A simple car parked outside a Perth shopping center has become the latest viral sensation, all thanks to a license plate with a cheeky twist that most people missed at first glance.
The vehicle, a Kia Sportage, caught the attention of shoppers not because of its sleek design, but because of its unique plate — 370HSSV. At first, the combination of numbers and letters looked like any other personalized registration. But when one clever observer flipped the image upside down, the secret was revealed: the characters spelled out a rather suggestive word that quickly had social media users in stitches.
The amusing discovery was first shared on Facebook by a user named Jeffrey, who posted the photo on The Bell Tower Times 2.0 page. It didn’t take long for the internet to do what it does best — the post exploded in popularity, attracting thousands of likes, shares, and comments. People praised the cleverness of the hidden message, while others couldn’t believe it had managed to get approved in the first place.
What makes this incident even funnier is that Western Australia’s transport authorities are known for their strict review of custom plates. In 2024 alone, nearly 1,000 personalized plate applications were rejected for being potentially offensive or inappropriate. Some of the banned examples included SAUC3D, RAMP4GE, F4K3 T4XI, and BUYAGRAM.
Despite those rejections, this cleverly inverted message seems to have slipped through the cracks — or perhaps outsmarted the system entirely. Officials have yet to comment on whether the plate will be recalled, but for now, it continues to entertain thousands across social media platforms.
The viral plate is yet another example of how creativity, humor, and a touch of mischief can capture the world’s attention. Whether the car owner intentionally designed the optical illusion or simply got lucky, one thing’s certain — their license plate has now earned a permanent spot in internet folklore as one of the funniest accidental pranks of the year.