Dice in the Mirror

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air’s opening credits are like a music video, shot in the same style as Parents Just Don’t Understand.

After being bullied on the playground as a kid, Will Smith moves out to live with his wealthy Uncle Phil and Aunt Vivian in Bel Air, California. On the way from the airport to their house, he takes a taxi—a common experience for most airplane travelers prior to the rise of Uber and Lyft.

This is no ordinary taxi, though, and The Fresh Prince is delighted by what he sees:

The license plate said 'Fresh,' and it had dice in the mirror.

Now, let’s pause here for a moment. This might not seem remarkable—after all, there’s a pair of fuzzy, 20-sided dice somewhere in my car. They were given to me by Alley as a carwarming when I got the car I hardly drive any more, circa 2010.

This wasn’t 2010, though. This was 1990, and finding a cab where the driver was into the same stuff as Will—and was somehow allowed to decorate his workplace accordingly—was, as Will points out, rare (and not just because he smelled bad).

Simply finding someone who’s into the same things as you hasn’t always been easy, much less doing business with someone like this. The internet has changed all this. Want to connect with people into the same music, art, or literary niche? In 1990, this was a tragic challenge for a lot of folks. In 2026, it’s easy to find groups of like-minded folks.