Taylor Swift Is Even Queen of the Snowplows

Travelers in northwestern Minnesota can shake off their trepidation about hitting the winter roads knowing Taylor Drift is clearing a path ahead of them. The snowplow named for Taylor Swift was the runaway winner of Minnesota's fourth annual "Name a Snowplow" contest, with eight new names announced this week. Taylor Drift received 12,027 votes, nearly twice as many as the second-place finisher, Clark W. Blizzwald—honoring the star character of National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, per the AP.

• In order of votes received, the winners were Taylor Drift, Clark W. Blizzwald, Dolly Plowton, Waipahinte (a Dakota word for "snowplow"), Beyonsleigh, You're Killin' Me Squalls, Fast and Flurrious, and Barbie's Dream Plow.

The eight winning names were assigned to snowplows in different districts, with Taylor Drift going to one in northwest Minnesota, while Barbie's Dream Plow went to another in the Twin Cities metro area. Minnesota began naming its roughly 800 plows in 2020. With more than 50,000 name submissions since 2020, the response in Minnesota has prompted states and cities across the country to hold similar contests to name snowplows, including Alaska, California, Ohio, and Massachusetts. Previous winners over the years in Minnesota include Plowy McPlowFace, Darth Blader, Blizzard of Oz, Scoop Dogg, and Han Snowlo.

(More strange stuff stories.)