An ’88 Mazda for Free? Yes, but Be Sure to Read the Fine Print

When USC student Emmett Mavy told me he wanted to put his “WEB CEO” license plates on the market, I asked the DMV about such a transaction.

After several days of ruminating, the agency said that type of sale would be illegal--the plates belong to the state. But a spokesman told me that if the plates were on a car that was sold, the new owner could keep them.

Mavy, a USC student and a flexible businessman, said he will take that approach, throwing in his car for free.

Which means that for $45,000 you can have those “WEB CEO” plates on a Mazda RX7 GXL--a 1988 model.

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GUIDE TO ADVENTUROUS DINING: Welcome to this week’s menu. If you’re ready, I’ll tell you today’s specials:

* Some crab cakes with a rather cottony taste (Fred Stone).

* Ribs that pack a jolt (Elizabeth Geiger).

* And pizza that is fresher and has a better taste only if you order $10 worth of it--to be delivered near or far (George Ushiro of Costa Mesa).

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JUST SIT RIGHT BACK AND YOU’LL HEAR A TALE: When a California license plate that said “3HRTOUR” was spotted on a BMW in Boston, I foolishly figured it was owned by an Angeleno who commuted via the 405 Freeway.

But Jack Crawford and several other readers pointed out that the plate obviously refers to a famous song, which goes in part:

Five passengers set sail that day for a three-hour tour. A three-hour tour. The weather started getting rough, the tiny ship was tossed . . . “ “Was Bob Denver driving [the BMW]?” asked Gary Marc Remson.

Yes, it’s the theme song to TV’s “Gilligan’s Island.”

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DEFINITELY OFF THE MENU: The San Fernando Valley Folklore Society, which investigates urban folk tales, says it is not true that “the average person swallows eight spiders a year.” Someone made up the stat as a joke, and it quickly became gospel on the Internet.

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Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LA-TIMES, Ext. 77083, by fax at (213) 237-4712, by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A. 90012, and by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com.