There’s no worse feeling than dashing out to the street just in time to see a cop giving you a ticket for an expired parking meter. No amount of begging or pleading will help. You’re guilty as charged. But if you live in Australia, the experience won’t be nearly as painful. A man by the name of Bernie Elsey introduced the Surfers Paradise Meter Maids in 1964.
He was looking for a way to ease anger over the installation of parking meters on a popular tourist strip along the Gold Coast…and boy did he succeed! Young women wearing gold bikinis and tiaras would stroll the street along the strip and look for expired meters. They’d feed the meter and leave their calling card under the windshield wiper. The promotion was so successful that it gained worldwide attention and brought many people to the Gold Coast just to get a glimpse of the Surfers Paradise Meter Maids.
It’s a safe bet that the tourists conveniently “forgot” to feed their meter that day! Today, their look has changed a bit and they have a new source of funding, but you can still find the bikin-wearing ladies in Australia performing their unique community service.