After 10 Years, License Plate Called Obscene

(Columbus, Ohio) After owning the same personalized license plate for ten years, a elderly Ohio woman has been told that it is obscene. Huh?

From NewsNet5.com:

Pat Niple turned 74 years old on Tuesday. She normally ordered her license plates and renewal stickers by mail. But this year, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles returned her check, accompanied by a letter.

"The letter stated that I could no longer have my license plate, which was NWTF," she said.

Niple's personalized plates are NWTF, an abbreviation of Northwood Tree Farm -- a business she owned with her late husband. It also means something else, officials said.

"Apparently, the young people use it on the computer," she said.

Niple went to a BMV office to get some answers. A clerk had to whisper what the acronym means to some people.

"Now what the -- and the last word begins with an f," Niple said. "I said, 'You got to be kidding me.'"

BMV officials said they have a set of standards that includes no profanity or obscene language. So, Niple has to use a temporary tag until her new, acceptable plates arrive.

I figure someone must have complained and the department overreacted. The plate has to be interpreted as being obscene. On its face, it's just four letters.