plate, states transformed plates from bureaucratic tags into traveling tourism ads. This half-square-foot of metal became a small but powerful tool for state branding and tourism promotion.
Maynard's Tape Protest And Its Consequences
- New Hampshire put "Live Free Or Die" on its plates in 1971 and Jehovah's Witness George Maynard covered his plate in protest. His refusal to pay fines led to jail time, job loss, and a Supreme Court case he ultimately won.