This Timber Rattlesnake Tried Stealing a Truck in Mississippi

by Gabrielle DeSantis

It’s never a good time with snakes on a plane or snakes in a truck. A timber rattler decided that it wasn’t ready to leave and blocked the door handle of a truck. It looks like it was on a Nissan Titan SL, which isn’t a bad choice for a human. 

A timber rattlesnake took over a Nissan Titan 

Timber rattlesnake on a possible Nissan Titan | Robert Hurst

A man named Richard Hurst in Northern Mississippi tried helping a timber rattlesnake out. The venomous snake showed up in his driveway up in Carroll County, about 90 miles north of Jackson. 

Most people would probably want to kill the poisonous snake, but Hurst and his wife remained pretty calm. He shared that his wife found the snake in the driveway, but it was a little too close to home. 

So Hurst planned to relocate the rattler with his truck, which looks like a Nissan Titan. A fit option for taking a ride into the woods to release a snake. It would’ve been a nice act of kindness if things went according to plan. 

The snake wasn’t ready to go 

Richard Hurst was trying to help the timber rattlesnake by relocating it with his Nissan Titan. He used a long piece of cane to place it under him and picked him up. Hurst was calm, and probably could have pinned his head to pick him up, but there was no need to take any chances. 

He placed the snake in the bed of his truck to take it for a short ride. He planned to release it a few miles away in the woods, so it could go do snake things away from humans. But the snake had other ideas. 

The snake refused to stay put and tried to take over the truck. It slithered onto the driver’s side door as an escape route. This blocked Robert Hurst from getting in his truck. While the snake was probably just trying to escape, maybe he wasn’t ready to go. 

Hurst didn’t share how he removed the snake from the door handle. No humans were injured in this story, and we hope the snake is doing just fine, out in the wilderness. Hurst shared that he probably should have put the snake in a container or something to ride in but it worked out fine. He’s safely away from people. 

Hurst and the snake laugh about it now 

A 2021 Nissan Titan XD parked near a barn
2021 Nissan Titan XD | Nissan

Hurst mentioned that he thinks the snake enjoyed the ride. It may have been its first time in or on a Nissan Titan. Hurst shared a few photos with the Mississippi Snake Forums and Identification Facebook Group. 

The timber rattlesnake seemed to be about three feet long. They grow to about five feet long in Mississippi, according to the Mississippi State University Extension Service. The snake, that’s unnamed, still has some growing to do out in the woods. If the truck is actually a Nissan Titan, then Titan would be a fitting name for him or her. 

It quickly turned into a joke fest in the Facebook group. Titan got hundreds of reactions and comments, serving as the ultimate anti-carjacking device. Some joked that the insurance claim would have been epic.

RELATED: Is the Nissan Titan XD Worth the Extra Money?

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Minnesota’s New Snowplow, Plowy McPlowFace, Is Getting Ready for Winter

by Gabrielle DeSantis

Move over, Boaty McBoatface. Minnesota’s fancy new snowplow, Plowy McPlowFace, is ready to hit the streets. As the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) prepares for snow in the coming months, Plowy McPlowFace the snowplow is ready for action. Check out some of the other creative names from the contest below.

Minnesota’s newest snowplow, Plowy McPlowFace

Minnesota’s New Snowplow, Plowy McPlowFace | Minnesota Department of Transportation

The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) recently held a contest to get creative with the names of a new set of snowplows for winter. Over 122,000 people voted in the inaugural Name a Snowplow contest. Since the state is separated into eight districts, which called for eight new snowplow names.

Plowy McPlowFace happened to be the winner for the Metro District and got the most attention, coming in at 65,292 votes. Duck Duck Orange Truck won District 1 with 25,824 votes. Ope, Just Gonna Plow Right Past Ya will be moving snow in District 4. Plow Bunyan is in District 2. The Truck Formerly Known As Plow is taking care of business in District 8.

Commissioner Margaret Anderson Kelliher said, “We thank everyone for their votes and participation in this fun contest, and through the process, becoming more aware of our snowplows, the tireless women and men who operate them, and the work necessary to keep our roads safe.”

Plowy McPlowFace is going to be busy

Winter brings ample snow to the streets of Minnesota. According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, the snowfall in the area ranges from 36 inches to 70 inches in the “snow belt” area. Weather experts anticipate that the state will get more snow than usual.

If you happen to be in the area, Plowy McPlowFace is appearing at the Minnesota State Fair before heading to work. You can take a photo with Plowy and enjoy a corn dog at the same time. Once the time is right, fans can watch the snowplows in action. On the Minnesota Department of Transportation website, you can watch the action through the Plow Cams. These live cameras allow people to see real-time road conditions.

The history of the silly name contest

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the earliest reference of a snowplow was from 1792. The author mentioned it in a description of New Hampshire weather. “When a deep snow has obstructed the roads, they are in some places opened by an instrument called a snow plough. It is made of planks, in a triangular form, with two side boards to turn the snow out on either hand.”

Interestingly enough, that means snowfall was heavy enough in the area back in 1792. While it isn’t likely people named snowplows silly names back in the 1700s, it is interesting to see the technology was still there.

Back in 2016, the Natural Environment Research Council asked the internet to help name a boat. While the agency hoped to have distinguished boat names, the internet quickly decided that would not happen. The people named the $287 million polar research ship R.R.S. Boaty McBoatface, according to a New York Times article. Plowy McPlowFace might be new to the state of Minnesota, but the internet never misses an opportunity to name stuff.

RELATED: The Secret Ford Escort of Princess Diana Recently Sold at Auction

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Does Factory Location affect Build Quality?

by Gabrielle DeSantis

Carmakers build their products all over the world. In addition to the United States, Ford has factories spread throughout Europe, South America, and Asia. With that scale of production, Ford must uphold acceptable quality control standards. One misplaced part could start a fire, or cripple the braking system. The auto industry goes the extra mile to ensure carmakers uphold certain standards, but sometimes the automakers build cars that aren’t up to snuff.

How do car companies keep up with quality control?

Quality testing at the Renault car plant | by Stanislav KrasilnikovTASS via Getty Images

Production cars are based on a prototype, put through various tests. That’s where quality control starts. Once that prototype passes its series of tests, it’s ready for mass production. Of course, the automaker must guarantee the quality is honored throughout each plant building that car. Each factory must comply with industry standards, federal and state laws, as well as company best practices.

What happens when quality control fails?

outside of a volkswagen factory
Volkswagen Transparent factory | Michal Fludra/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Several times various issues have fallen through the cracks of quality control. It can be a small issue that becomes a recall, like a defective lamp. Sometimes it’s a much larger, more expensive problem. Automatic transmissions in Ford Fiestas and Focuses from 2012-2016 had a debilitating lurch problem, which caused accidents and led to a class-action lawsuit, lemon-lawing the cars. Volkswagen went through its emissions debacle in 2015 when its cars were tricking smog computers into passing their inspections.

Does factory location affect build quality? 

car body welding shop at renault car plant
A car body welding shop at the Renault car plant | Stanislav KrasilnikovTASS via Getty Images

Although assembling cars is standardized to a well-oiled machine, an individual factory can make a difference, for better or worse. GM had a factory in Fremont which was notorious for poor quality control. It closed in 1982. In 1984, GM and Toyota initiated a partnership where both automakers would jointly operate a plant in Fremont, California, called NUMMI. The idea was for GM to learn how to build more advanced cars more efficiently, and for Toyota to have a shot at the U.S. market. 

This venture lasted until 2010 when the plant finally closed. Despite problems with marketing Toyota-based GM cars and the United Auto Workers (UAW) union, it wasn’t exactly a failure. GM has since implemented Toyota’s practices and is a world leader in quality and productivity. 

Is it possible to trace a widespread problem to a specific factory?

assembly worker at the renault car plant
A worker at an assembly line at the Renault car plant | Stanislav KrasilnikovTASS via Getty Images

NUMMI was an example of an effort to improve quality control and efficiency, based on a single factory’s practices. That said, quality control comes down to the workers. A VIN says everything anyone needs to know about their car, and if someone wants to find out where their car was built they can easily do so. Unfortunately, in the case of a class-action lawsuit, the specific VINs of affected cars will most likely be kept confidential, so it may not be possible to narrow down a defect to a specific factory. 

However, this may not be relevant for all problems. The Takata airbag recall affected 40 million different kinds of vehicles, from 12 different brands. In that case, the recall traced back to the part manufacturer. Other issues, like the premature rust on Toyota 4Runners, may stem from systemic quality control failure.

RELATED: Ford Recalls 35,000 F-350 Trucks for a Dangerous Reason

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2022 GM Trucks and SUVs Make Hard Stance On Seat Belts

by Gabrielle DeSantis

Learning to drive is one of the most exciting things ever in many young people’s lives. However, the stress that comes with it for parents is a different story. The checklist of things to consider is quite long and easy to forget as an excited young driver. GM now offers a new system that will help teen drivers remember to buckle up every time they take off down to the local Walmart parking lot to hang with their friends (assuming High schoolers still do that). 

Teen putting on seat belt | Chevrolet

GM ain’t playin’ with these kids

In 2019 Chevrolet began expanding its Teen Driver mode. This gave young drivers a separate setting that limited ascertain things and gave regular reminders for the teen to remember safety procedures like buckling up.

“Buckle to Drive” ensures that young drivers wore seat belts by not allowing the car to shift into gear unless the seat belt was fastened. Over the past two years, the program has expanded to include a wide swath of GM models; 2020 Colorado, Traverse, Malibu, and Canyon; the 2021 Equinox; and the 2022 Blazer.

According to The Drive, Buckle to Drive will now be standard on even more GM SUVs and pickup trucks for 2022. The 2022 Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra will be among the new adoptees for this new safety feature. 

GM has also said that for 2023, the system will be expanded to include the front passenger seat. The data on seat belts is undeniable, and it makes plenty of sense that GM would like to see its customers die less from something as avoidable as non-belted driving deaths. 

Do seat belts really keep you safer? 

That would be a big and resounding “yes.” The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the national use rate of seat belts was at 90.3% in 2020. In the late 40s and early 50s, buyers started seeing cars with seat belts as options, and by the early 1970s, American car manufacturers were required to include seat belts in new vehicles. 

As the NHTSA said, “Seat belt use in passenger vehicles saved an estimated 14,955 lives in 2017.” The safety group goes on to say that, “Of the 22,215 passenger vehicle occupants killed in 2019, 47% were not wearing seat belts.”

Do people care about GM forcing seat belts on young drivers? 

Volvo Three Point Seat Belt
Volvo Three-Point Seat Belt | Volvo

As unfathomable as it may seem, when the federal government began requiring automakers to put seatbelts in every car, some people were so enraged that they defaced their own cars to prove their dedication to being unsafe. If only there were a reference point for that in these modern times….

In fact, GM is fully aware that the idea of forced buckling will likely spark some people to wave guns on federal property or might even lead to more violent displays of refusal. Still, GM has made ways to get around the safety setting. This information isn’t meant to support foolish behavior but only to share all pertinent information on the subject. 

GM says, “Buckle to Drive can be turned off through the Settings menu on the infotainment screen; go to Settings > Vehicle > Buckle to Drive. On vehicles that include the feature as part of Teen Driver Mode, go to Settings > Vehicle > Teen Driver. The vehicle may need to be restarted to register the setting change.” 

Allowing for the disabling of this feature will support those who like the added safety reminder and keep those upset by GM trying to keep kids safe. According to The Drive, when asked, a GM Spokesperson said, “he could not confirm the information in the report released on Buckle to Drive’s integration into the 2022 Silverado and Sierra, nor could they comment further on speculations as to whether the feature would be standard or integrated as part of Teen Driver mode.”

RELATED: How Effective Are Seat Belts?

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