Hidden Messages

Hive, please help me out.

I'm driving my eldest daughter Sarah from So. Cal. to UNR (Reno University) this Thursday and I want to plant hidden messages in her car (2011 Kia Sportage).

She used my daily driver (2019 Mazda CX-3) to get her driver's license about a year ago and I planted a bunch of hidden messages in the car at the time to signal my love / support and she really, really liked it.

I want to bomb her car with more signals of my love / support (things that will be found over time) now as she heads off to study biology at UNR.

I'm going to tape a $20 bill to her dip stick and include a message that says "The right behaviors come with rewards".

"Aircooled" suggested that I place a message in her Owners Manuel folder that says "Oh, you just got a ticket, try to minimize those".

So, I'd really appreciate some cause and effect suggestions for "plants" I can place in her car that she will discover over time.

Thoughts???      

Glitter in the AC vents, instant party?

A little friendlier, a CD/tape/8-track/SD card/whatever in her stereo.

$100 bill and a note by the spare tire. If she gets a flat, it's gonna be a E36 M3ty day. That'll brighten it up. 

I put a whoopie coushion under my brother's seat cover for leaving the church at his wedding. Bride thought he did it and slugged his arm. 

Gas cap. 

Spare tire, if equipped

Fun can be had under floor mats 

I'd go heavy on the biology jokes, the more technical the better. Find someone with a grad degree in the field to assist 

How does the hood latch work on this car.  On my Prius the lever is on the lower dash.  If you reached to open it you could feel a note folded and taped there that says,  "I'm always just a phone call away. -Dad" 

Do the visor vanity mirrors have little slide doors?   Open the door and find the reflection is covered with a picture of dad.  Maybe a note on picture.  

mtn said:

$100 bill and a note by the spare tire. If she gets a flat, it's gonna be a E36 M3ty day. That'll brighten it up. 

And if she never gets a flat (or never fixes a flat, more accurately) the next owner will be posting to the "Whats the weirdest thing a previous owner left you?" thread.

How about automotive "dad puns"?

Like these

First of all, you're an awesome dad and sounds like you've got a great relationship with her.

Going to Nevada, does she have a windshield visor?  Maybe tape a note on it for her to see when she opens it up?  I'm sure she'll have to put a parking sticker on the car, so maybe down in the space between the dashboard and windshield so she'll see it when putting the sticker on?  Sounds like she keeps up with the car, so maybe taped to the carpet under a floor mat for her to find when she's vacuuming it out?  Would a little note stuck under the airbox cover be too much?

-Rob

Tape a note to the sun visor about having a bright future.

Something on the rear view mirror (or backup camera) about how it's important to remember where you've been/come from, but looking back can't be your primary focus.

Inside the fuel door seems like a handy place to hide something too (gas money for her first fill up maybe?)

A window scraper for frosty mornings? Coming from SoCal, that might be a shock that she's not prepared for. And being late for class or work and not being able to see out of a frosted windshield is no fun. Note says something about how you'll always try to help her see things more clearly perhaps?

I'd also pack a winter safety kit in the trunk with bottled water, a blanket (I'd probably do a custom blanket made from a photo/photos of your choosing), and maybe a battery pack to charge devices. That seems like an ideal spot to leave something too, but keep in mind that it may never actually be used. Again, this is something that a person from SoCal may not consider, but it's a good idea to have if the roads get bad and/or temps get pretty low.

Apexcarver said:

I'd go heavy on the biology jokes, the more technical the better. Find someone with a grad degree in the field to assist 

I'm an engineer and I've been creating "an engineer and a biologist entered a bar" jokes since she committed to majoring in biology.

When she was a little girl, we'd watch science stuff on cable, YouTube, etc and do "arm lock" which meant we'd lay on our backs with our heads propped up by a big pile of pillows and interlock our arms.

As time progressed, the knowledge transfer became more formal to the point where I now treat her like a company intern.

I spent last week working at one of our facilities in South Carolina.  I Got home last night at 11:30 ET and first thing this morning, I provided my daughter with a detailed brief of what happened.

Bottom line:  She's on the front end of her college eduction but she's a "science" lifer...she's not going to be exposed to any concepts she hasn't understood since she was a little kid.