On another thread we've been discussing a bumper sticker, and I've got questions.
First, wasn't sure that I'd got my interpretation right because we're not big on bumper stickers here, except for "Baby on board", I guess. But I've heard about bumper stickers in other countries. Are they meant to define the driver, the car, to be quirky, or funny, or inspirational, or everything at once? Are there different genres of bumper sticker?
Then, are they only called "bumper stickers" when they go on the bumper? I've seen the ones which are stuck on the inside of the back window; are these also called "bumper stickers" or something else?
Last, bumper sticker discourse seems to be language at play to a great extent, with ambiguities, cross-references, double meanings, metaphors... have you got any interesting examples which you'd care to share?
EDIT: I've just checked and there are a couple of historical threads about bumper stickers on the board already, but I think they are more about specific sticker texts, so I still put forward my more generic questions... Having said that, I note the undebatable convenience of checking first and posting afterwards!
They're bumper stickers wherever they go. They can be used for any of the variety of purposes you've outlined and then some. They're not even limited to one purpose each.
My own favorite bumper sticker (torn off by hooligans...*sob*) was
"If things improve with age, I must be approaching magnificent" (or something like that)
well to my way of thinking, bumper stickers are made from strong, water resistant paper (or perhaps some sort of plastic coated paper) with adhesive on the back (and i am impressed that Consuela had one ripped off her car, my experience is the bumper sticker is stronger than metal, and its easier to rip off the whole bumper than to remove the sticker!)
the stuff in the windows--most often (but not limited to) college or university names, are decals. --these too are pretty permenent.
side window often have decals that are required for use of local parks, parking lots, or are attempting to convince a policeman that the driver/owner of the car is also a police man(or the father/mother/sister/brother of one), and shouldn't be given a ticket.
a smaller percentage of side window decals advertize alarm systems, or other other stuff.
nowdays, some of the things stuck on cars are magnets.
you can buy magnetic sheets no thicker than card stock and run them through a printer.. (though most home printers don't have water proof inks). the commercial ones are made with water proof inks --but they are often not sun proof, and the colors and text rapidly fade.
they are also often dye cut, in the shape of a loop of twisted ribbon, so its not clear if the ribbon was Yellow, or red, white and blue, or pink or some other color-and which particular cause you are/were supporting.
the Magnetic ones are popular because they are easy to remove.
large magnetic signs are also available.. and these are used by hobbiest part time independant entrepenours as advertizements --they can place them on the family car when they are the Avon Lady and hosting a party.. and peel them off when they are just mom and grocery shopping. )
as for all the other stuff, (country code stickers, AAA stickers, well i don't quite think of them as bumperstickers..
bumper stickers, even (especially?) political ones are not very popular in NYC--
for years, i think the most common bumper sticker in the north east was "This Car Climbed Mount Washington" but some people objected to having it stuck on their car, and now its just placed (with its backing intact) on the windsheild, and fewer and fewer cars sport them.
Bumper stickers are seldom seen on Québec cars. It seems to have been more popular in the eighties/early nineties.
Generally, they are/were of the (light) humourous variety, i.e. "There's no such thing as gravity, the earth sucks" or, a bumper sticker reading, "My other car is a porsche" pasted on an an old, beat-up car.
I've never seen a political bumper sticker. I have seen a couple of fish stickers - the one that is a line-drawing of a fish, like a kiddy would make, that I'm told represents Jesus.
a fish … that I'm told represents Jesus.Iesous
CHristos
THeou
Yios
Soter
http://www.ichthys.com/ichthys_explanation.htm
I think that the use of bumper stickers has diminished due to people leasing cars these days instead of owning them outright. I notice that university towns tend to have more vehicles with bumper stickers. One that I saw frequently in the Kalamazoo area was "Free Leonard Peltier", Kalamazoo being an area with a large indigineous population.
http://www.freepeltier.org/ One that I particularly liked was "What if the Hokey Pokey
IS what it's all about?"
> use of bumper stickers has diminished
not here in Vermont...
> Hokey Pokey
always one of my favorites, too.
That's it Faldage. Thanks.
Lots of bumper stickers and window stickers here in Central Ohio, too. Political, especially, with the last presidential election. Religious, funny, informative (like an advertisement), and MANY ribbon stickers (for breast cancer and support our troops, mostly). There are also a dismaying number of those flags that people put on the window frame of the car - Buckeyes, those are, unless someone has a high school or another university to cheer for. FOOTBALL, doncha know.
I'm wondering if the sticker phenomenon isn't the same type of belief-exibitionism that makes so many people in the U.S. have their flags on their homes.
It's one of the first thing Canadians notice when they drive on down - flags on nearly every home. It's kinda like wearing your heart on your sleeve for everybody to see.
It seems that bumper stickers have the same role, na?
>>flags on nearly every home<<
Where?
But apt.
Well, not on NYC apts, insel. [rolleyes]
On a related note, why are they called bumper stickers? I was under the impression this part of a car was called the fender in the US.
Bingley
the bumpers are attached to the front and back of the car; the fenders are wheel guards on the sides. bumper stickers do go on the bumpers, front or back (usually back, to facilitate reading!)
edit: fender stickers would tend to ruin the paint job!!
Many thanks everyone for details galore, and especially of Troy for the bumper stickers, decals and magnets. By the way, is "decal" short for something?
"Decalomania"
French décalcomanie, from dcalquer, to transfer a tracing (de-, off, from from Latin d-; see de- + calquer, to trace; see calque) + manie, craze (from its popularity in the 19th century) (from Late Latin mania, madness. See mania).]
(American Heritage)
yeah, but...
"decals" are clear-- they are very thin pieces of plastic or celloid that have printed images. they are sold mounted on paper.
you soak the decal in warm water, and then carefull slide it off the paper, and onto a surface (usually, but not exclusively glass--some decals are designed for putting on plain tiles, to make them look like hand painted ones)
the decal has a somewhat water soluable glue-- and it sticks to the glass (or tile) permentantly (to remove you moisten, and scrap with a blade.. no amount of soaking will loosen the glue!)
they are commonly sold in home decorating stores and art stores and craft stores (for home use)
Colleges and Universities make decals for rear view windows that are usually just the name of the college or university.. the letters are outlined, and the decal, placed low on the window does not significantly interfer with the view out the window.
some organization, (like Police Benevolent Organizations) also offer decals.. these are about 10 cm to 20cm (4 to 8 inches) in size(some are round, some are shaped like a sheild, some are square or rectanglular) --and are often displayed on drivers side rear (passenger) windows
some universities also have parking permit decals and these are also displayed on passenger windows. (usually these are smaller, less than 10 cm square.)
decals are also used to decorate china--and create what looks like hand painted designs.
I think they became popular when driving vacations became popular. You got a bumber sticker of the exotic places you had been in your car (e.g. Nanaimo - Bathtub Capitol of the World) to impress and amaze your friends. I have the vague impression that they started with stickers proving that you had paid to enter or park at major attractions and moved on from there.
>>paid to . . . park at major attractions<<
Like the Long Island Expressway. And I thought it was free.
> Nanaimo
hey, I have a friend in Nanaimo! cool!
Oooo, I love those bars. Fattening, but little bits of heaven.