From Benny the Bull-izzard to B.B. Plow King, city gets creative with snowplow naming contest

Vote for your favorite name for your neighborhood snowplow now through Jan. 31st.

Photo byNyker/Depositphotos.com

(CHICAGO) The idea for naming snowplows in the U.S. began in Minnesota.

It was in 2020, during that first winter of the pandemic when it seemed the entire world was locked down, and the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) wanted to connect with Minnesota residents in a light-hearted way.

Scottish gritters

According to NPR, MnDOT tried an idea they'd heard about from Scotland. Scotland has the adorable tradition of naming its snowplows, which they call "gritters." The Scots give them marvelously silly names, like Gangsta Granny Gritter, Snowbegone Kenobi, and Fred.

MnDOT set up a contest in the winter of 2020 for residents to name snowplows, and the response was big. The state received over 24,000 suggestions that year, with Plowy McPlowFace coming in as the overall winner with the most votes.

Chicago's "You Name a Snowplow" contest

Other snowy U.S. locations followed the trend from Vermont to Boston to Lafayette, Indiana.

And this year, Chicago is holding its very first “You Name a Snowplow” contest.

“Chicago knows snow, and we count on our snowplows and their drivers to be here for us every winter making sure the roads are safe and passable for motorists, emergency vehicles, and public transportation,” said Mayor Lightfoot in a press release. “I’m thrilled to begin this fun and exciting naming process for our vitally important fleet of snow vehicles.”

The Chicago snowplow naming contest is currently in its second phase. In the first phase, residents were invited to submit entries for snowplow names.

The department staff chose 50 finalists. Chicago residents have until Jan. 31 to vote for up to six of their favorites from the finalists.

The six names with the most votes will be featured on city snowplows. You can track them during snowstorms at Chicago's plow tracker.

Vote for your favorite name at Chicago.gov.

The 50 finalists include:

• Austin Plowers
• B.B. PlowKing
• Bean there, plowed that
• Benny the Bull-izzard
• Best In Snow
• Better Call Salt
• Big Frosty
• Bill Flurray/Bill Flurry
• Bozo the Snowplow
• C3-Psnow
• Celery Salt BAE
• Chance the Scraper
• Chicago Style Plowza
• City of Big Shovelers
• Cold Faithful
• Creedence Clear Road Survival
• DA PLOW
• Ernie Snowbanks
• Ferris Blizzard’s Day Off
• Hey now, you’re a plow star
• HeyChicagoWhaddyaPLOW
• Holy Plow!
• I Pity the Snow
• Ice-Ta-La-Vista
• Ima B. Salty
• Jean Baptiste Point du Shovel
• Little Dibbie
• LollaPLOWlooza
• Looper Scooper
• Ludwig Mies van der Snow
• Megameltasaurus
• Mrs. O’Leary’s Plow
• My Kind of Plow’n
• Off to See the Blizzard
• O-Plow Winfrey
• PATROL-SALT-DeSLEET
• Plowcasso
• Plows on Parade
• S’No Worries
• Salter Payton
• Sammy Snowsa
• Sears Plower
• Sir Salts-A-Lot
• Sleet Home Chicago
• Snow Cubs Snow
• Snow Motion
• Super Bowl Shovel
• The Defridgerator Perry
• The Great Plow-dini
• The Plowminator

What's your vote?

Remember, you have until January 31 to place your vote at Chicago.gov.

While nothing can rival Minnesota's Plowy McPlowFace, I'm partial to Plows on Parade. What about you? What's your favorite?

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