While the car one drives might be an extension of their personality, pretty often practicalities come first. Sometimes good mileage and reliability beats everything else. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t other ways to get one’s ideas across when on the road.
So we’ve gathered some of the funniest and most unhinged bumper stickers folks have seen in public and hopefully not photographed while driving. Get comfortable as you scroll through, don’t read this post behind the wheel, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your thoughts in the comments below.
#1 Think
Image source: F1Sloth
#2 2 For 1
Image source: fireintheskyy
#3 Accurate
Image source: ahawk99
Before anyone could slap a joke about their cat onto a bumper, advertising on cars was a clunky business. Early vehicle signs were chunks of cardboard or metal fastened on with wire, and one of the biggest fans was Lester Dill, the showman behind Meramec Caverns in Missouri. While visitors toured his cave, he sent employees into the parking lot to tie souvenir signs onto their cars, which turned every tourist into a free billboard on wheels. No glue, no style, just string and nerve.
The sticky version showed up in the 1940s, and the credit usually goes to Forest Gill, a silkscreen printer from Kansas City who had launched his business in his basement back in 1934.
#4 It’s Not Pie
Image source: goldilox_zone
#5 In A Small Mountain Town
Image source: well-that-was-weird_
#6 Are We Great Yet
Image source: thaqpsnid
Around 1946, according to the Florida Historic Capitol Museum, Gill combined two wartime leftovers, adhesive backed paper and fluorescent paint, and made something that outlasted the homemade signs. That glow came in handy, since a message needs to grab attention fast when the audience is speeding past. The story goes that he strolled into a parking lot and measured actual bumpers to figure out the right size. Those early paper versions had gummy glue, so removing one was an exercise in patience and regret.
#7 Indeed
Image source: stopscabbin
#8 And To You
Image source: burntorangecycle
#9 Saw This And Could Relate
Image source: Kingof0ldSchool
Tourist attractions jumped on the idea first. Gill’s company landed its first big order, 25,000 stickers, from Marine Gardens, an attraction in Clearwater, Florida, and promoters would often stick them onto visitors’ cars while their owners were still inside having fun. Consent was optional. Politics muscled in next.
#10 Happy Late Fur-Mom’s Day
Image source: 1eyedsqrrl
#11 Patience Is Needed
Image source: everforward6
#12 Some Of You Will Have A Good Day; Others, Well
Image source: everforward6
The first documented political use came in 1952, when Eisenhower and Stevenson battled for the White House, and Gill later made much of his money from election years, with the big orders arriving right after the party conventions. Paper eventually gave way to vinyl, which was promoted in the 1950s and caught on in the 1960s.
#13 True
Image source: tripsland
#14 We The People…
Image source: idratherbeeatingsoup
#15 Spotted This Highly Motivational Message
Image source: igor33
A bumper sticker was only expected to last two to four weeks, so being easy to remove became a selling point, according to research from a conservator at the University of Kansas Libraries. Anyone who has tried to scrape one off a decade old hatchback knows how that promise turned out.
#16 For Those Of Us That Are Built Different!
Image source: NoFaceStickers
#17 When You Have Siezure Disorder And You Spot This At The Gas Station Getting Your Morning Coffee
Image source: shuntman2
#18 A Lot Of Occult Stuff On Here
Image source: historical_literacy
Then 1984 delivered the bright yellow diamond that changed the game. Michael Lerner, a former real estate investor, drove his 18 month old nephew home, got tailgated and cut off the whole way, and soon licensed a safety sign that two sisters had spotted in Europe. The first batch of Baby on Board signs sold 10,000 copies in a month, and within a year more than 3 million cars were wearing one.
#19 Full Service
Image source: RightWheelDrive
#20 I Can Appreciate Expression Through A Wholesome Message!
Image source: g0ldilungs
#21 50 In A 35
Image source: molly_dog
The profits helped Lerner’s company, Safety 1st, branch out into outlet plugs, cabinet locks and other child safety gear, which is a respectable second act for a novelty sign. The jokers were not far behind. Baby Driving, Baby Carries No Cash and Grandma on Board flooded the market, and in parts of the New York area the knockoffs reportedly outnumbered the real thing five to one. The cherry on top is that Lerner never had children of his own.
#22 When News Becomes Comedy
Image source: ahawk99
#23 I ❤️ Due Process
Image source: boofganyah
#24 You Wouldn’t Download A Car
Image source: afterlifedating
By 2008, researchers at Colorado State University were asking who exactly drives around with all these messages. In one experiment, cars wearing stickers or other personal markers honked nearly two full seconds sooner when blocked at a green light. Researchers also reported that the number of markers predicted road rage better than a car’s value or condition. The wording did not seem to matter, since even drivers displaying messages of love and acceptance landed in the more aggressive group, so the car politely urging you to visualize world peace may be the one riding your tail.
#25 Pickle Lover
Image source: Bosanova_B
#26 So That’s Who Did It!
Image source: ChloeCorrupt
#27 One Of My Favorites
Image source: LindsayDuck
All of this helps explain why the bumper sticker is such a strange little genre. It began as a souvenir, grew up as campaign merchandise, and eventually became a way to share one opinion with strangers traveling at forty miles an hour. Proud honor student announcements and their cheeky rebuttals still share the road.
#28 Missing About 12 Teeth When Pulling Up
Image source: Miserable_Set_5313
#29 Hell Yeah
Image source: Advanced-Snow-9700
#30 The Dude Abides
Image source: NoFaceStickers
Add cheap vinyl, endless jokes and the fact that nobody needs permission to stick one on, and you get a medium where a gentle plea for peace can sit a few inches from a message that makes absolutely no sense. Forest Gill lived to the age of 99, long enough to watch his invention become one of the most opinionated objects in America. Not bad for something that started with string.
#31 A Minimalist’s Masterpiece
Image source: DuckSwimmer
#32 My Other Ride Is Your Mom
Image source: RainbowStickers444
#33 Ask Me About My Lobotomy
Image source: cdoublesaboutit
#34 LOL
Image source: no_regret_coyote
#35 Why
Image source: Extra-Watercress6693
#36 No Babies
Image source: Bosanova_B
#37 Not In The Wild But Still Funny
Image source: ForceDisturbed
#38 Amen
Image source: InfiniteOxfordComma
#39 Parking Advice
Image source: TwinCitiesSeen
#40 No Step On Snek
Image source: 827throwaway
#41 Oh
Image source: OhHiyaJess
#42 My Kind Of Car
Image source: Upstairs-Storm1006
#43 Spotted On A Co-Worker’s Car 💯
Image source: mixtapesradio
#44 Dope Bumper Sticker I Saw Tonight
Image source: MadWorldEarth
#45 A Gay Person Touched Your Car 😜😘
Image source: bbbstep
#46 Not Sure About This One
Image source: KingDundie
#47 My Beautiful Car That I Love
Image source: manymari
#48 Definitely Agree With That…..and Not Just The Church, But The Synagogues, Mosques, Gurdwaras …
Image source: AtheistET
#49 Not Really A Bumper Sticker But
Image source: GiraffeGirlLovesZuri
#50 What Does This Bumper Sticker Mean?
Image source: Soft-Preparation5625
#51 I Honked But They Seemed Upset. 😁
Image source: Butitsadryheat2
#52 Defund Paw Patrol
Image source: JerrysWolfGuitar
#53 I Am Guessing He Has A Manifesto As Well
Image source: -M00ND0G-
#54 Raise Hell And Eat Cornbread
Image source: OMG_Shoes_
#55 Coleslaw-D
Image source: BunnyMacDoofer
#56 My First Sticker, Any Suggestions?
Image source: Mr_Courgette6275
#57 I Want To Be Their Friend
Image source: Correct_Employee2097
#58 Showing Off New Bumper Sticker
Image source: Dani_elley
#59 Saw This Sticker Combo At Work, Yikes!
Image source: UberShark12
#60 Oh The Irony
Image source: Areuexp
#61 Fun Sticker In Flagstaff
Image source: Careful_Passion_1298
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