Bumper Stickers, A Chuckle-Worthy Collection
American bumper stickers have been around since the horse-drawn carriage era. Originally, they were signs and messages from advertisers printed on horsefly nets. In the 1930s and 40s, they came in the form of metal and cardboard signage wired to grilles, bumpers and other fixtures but as the decades clicked off the calendar they started appearing vehicles in the form of plastic, adhesive strips, usually for the intention of giving other motorists a chuckle or promoting brand awareness. And really, what better grass roots promotional tool (other than tee shirts) could there be?
Many experts credit Forest P. Gill, a silkscreen printer from Kansas City, Kansas as the developer of the modern bumper sticker. Gill recognized that the self-adhesive paper used during the Second World War could be used to advertise promotional products in the late 1940s and beyond.
Back in the days of hot rods, classics and muscle cars, we started seeing performance decals and bumper stickers – Isky Cams and of course the Clay Smith Cams “Mr Horsepower” which undoubtedly carries the distinction of being the most popular bumper sticker in American Performance. As many other performance-oriented bumper stickers as you can imagine followed suit with dragstrips, manufacturers, Ed Roth creatures, those iconic Mooneyes and so on.
But today we’re looking at modern day chuckle-worthy bumper stickers slapped to minivans, commuter cars, and other road warriors. Whoever comes up with these borders on genius level humor. Girlfriends, wives, friends, presidents, and foes – nobody is safe!
We have to admit we literally laughed out loud and spit out our coffee when we saw the “Sorry I missed Church; I’ve been busy practicing witchcraft and becoming a lesbian!” Other favorites are “Condoms prevent minivans”, “Caution – I brake for hookers”, and “If you want a stable relationship get a horse!”
There are several “go-to” sources for today’s hilarious bumper stickers. We like Zazzle for their pre-printed options but with Make Stickers you can put your inner comedian to work and make your own. Sticker Mule is also good if mass production in your thing! Who knows – if you’re clever enough, maybe you could do bumper stickers to supplement income.
To all those who contributed humor to this blog post we thank you!