Confusing Numbers and Letters

I've been helping my little kids with their handwriting and math and have noticed that they sometimes get some of their symbols mixed up. For a while I suspected that one of my boys was dyslexic because he would consistently write letters and words backwards and get them confused with each other.

Sometimes that kind of confusion affects adults too. I work with vehicle identification numbers from cars on a regular basis and when I'm typing these long numbers and letter combinations fast, I sometimes get hung up or will confuse the following symbols with each other.

5S     4A     1I     8B    6G     0O     E3

I don't think I'm the only one who should have to experience this confusion, so the next time you call your insurance agent to add a car to your policy, I suggest you mess with them a little bit by trying the following things when you read them the VIN.

First, call them from your cell phone and put it on speaker phone so there will be plenty of background noise. It's also a favorite when someone is calling while driving down the freeway with their windows down. You might also try to mumble or speak in a thick accent. Once you have that down, you can proceed to my favorite part. If you are trying to clarify certain letters when you are reading the VIN to them, rather than say T like Tango and F like Foxtrot, I suggest you use some of the less popular word examples below.

P like pneumonia
T as in tsunami
G like gnome
A like aisle
K as in knee
E like Euphoria
W like wrestling

You are welcome. I'm just here to help.