Stickers, Decals

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. more...

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Most bumper stickers are about 8 cm by 30 cm (3 in by 12 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 humorous tags which may indicate a city (OBX), political party (GOP), etc.

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 credits the current bumper sticker to Forest P. Gill, a silkscreen printer from Kansas City.

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).

Read more at Wikipedia.org