English judge Sir Edward Coke wrote in 1604 that a person’s house is their “castle and fortress.” Four hundred years later, the statement still stands. Only now, we’ve added a mobile extension to our estate.
Our cars are not just machines that get us from point A to point B, but also a way for us to show off our taste, opinions, and, sometimes, complete lack of restraint.
The subreddit r/BumperStickers is proof of that. It’s a place where people share the funniest, strangest, and downright unhinged messages they spot on the streets.
#1 I Wish
Image source: glockuncocked
#2 I’m Only Driving This Until
Image source: sayrahnotsorry
In one survey, CarMax Inc. found that the number one reason people display bumper stickers, decals, or magnets on their cars is to make a statement about themselves, their values, and their interests.
Of the respondents who had not displayed a sticker, nearly a quarter said it was simply because they hadn’t found one that represented them.
#3 Honk!
Image source: dorsiflector111
#4 I Wholeheartedly Agree
Image source: Younglegend1
#5 Portland Oregon
Image source: doomtownpunx
And it’s not just big companies that are capitalizing on the demand. Since bumper stickers are so deeply personalized, individual designers have found success as well.
For example, one that made the rounds around Brooklyn said, “Keep Honking! I’m Listening to Alice Coltrane’s 1971 Meteoric Sensation ‘Universal Consciousness.'”
As it gained popularity all over the United States, it turned out that the creator was Los Angeles-based artist Christopher DeLoach.
#6 Saw This Today
Image source: aurathecat123
#7 And Now We All Suffer The Consequences
Image source: burntorangecycle
#8 Thought This Was Pretty Funny
Image source: Hypn00tic_iiz
#9 Ossum
Image source: Dude_Love_1974
DeLoach told GQ that he first came up with the idea for the bumper sticker while listening to Alice Coltrane’s rendition of “Going Home” (which appears not on Universal Consciousness but on 1973’s Lord of Lords). That same day, he happened upon the classic vintage bumper sticker, “Keep Honking, I’m Listening to Jazz” and decided that message could be improved.
DeLoach estimates that he gave away the first 300 or so to friends and friends of friends, but in a few months, he found himself selling several hundred a week. “I was mailing them out in these large manila envelopes, which I had never foreseen myself doing,” he said.
#10 Found In A Target Parking Lot
Image source: Hutwe
#11 What’s The Story Here ?
Image source: RobRVA
#12 I’ve Never Actually Took The Time To Think About, Honestly
Image source: BenTheCancerWorm
#13 Another Member Of My Tribe Jk.. Chill
Image source: 1sick_puppy
DeLoach has sold around 8,000 bumper stickers so far: still a fairly niche phenomenon, but enough to help him financially.
The stickers, which retail for $7 each, have paid for his studio over the past year and allowed him to subsidize the cost of investing in a restaurant he opened in Mexico a few years ago.
#14 Survive Out Of Spite
Image source: AdRepresentative8236
#15 Found In Classroom I’m Subbing In Today
Image source: purrfectly_precious
#16 Oof
Image source: blahnlahblah0213
#17 Small Town In- McDonald’s Drive Thru
Image source: smokinXsweetXpickle
However, bold statements aren’t always universally accepted. University of Cincinnati researchers found that political polarization is seeping into bumper stickers as well.
UC College of Arts and Sciences Assistant Professors Rachel Torres and Ben Farrer said people who watched a driving simulation in which the motorist ahead of them cut them off in traffic were more likely to honk if the offending vehicle had a political bumper sticker, particularly one for the party they did not support.
#18 Ok True
Image source: maxharaku
#19 Good Question
Image source: Captain_Wisconsin
#20 Meaning?
Image source: Mental_Department68
#21 To Be Or Not To Be
Image source: chenzo17
Torres and Farrer conducted attitude surveys with paid volunteers, who then took part in a short driving simulation. In half of the simulations, another vehicle cut them off without signaling. The offending vehicle featured either no sticker or one of three bumper stickers: “Proud Democrat,” “Proud Republican,” or the neutral “I love my dog.”
In the other half of the simulations, the other vehicle stayed in its own lane before making an unremarkable left turn.
“It activated their partisan hostilities,” said Torres, who teaches political science in UC’s School of Public and International Affairs.
For more, check out these 53 Crazy Bumper Stickers People Have Spotted In The Wild.
#22 Wondering, Waiting, Wishing
Image source: sayrahnotsorry
#23 Please Explain This To Me
Image source: DeeEmm
#24 Portland Oregon
Image source: doomtownpunx
#25 Hell Yeah Brother. Seen Is Bisbee, AZ
Image source: carrotsare2cool
#26 Keep The Immigrants Deport The Racists
Image source: AdRepresentative8236
#27
Image source: runningonemptytx
#28 Tripping Over Wieners
Image source: iggly_wiggly
#29 Seemed Like A Good Time To Re-Post
Image source: SuitableCobbler2827
#30
Image source: Lolo447-
#31 Ughhh Good Lord Wth Are We Witnessing
Image source: TheRealAutumnGoddess
#32 Just Got A New Car And Want To Put A Bumper Sticker On. Which One Would You Let Merge?
Image source: MasterPh0
#33 Bumper Sticker In Toronto
Image source: PaleontologistNo7415
#34 Sounds Like Their Car Has Been Rammed A Few Times
Image source: sfdso
#35 Sip Sip
Image source: no_regret_coyote
#36 Books
Image source: BCPdoc
#37 Hmm……
Image source: MasterPh0
#38 Hell Yeah, Brotherrrrrrr!
Image source: ChloeCorrupt
#39 Resist
Image source: tangoking
#40 I Feel This In My Soul
Image source: Vampilton
#41 Gem I’ve Seen As A Repo Mechanic
Image source: No-Smell7118
#42 Samesies!
Image source: Omglah247
#43 I Agree
Image source: bauertastic
#44 What Does This Mean?
Image source: TreeNeither472
#45 Scratch And Sniff
Image source: aninterestinganimal
#46 Maybe That Was The Point All Along?
Image source: howard10011
#47 I Don’t Understand Their Way Of Thinking
Image source: brownsugar1212
#48 White Van Sticker
Image source: Creepy-Document364
#49 Oh My
Image source: arcsnsparks98
#50 Warsaw Indiana
Image source: Lip30000
#51 That Escalated
Image source: d_fens99
#52 Finally Got My Favorite Bumper Sticker Put On!
Image source: arashikagedropout
#53 Um. What
Image source: Chuckles_McNut
#54 I’ve Had The Defund Paw Patrol Sticker Scratched Off Twice
Image source: Dope_vangogh
#55 My Hometown Keeping It Classy As Usual
Image source: adjgamer321
#56 Vindication!!!
Image source: Minimalist19
#57 All The Family She Needs
Image source: Jahbomb1974
#58 Abso-Freakin-Lutely!!
Image source: W-h3x
#59 I’m Covered In Bugs And I Vote!
Image source: FirefighterFunny9859
#60 Fall In Love In A Mosh Pit
Image source: OMG_Shoes_
#61 “I Saw Your Husband On Grindr”
Image source: trampstampcollector
#62 Same
Image source: Snizabelle
#63 Aged Like Absolute Milk
Image source: Miserable_Set_5313
#64 So True!
Image source: EclecticRaine
#65 My Other Ride…
Image source: unsuspicious_bean
#66 For The Project Hail Mary Fans
Image source: jkeesey03
#67 This Person Knows The Witch Of November Very Well
Image source: richardfitzwell822
#68 Spotted On A Subaru
Image source: Decent_Cow
#69 This Person Means It , LOL
Image source: toddnkaya1
#70 I Was Gifted This
Image source: LotusElizabeth
#71 Do You Like My Stickers?
Image source: x_Good_Trouble_x
#72 Satanism Is A Thing? Or A Tongue In Cheek Atheist??
Image source: Sail-On-By
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