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[school bell rings over student chattering]
When I was a kid I used to have this strange obsession with number plates.
Which is why I am now the proud owner of this oversized novelty number plate.
As we would drive around, we would play this game
where we would spot those super rare number plates that spelled out real three letter words.
You know, things like bat, amp or toy, for example.
Now in Australia, when you first start learning to drive we have these things called L plates
which, as you might imagine, have a big L on them.
Once you’ve been driving for a while you then upgrade to P plates. Simple enough right?
Now, I quite like L and P plates because of the fact
they give us an additional letter to add to number plates.
This allows you to create four-letter words.
For example, the number plate AMP that we looked at before becomes LAMP when we add an L plate.
[electric buzzing]
And the number plate ONY, which is not a real word, becomes a PONY when you add a P plate.
[pony whinnies]
Even more amazing are number plates that work with both L and P plates.
Take the number plate INK, for example.
Add an L-plate and you have a LINK, add a P-plate and you’re suddenly PINK.
So here is your number plate challenge.
I want you to imagine a world which not only has L plates and P plates
but also has A plates and B plates and C plates and D plates….
all the way up to zed plates or zee plates depending where you're from.
Suddenly your ability to make four letter words has increased dramatically.
Your challenge is to find the number plate that will give you the most four letter words
after trying all 26 of these plates.
Let me show you an example to get you started.
Over here we will keep a tally of all the points we score as we go.
Let’s start with the number plate AKE which, if you’re interested,
is actually a small hardwood tree from New Zealand.
If we add an A plate we get AAKE. Unfortunately not a word so no points.
Let’s try a B plate.
Now we’ve got bake which is a verb meaning to cook something in an oven. One point
Adding a C plate gives us CAKE which is a noun that, coincidentally,
you might bake in the oven. Two points.
Let’s use a D plate. DAKE.
Hmmm. Unfortunately not a word.
An E plate gives us EAKE. Also not a word.
An F plate gives us fake which, depending how you use it,
can be an adjective, noun or verb meaning a forgery or not real. Three points.
Anyway, I think you get the idea.
Your challenge is to find the three letter number plate that will produce the most real four letter words.
A couple of rules. Number one.
The three letters on your starting number plate do not need to form a real word.
Number two. You can most definitely use a dictionary to help with this challenge.
Number three. I will accept contractions such as don’t and can’t even though they are missing an apostrophe.
Number four. I will also accept proper nouns such a Lucy and Peru.
And number five. Because I’m super generous I will even allow abbreviations such as
temp for temporary or ASAP for as soon as possible.
Three or more points will score you a bronze medal,
six or more points, a silver medal and nine or more points a gold medal.
There are thousands of possible number plates to try so don’t just stop at one.
Good luck.
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