#641 Kicking those clumps of frozen slush off the back of your car’s mud flaps

car boogerHands up if you drive on the snowy side of the planet.

If so then you know how your icebox on wheels gets sick when the weather dips. Washer fluid smears and freezes on your windshield, windows jam shut, and those nasty, rock-hard clumps of dirty frozen slush start bumper surfing on the back of your ride.

Sure, sure, your tires spin in the snowbanks and sand those car boogers into dirty brown icicles. But then they just hang there proudly — slushy arms crossed, salty eyebrows raised, and fat icy grins on their faces like they own the place.

Yes, they ride along when the family picks up a Christmas tree, sit caboose on the trip to the mall, and hang silently in the shadows of the driveway all night, perfectly still, perfectly quiet … and waiting.

That’s why it’s so satisfying when you put the boot to those slushy chunks and show them who’s boss. When you drop them to the mat it’s like yanking a swollen appendix out of an eight-year-old in the operating room, throwing garbage bags of old clothes up and out of the basement, or tossing the churning sea of sickness in your stomach into the toilet.

Kicking those clumps of frozen slush off the back of your car gives us all a big Awwww yeah moment of

AWESOME!

kick it off and squash itPhotos from: here and here

52 thoughts to “#641 Kicking those clumps of frozen slush off the back of your car’s mud flaps”

  1. I love doing that. I used to work at a full-serve gas station, and I often asked people if I could kick those clumps off. Purely for their benefit, of course.

    1. I should add that it’s also awesome (dangerous) when snow gets compacted up in the wheel wells, and you can have a go at it with your hockey stick or snow brush.

      1. I miss living in Canada when I hear people talk about how they can just solve problems with a MacGyver-like use of their Hockey stick, because honestly, who doesn’t have a half dozen hockey sticks in their garage.

        *sigh*.. I haven’t seen a hockey stick in about 10 years.

        1. That’s a real tragedy. You should get a hockey stick if only to gaze fondly upon it from time to time.

  2. I enjoy doing this, but because I usually do this in my garage, there’s always a bit of puddling that occurs the day after.

  3. There are a lot of activities involving cars and snow that are truly awesome. However, the satisfaction of kicking the mudflaps to see 30lbs of slush fall is hard to match.

    Honorable mention goes to “cleaning snow off your car and getting the whole of the roof snow with one well-planned push”

    Gosh I miss living in a snow state…

  4. I call these “elephant balls”. Don’t know why. I especially love it when it gets stuck under the wheel well. It’s like an extra bonus to kick the stuff hanging down and then the stuff under the wheel well comes sliding off too.

  5. Hmm… I wonder. Does it count as bathroom-related when it’s in a metaphor? I say yes, it does.

    1. Agreed. We haven’t had one of these in a while, so I think the bar has been lowered for something making the list.

      *tick*

  6. Here in my little corner of New England (DEFINITELY on the snowy side of the planet), we call those “car turds.” Indeed, kicking them off of my car is entirely satisfying!

  7. Your timing is impeccable as always, I had my first snow of the year today.

    Not enough to need to kick mud flaps, but enough to get me excited. I love Canada.

  8. this is truly awesome. living in the mid-west this is something that happens quite frequently in the winter, and i always get mad when someone else does it before me. it’s so satisfying seeing that giant chunk of slush and ice nastyness fall off of your car.

  9. Orange barrels, built up ice clinkers in the wheel wells, empty windshield washer tank, broken heater……sludgey oil…..I miss Wisconsin…

  10. I’d love to try that. Sadly it’s summer all year round where i am staying. @.@

  11. My daughter loved doing this so much as a child that she would kick the slush bunnies off of other cars as well. I had to make her stop when it looked like she was kicking the cars themselves.

  12. As a former mail carrier, nothing would give me greater satisfaction than doing a grand, “Hi-yah” type of kick and getting all that crud to fall off at once! My favorite weapon in my arsenal to get the really icy ones off? A rubber mallott. Buy one today and have so much fun–just like bubblewrap, but colder and louder! Have fun!

  13. i truly thought that i was the only person in the world who liked to do this! this is truly one of life’s greatest pleasures!:)

  14. I LOVE doing that!!
    I’d get mine, then every car in a 3 car radius of mine. The best ones are the ones that don’t come off that easily. Once you pop one those babies off there’s a sense of satisfaction that can’t be found anywhere else.
    That’s the one thing I totally miss about living in a snowy area.

  15. Totally my favorite! Every time we visit my mom in Wisconsin during the winter, I swear I’d walk around mall parking lots doing this to peoples cars if the other members of my party would let me.. hhahahaaha

    thanks for such an awesome blog. :D

  16. I love doing this in the winter!! Even if I can only see a little bit I’ll still kick my bumper gently in the hopes that something is hiding underneath and it will fall down.

  17. ROAD CHERRIES! The next best thing to kicking them off is hitting a good bump in the road, hearing the thud as they hit the ground and watching them skid off the road in the rearview mirror.

    One of the highlights of Canadian winters for sure!

  18. ugh i hate the cold, i love the winter clothes, and i LOVE kicking those chunks off my car. but i guess until i’m wearing the right shoes to do it i should write a note saying “don’t touch these, kick your own.”

  19. nice! someone else calls these car boogers as well! Here, people don’t really have a name for them, even though we live in such a snowy place, but I’ve always called them car boogers.

  20. I heard you on CBC Q today and loved the interview!! I had to come to your blog to see if you had listed my #1 all time “Awesome Thing”. You did!! Kicking slush off the mud flaps is such a pleasure… *swoon* lol!

  21. I forgot how much I LOVED to do this. Well, was compelled to do it by some kinda OCD mechanism. But very very satisfying! Now I live on the west coast where it never snows. I guess the equivalent here would be scraping moss off a roof??

  22. You may be unaware that myself and colleague, Randy Merriman raised the art of chunk kicking to the professional level at WCCO radio, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota. It was in the 1960’s. We formed The International Association of Professional Chunk Kickers (IAPCK.) WCCO’S 50,000 watts of clear channel power aroused thouands of compulsive kickers. Chunk Kicking even became part of the yearly St. Paul Winter Carnival. Randy and I had a kicking match with Minnesota’s Governor, broadcast live.

    1. Dick,
      Is that really you?
      I recall all the joking around about the bumper chunk kicking in the 60s. I was in high school.
      As I recall there were rules to the contest, but I don’t recall what they were.
      I work for the Lake City, MN Graphic, the local weekly newspaper, and am thinking about writing a column about chunk kicking, since we hav such an exceptional season for.
      I would love to hear more of your recollections.
      Thanks
      Rich Ousky
      Editor
      Lake City Graphic

  23. Hands up high!!! we had snow this Easter!
    One terrifying time, I could not turn the stearing wheel anymore and it was very dangerous! I had no choice but to stop right on the spot, get out and show the big chunks who was really the boss!
    But they sure taught me!

  24. I love doing this to my dad’s car:D it’s great cause its just one of those simple things in life that make you smile :)

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  26. Second year in a row that there was snow in October in my area. That’s a bit early. No snow since. Hoping for some soon, though. My little ones do enjoy kicking the clumps off my car.

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