1968 Cadillac Eldorado Nixon - Flickr - That Hartford Guy

A bumper sticker is an adhesive

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed dir ...

sticker A sticker is a type of label: a piece of printed paper, plastic, vinyl, or other material with temporary or permanent pressure sensitive adhesive on one side. It can be used for decoration or for functional purposes, depending on the situation. ...

with a message, intended to be attached to the

bumper Bumper or Bumpers may refer to: People * Betty Bumpers (1925-2018), American activist, First Lady of Arkansas, wife of Dale Bumpers * Dale Bumpers (1925–2016), American politician, governor of Arkansas and senator * Bumper Robinson (born 197 ...

of an

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

and to be read by the occupants of other vehicles—although they are often stuck onto other objects. Most bumper stickers are about 25.4 cm by 7.6 cm (10 in by 3 in) and are often made of PVC.

Purpose

Bumper stickers can be commercial, religious, secular, humorous, or in support of a sports team or other organization. They may promote or oppose a particular philosophical or political position. In some countries, such as the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, bumper stickers are a popular way of showing support for a candidate for a government seat and become more common during election years. In others, such as the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, they are rarely seen in any form. One variety of bumper sticker is the country tag. This is typically used for cars crossing international borders, and is overseen by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

as the ''Distinguishing Signs of Vehicles in International Traffic'', being authorized by the UN's

Geneva Convention on Road Traffic The Convention on Road Traffic, commonly known as the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic, is an international treaty promoting the development and safety of international road traffic by establishing certain uniform rules among the contracting pa ...

(1949) and

Vienna Convention on Road Traffic The Convention on Road Traffic, commonly known as the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, is an international treaty designed to facilitate international road traffic and to increase road safety by establishing standard traffic rules among the co ...

(1968). Often the country code is displayed on the license plate itself. These have (usually in the

) been spun off into tags indicating a country with which the driver affiliates, or more humorously to indicate things like a region ( OBX), support for rabbit rescue groups (

BUN A bun is a type of bread roll, typically filled with savory fillings (for example hamburger). A bun may also refer to a sweet cake in certain parts of the world. Though they come in many shapes and sizes, buns are most commonly round, and are g ...

), etc. People who opt to exhibit their individuality through these decals may take part in more acts of

road rage Road rage is aggressive or angry behavior exhibited by motorists. These behaviors include rude and verbal insults, yelling, physical threats or dangerous driving methods targeted at other drivers, pedestrians or cyclists in an effort to intimid ...

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...

social psychologist Social psychology is the scientific study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people or by social norms. Social psychologists typically explain human behavior as a result of the re ...

William Szlemko found that aggressive driving is linked to the number of markers a person has on their car, regardless of the messages portrayed.

Application and removal

Early bumper stickers had printed directions on the back removable liner for applying them to the bumper of a car. Due to the movement of the vehicle and changing weather conditions, the sticker needed to adhere well to the bumper surface. There are some "easy to remove" bumper stickers and

magnetic Magnetism is the class of physical attributes that are mediated by a magnetic field, which refers to the capacity to induce attractive and repulsive phenomena in other entities. Electric currents and the magnetic moments of elementary particle ...

bumper stickers. Bumper stickers can be removed with a

razor A razor is a bladed tool primarily used in the removal of body hair through the act of shaving. Kinds of razors include straight razors, safety razors, disposable razors, and electric razors. While the razor has been in existence since before t ...

blade,

penetrating oil Penetrating oil, also known as penetrating fluid, is very low-viscosity oil. It can be used to free rusted mechanical parts (such as nuts and bolts) so that they can be removed, because it can penetrate into the narrow space between the threads ...

or a

heat gun A heat gun is a device used to emit a stream of hot air, usually at temperatures between 100 °C and 550 °C (200-1000 °F), with some hotter models running around 760 °C (1400 °F), which can be held by hand. Heat ...

. Home remedies also include using common household items, such as

WD-40 WD-40 is an American brand and the trademark of a penetrating oil manufactured by the WD-40 Company based in San Diego, California. The formula for WD-40 was invented for the Rocket Chemical Company as early as 1953 before it evolved into ...

paint thinner A paint thinner is a solvent used to thin oil-based paints. Solvents labeled "paint thinner" are usually mineral spirits having a flash point at about 40 °C (104 °F), the same as some popular brands of charcoal starter. Common solv ...

History

Before bumper stickers, advertisers used other methods of displaying their wares. In the horse-drawn carriage era, advertisers printed on horsefly nets with the name of a business. In the 1930s and 1940s, bumper signs were printed on metal or cardboard and wired to the chrome bumpers. Lester Dill, promoter of

Meramec Caverns Meramec Caverns is the collective name for a cavern system in the Ozarks, near Stanton, Missouri. The caverns were formed from the erosion of large limestone deposits over millions of years. Pre-Columbian Native American artifacts have been f ...

in Missouri, was an ardent adopter of the bumper sign to attract motorists to his site. Using a windowshield decal was another option. These paper strips could be wetted and placed inside a car window. However, these strips did not hold up well when placed on a bumper. Various factors contributed to the development of the bumper sticker. Developments in material manufacturing during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

led to the widespread use of daylight fluorescent inks, which were invented by

Bob Switzer Robert C. Switzer (19 May 1914 – 20 August 1997) was an American inventor, businessman and environmentalist. Switzer was co-inventor of the first black light fluorescent paint along with his brother Joseph Switzer and the inventor of the M ...

and his brother Joe. These inks appeared to glow during the daytime and were useful to support various wartime activities; they were favored by early bumper sticker manufacturers after the war. In addition, the first commercially produced pressure-sensitive stickers appeared after

; new developments in adhesive materials led to the production of paper strips with adhesive on the back. In addition, In addition, increased use of

vinyl Vinyl may refer to: Chemistry * Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), a particular vinyl polymer * Vinyl cation, a type of carbocation * Vinyl group, a broad class of organic molecules in chemistry * Vinyl polymer, a group of polymers derived from vinyl m ...

by the general public after

led to the eventual use of this material in bumper stickers. Many experts credit Forest P. Gill, a silkscreen printer from Kansas City, Kansas, USA, as the developer of the bumper sticker. Gill recognized that the self-adhesive paper used during the second world war could be used to advertise promotional products in the late 1940s and beyond. Early widespread uses of the advertising bumper sticker were for tourist attractions, such as Marine Gardens, Florida, Seven Falls, Colorado,

in Missouri, and

Lookout Mountain, Tennessee Lookout Mountain is a town in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 2,058 at the 2020 census. Bordering its sister city of Lookout Mountain, Georgia to the south, Lookout Mountain is part of the Chattanooga, TN– GA ...

. Another popular advertisement was the " See Rock City" sticker. In the 1940s and 1950s, visitors to the site had a sticker applied to their car, which duplicated the famous signs painted on the roofs of barns throughout the southeastern USA. Tourist attraction staff would circulate through the parking lot, applying the promotional sticker to every car. The first documented presidential election that used adhesive bumper stickers in

political campaign A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making progress within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, by which representatives are chosen or referend ...

s was the 1952 election between

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

and

Adlai Stevenson II Adlai Ewing Stevenson II (; February 5, 1900 – July 14, 1965) was an American politician and diplomat who was twice the Democratic nominee for President of the United States. He was the grandson of Adlai Stevenson I, the 23rd vice president of ...

. Bumper stickers allowed citizens to show support for a candidate while still maintaining some anonymity. Bumper stickers have caused legal issues between people and states. In 1989, a man with a bumper sticker containing indecent wording was convicted. The man's conviction was reversed in ''Cunningham v. State'' (1991). The court referenced the

First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

, stating "the provision regulating profane words on bumper stickers reaches a substantial amount of constitutionally protected speech and unconstitutionally restricts freedom of expression".

Around the world

Considerable variation exists around the world as to the context and purpose of stickers. On some vehicles, some stickers are like trophy signs of World War II aeroplanes, either of locations visited or actions completed. They have also been extensively applied to rear windows as well, where legislative measures have not banned such use. For instance, in Sweden, this is the normal place to put them; bumper stickers are referred to as "" in Swedish, meaning "rear window decal". More recently, bumper stickers have become a route for advertising and a few companies offer to match car owners to advertisers willing to pay for the ad. "

Shirat Hasticker Shirat Hasticker ( he, שירת הסטיקר, "The Sticker Song"), is a song recorded by Israeli hip-hop group Hadag Nahash, appearing on their 2004 album Homer Mekomi, written by Israeli novelist David Grossman. This unusual collaboration of a m ...

" ("The Sticker Song") by

Hadag Nachash Hadag Nahash ( he, הדג נחש ', ) is an Israeli hip hop music, hip hop/funk band, founded in 1996 in Jerusalem. The band is known for its leftist political statements in many of its songs. Some of the band's songs have been used in Protest s ...

is an Israeli song composed entirely of bumper sticker slogans. Variants of the bumper sticker have developed in recent years, including vinyl decals meant to be applied to a car's rear windshield, and chrome emblems to be affixed to the body of the car itself, generally on the rear (the "

Jesus fish The ichthys or ichthus (), from the Greek (, 1st cent. AD Koine Greek pronunciation: , "fish") is (in its modern rendition) a symbol consisting of two intersecting arcs, the ends of the right side extending beyond the meeting point so as to re ...

" and its " Darwin fish" counterpart are popular examples). License plate frames and

vanity plate A vanity plate or personalized plate (United States and Canada); prestige plate, private number plate, cherished plate or personalised registration (United Kingdom); personalised plate (Australia, New Zealand, and United Kingdom) or custom pla ...

s can serve similar purpose to bumper stickers, although the law may place restrictions on messages they display.

Gallery

File:1976 campaign bumper sticker.JPG, Bumper sticker supporting the 1976

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

presidential campaign President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...

. File:When fascism comes to America.jpg, Bumper sticker with a

Sinclair Lewis Harry Sinclair Lewis (February 7, 1885 – January 10, 1951) was an American writer and playwright. In 1930, he became the first writer from the United States (and the first from the Americas) to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, which was ...

quote on a

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bic ...

File:CH international vehicle registration oval.jpg, Country tag for Switzerland. File:Car with Many Bumper Stickers.jpg, The rear of a

Nissan Versa Nissan Versa is an automobile nameplate used by the Japanese manufacturer Nissan in the Americas for the following models: File:2011 Nissan Versa 1.6 Sedan.jpg, First-generation Versa sedan (C11; 2006–2012) File:2008 Nissan Versa, Front Left, 06 ...

displaying many bumper stickers. File:Bumper-sticker-car.jpg, A

Chevrolet Nova A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramat ...

plastered all over with bumper stickers File:Quebec_Right-Wing_Bumper_Stickers.jpg , A

Ford Escape The Ford Escape is a compact crossover SUV sold by Ford since 2000 over four generations. The first generation was jointly developed with Mazda which also created the Mazda Tribute and Mercury Mariner as the twin model. Second generations of th ...

with bumper stickers.

References