Objects in mirror...

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From the TELL US MORE section: Objects in mirror…

By Drew Crosby

While I was getting out of the car the other day, I found my neighbor looking into his car’s rear-view mirror (espejo retrovisor) reciting something in English.

“Objects in mirror…” he started to say.

Despite his strong accent, I immediately knew what he was reading and before he could finish the sentence, I added “are closer than they appear.”

No, this wasn’t some narcissist English language pronunciation exercise, although practicing your pronunciation in front of a mirror can help. (It worked for me when learning Spanish!) My neighbor, let’s call him Juan, was reading something stamped on all rear-view mirrors produced for U.S. vehicles: “Objects in mirror are closer than they appear.”

And Juan drives a Chevrolet.

The phrase is burned into my memory. In fact, it would have been impossible NOT to have learned the phrase by heart (de memoria). I started driving when I was 16, so you can imagine how many times I’ve read that sentence.

When changing lanes, I checked the rear-view mirror: Objects may be closer than they appear.

When backing out (salía marcha atrás), I checked the rear-view mirror: Objects may be closer than they appear.

When hoping not to see a police car signaling me to pull over (parar), I checked the rear-view mirror: Objects may be closer than they appear.

You get the idea.

We can thank racecar driver Ray Harroun for “inventing” the rear-view mirror at the inaugural Indianapolis 500 in 1911.

When it was time to begin the race and he couldn’t find his mechanic -mechanics used to sit in the back of racecars to monitor race traffic from behind- Harroun stuck a mirror onto his dashboard (salpicadero) and the idea immediately caught on (tuvo éxito).

Obviously, riding in the backseat of a racecar is risky business and mechanics themselves often became the “objects” which, when viewed from the cockpit (cabina del piloto) of an Indy racecar, were closer than they appeared.