This story made me smile.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation held a contest last month to name eight new snowplows. 122,435 Minnesotans voted in the Name a Snowplow contest, which the organizers narrowed down to 50 top vote-getters. Each ballot allowed up to eight submissions.
After the voting concluded, the eight names receiving the most votes were announced winners. Here are the 50 top names and the votes they received:
“Abolish ICE” apparently just missed the cut. Good. I am particularly pleased that four names honoring Minnesota Twins baseball greats are in the top 50: Road Carew (Rod Carew), Joe Plower (Joe Mauer), Justin Moresnow (Justin Moreau) and Kent Brrr-bek (Kent Hrbek).
The top 8 winners in order and their assigned plow location were:
- Plowy McPlowFace – Metro District
- Ope, Just Gonna Plow Right Past Ya – District 4
- Duck Duck Orange Truck – District 1
- Plow Bunyan – District 2
- Snowbi Wan Kenobi – District 6
- F. Salt Fitzgerald – District 7
- Darth Blader – District 3
- The Truck Formerly Known As Plow – District 8
God Bless America!
UPDATE: I figured out the ethics link to this story. It’s here, in the 2016 post where I agreed with the decision of Great Britain’s National Environmental Research Council to reject the winning name in its contest to name its$300 million research vessel. I analogized its much-condemned move to the Republican Party’s obligation, in my view, to refuse to nominate Donald Trump as its Presidential candidate. The rejected name was, you may recall, “Boaty McBoatface.“
Ethics Alarms 
“The Truck Formerly Known as Plow” is a wonderful tribute to Prince.
jvb
Where’s “Little Red Corvette?”
I kind of like “Live, Laugh, Plow” because of the innuendo. Maybe too much for the kiddies though.
What? No one in Minnesota watches The Simpsons???
No Mr. Plow?
No Plow King?
(singing… “Call mister plow, thats my name, that name again is mister plow”)
Cheers, Mike
Better than the “Boaty BcBoatface” debacle. In this case the matter wasn’t as serious, and I’m sure they expected the whimsy going in.
*McBoatface
You know, I was willing to bet as soon as I saw that names were voted on by the public, and before seeing the winners or the list that Plowy McPlowface would be if not the winner than at least top 5. I was not dissapointed. Ever since the boat, it’s become something of a constant.
I’m thinking of changing my professional name to “Baldy McEthicsface.”
It’s worth noting that they did use the voted name for one of the submersibles on the ship even though they declined to use it for the mothership.
No “Curby Puckett?”
You should have voted! Harmon Killadrift!
I tried to come up with something for Harmon and even Jim “Kitty” Kaat. But … nothing. Of course, Bert (be home) Blyleven is probably the Chris “Ethel” Berman gold standard. (So many Dutchies in Twinkie lore.)
Ooops. Chris “Ethel Merman” Berman. The MLB players revenge on Mr. “Back, Back Back.” Who was famously scolded by his ESPN masters for using too many nicknames and promptly began referring to George Herman Ruth during broadcasts. But alas, Chris didn’t know when to quit.
Boatie McBoatface is unethical but Plowie McPlowface gets a “God Bless America”?
I knew that entry would be number one because that’s the running gag now.
But it is still unethical to name some public thing that.
Yeah, but as I mentioned in the first post, if you tell the public it’s their choice to decide, you better have an extraordinary reason to break your promise. Making a research vehicle ridiculous is an exception–the Ethics Incompleteness Principle. Naming a humble snow plow doesn’t qualify. Who names snowplows anyway?
People in Minneapolis? Eh? Right Paulie?
No Mr. Potato Plow? sheesh?
Meanwhile, in Scotland:
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18921747.scotlands-gritters-winter-hilarious-names/
Mush better, thanks.
Surprised there wasn’t a “Snowin’ Connery” in that list, considering some of the other choices.