{"id":47726,"date":"2026-05-21T08:06:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T12:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/?p=47726"},"modified":"2026-05-21T08:06:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T12:06:12","slug":"truck-mascots-hoist-the-jolly-roger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2026\/05\/21\/truck-mascots-hoist-the-jolly-roger\/","title":{"rendered":"Truck Mascots: Hoist the Jolly Roger"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"\"\"This truck mascot was spotted on Washington Avenue in South Philadelphia.<\/p>\n

\"\"I call this urban phenomenon “Truck Mascots”:<\/em> the practice of truck drivers attaching decorative figures to the grills of their rigs.<\/p>\n

These mascots are usually discarded toys or cheap plastic figures that commercial truckers lash to the front of their vehicles — modern-day versions of the carved figureheads that adorned the prows of sailing ships in days of old.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This truck mascot was spotted on Washington Avenue in South Philadelphia. I call this urban phenomenon “Truck Mascots”: the practice of truck drivers attaching decorative figures to the grills of their rigs. These mascots are usually discarded toys or cheap … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":47728,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[757],"tags":[6358,6353,6359,6355,6360,6356,6362,6354,6357,6351,4297,6352,6361,2760],"class_list":["post-47726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-truck-mascots","tag-american-trucking","tag-big-rig-art","tag-discarded-toys","tag-highway-folklore","tag-modern-figureheads","tag-road-culture","tag-roadside-curiosities","tag-truck-customization","tag-truck-decor","tag-truck-grill-decorations","tag-truck-mascots","tag-trucker-culture","tag-trucking-life","tag-urban-phenomena"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Jolly-Roger.jpg?fit=800%2C643&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1ed1x-cpM","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":44144,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2024\/11\/27\/the-amazing-truck-mascot\/","url_meta":{"origin":47726,"position":0},"title":"The Amazing Truck Mascot","author":"Joe","date":"November 27, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Here in Lansdowne, PA is another fine example of the urban phenomena of Truck Mascots. Truck Mascots are usually discarded toys that generally commercial truckers lash to the grills of their vehicles to become sort of like flying maidens on a ships of old. I've seen many while driving, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Truck Mascots"","block_context":{"text":"Truck Mascots","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/truck-mascots\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/truck-mascot-head-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/truck-mascot-head-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/truck-mascot-head-2.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4194,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2011\/09\/13\/truck-mascots\/","url_meta":{"origin":47726,"position":1},"title":"Truck Mascots","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"September 13, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Here's a new category dedicated to the phenomena that I call Truck Mascots. This is when drivers or crews of industrial trucks, usually garbage trucks, find a discarded toy stuffed animal and lash it to the grill of their vehicles like some sort of modern variation of flying maidens on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Truck Mascots"","block_context":{"text":"Truck Mascots","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/truck-mascots\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Sailor-Daffy.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Sailor-Daffy.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/09\/Sailor-Daffy.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13725,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2013\/07\/15\/it-came-from-the-save-a-lot\/","url_meta":{"origin":47726,"position":2},"title":"It Came From the Save-A-Lot","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"July 15, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Here's another example of that urban phenomena known as Truck Mascots. Truck Mascots are usually discarded toys or stuffed animals that truckers rescue from a sad and sorry fate in a landfill and lash them to the grill of their vehicles like a cartoonish flying maiden on a ship of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Truck Mascots"","block_context":{"text":"Truck Mascots","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/truck-mascots\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/DSCN0646.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/DSCN0646.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/DSCN0646.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":19039,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2015\/06\/17\/a-sad-shrek\/","url_meta":{"origin":47726,"position":3},"title":"A Sad Shrek","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"June 17, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Here's another example of the urban phenomena I refer to as Truck Mascots. Truck Mascots are discarded stuffed animals that are usually lashed to the grills of large industrial trucks although this one is attached to a pickup. This driver adorned his vehicle with a large Shrek figure that looks\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Truck Mascots"","block_context":{"text":"Truck Mascots","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/truck-mascots\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sad Shrek doll","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/sad-shrek.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/sad-shrek.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/sad-shrek.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14990,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2013\/11\/29\/three-the-hard-way\/","url_meta":{"origin":47726,"position":4},"title":"Three the Hard Way","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"November 29, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Here's another fine example of that bizarre urban phenomena that I call Truck Mascots. A truck mascot is usually a discarded toy or stuffed animal that is lashed to the grill of large commercial or municipal trucks. Generally the trucks are garbage haulers, but this fellow decided to adorn his\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Truck Mascots"","block_context":{"text":"Truck Mascots","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/truck-mascots\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/3-the-hard-way.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/3-the-hard-way.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/3-the-hard-way.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":14173,"url":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/2013\/08\/19\/venison-gives-me-gas\/","url_meta":{"origin":47726,"position":5},"title":"Venison Gives Me Gas","author":"Joe_Williams","date":"August 19, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Generally, Truck Mascots are stuffed toys or animals discarded by their original owners and lashed to the grills of mainly commercial trucks sort of like flying maidens on ships of old. The driver of this Philadelphia Gas Works truck opted for genuine bone and antlers over acrylic fur and poly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Truck Mascots"","block_context":{"text":"Truck Mascots","link":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/category\/truck-mascots\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/pgw-truck-2.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/pgw-truck-2.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/pgw-truck-2.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47726"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47726\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47730,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47726\/revisions\/47730"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/willceau.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}