Why knowing your license plate number 100 years ago might have been advantageous

Mary Phillips
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Inquisitive about license plates? A journalist in 1923 reported only three out of 10 motorists could recite their tag numbers from memory. In this 1960 photograph, auto tags were used to create a question mark after an Oklahoma County tag agent discovered there were seven duplicated tags among 160,000 license plates made for Oklahoma County by prisoners.

How many numbers does the average person have memorized?

Cellphone numbers, birthdays, Social Security numbers, addresses, PINs, the list goes on.

The headline in The Daily Oklahoman on July 22, 1923, states:

"Few Persons Know Number of License."

"Do you know the license number of your motor car?" asks J.M. Johnson, Oklahoma City Cleveland Six distributor.

"If you do," he continues, "you are one of the few who really makes their business to memorize their car number.

Taken as an average, about seven out of ten when asked the number of their automobile, are obliged to rummage through their pockets and oftentimes go as far as to look at their car to furnish the information.

"This condition should be rectified. Now if you use a motor car constantly or even occasionally it is worth studying. You would not forget the number of your house or telephone. Then why should you slight your motor car?

"Thousands of motor cars are being stolen each year. Statistics show that this number is increasing. Who knows but what your car be one of the many this year? It is much easier to trace a car when all the numbers of that car have been furnished than it is by description only. If you do not know the numerals of your license plates as well as the motor and serial numbers learn them today. This information may come in mighty handy when you think you have the least need for it."

One hundred years ago, it was three drivers out of 10 who knew their automobile's license plate number.

Today, it would probably be closer to zero.

In all my years of driving, I never memorized my vehicle's license plate number until I got a specialty license plate.

I imagine there are many readers like me.

If you would like to contact Mary Phillips about The Archivist, email her at gapnmary@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Why was it important to know your auto's license plate number in 1923?