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Friday, September 14, 2007

Proud to be a Muggle

I've never seen personalized plates referring to Harry Potter and in one day, I saw two. The series is an amazing phenomenon, making J.K. Rowling the highest-paid novelist of all time, and is credited with increasing literacy and reading by children up to 50%. But what I find bizarre is that people who read fantasy and created these license plates aren't continuing the fantasy by claiming to be fantastic witches or wizards, or even Quidditch players. Instead, they're proudly claiming to be what they are, regular people, who just happen to read Harry Potter.

Last night, leaving work to drive down to L.A., I noticed a car that had a MUDBLUD customized license plate. Mudblood refers to a Muggle who performs magic (like Hermione). Then, on the long drive I saw ANOTHER Harry Potter themed license plate, MUGGLES, with a frame that said "My other car is a Firebolt." (But Muggles don't fly, do they?) I love the proud claim to be a muggle, a term used even before Harry Potter to describe an ordinary person without special skills.

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