Bumper sticker

thumb|right|250px|Bumper stickers are often used on commercial vehicles so that employers can receive feedback about the driving habits of their employees

A bumper sticker is an adhesive label or sticker with a message, intended to be attached to the bumper of an automobile and to be read by the occupants of other vehicles - although they are often stuck onto other objects. Most bumper stickers are about 30 cm by 8 cm (12 in by 3 in) and are often made of PVC.

Purpose

Bumper stickers can be commercial, religious, humorous, or in support of a sports team or other organization. They may promote or oppose a particular philosophical or political position. Bumper stickers are a popular way of showing support for a candidate for a government seat and become more common during election years.

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 as the "Distinguishing Signs of Vehicles in International Traffic", being authorized by the UN's Geneva Convention on Road Traffic (1949) and Vienna Convention on Road Traffic (1968). Often the country code is displayed on the license plate itself.

These have (usually in the USA) been spun off into tags indicating a country with which the driver affiliates, or more humorously to indicate things like a city (OBX), political party (GOP), etc.

People who opt to exhibit their individuality through these decals often take part in more acts of road rage. Colorado State University social psychologist, William Szlemko, found that aggressive driving is linked to the number of markers a person has on his/her car, regardless of the messages portrayed. He says this idea is linked to the idea of territoriality. The more individualized the car, the more the person tends to think of public roads as his/her own. [cite web | url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/chi-driving-behaviorjun17,0,6817198.story | title="Sign of road rage may be on bumper" | author=Vedantam, Shankar | publisher=Chicago Tribune | date=2008-06-17 | accessdate=2008-06-17]

Application and removal

Due to the movement of the vehicle and changing weather conditions, the sticker needs to adhere well to the bumper surface. However, there are some "easy to remove" bumper stickers and magnetic bumper stickers. Bumper stickers can be removed with penetrating oil or a heat gun. Home remedies also include using common household items, such as WD-40 or paint thinner.

History

Bumper stickers could not predate the introduction of the automobile bumper; the Ford Model T lacked bumpers to which bumper stickers could be conveniently attached, but the Ford Model A, introduced in 1927, had them. One online source [http://www.bumprstickrz.com/bumperstickerhistory.html] credits the current bumper sticker to Forest P. Gill, a silkscreen printer from Kansas City. [http://www.kansascity.com/238/story/581859-p2.html]

The first bumper stickers appeared shortly before World War II; they were flag-like, and attached to the bumper by wires. Gill replaced the wire attachments with pressure sensitive adhesive, and as a result bumper stickers became more widespread and practical.

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 WWII 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 that is the normal place to put them and the bumper sticker is actually called "bakrutedekal" (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.

In Israel, one of the most popular songs of all time is Shirat Hasticker ("The Sticker Song") by Hadag Nachash, a 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" and its "Darwin fish" counterpart are popular examples).

References

ee also

*Bumper (automobile)
*Car
*Sticker