National Sticker Day on January 13th recognizes all the ways stickers brighten up a page or send a special message. The day celebrates all things stickers, from the custom printing of them to sharing stickers. Every sticker has a story.
- Historians believe the first stickers may date back to the ancient Egyptians. Archeologists have found remains of papers that were plastered to the walls of ancient markets to display prices of goods.
- These savvy, pre-industrial entrepreneurs used a gum paste to get the labels to adhere and, well, stick: hence “stickers.”
- By the 1900s a sticker-specific paste had been developed and was widely used, most notably on stamps, which dried and then would re-apply when moistened.
- Sticker Day is January 13 in honor of R. Stanton Avery, who was born on that day in 1907. R. Stanton Avery, a rags-to-riches entrepreneur who created the first commercially feasible self-sticking, peel-off labels and founded what is now Avery Dennison Corp. to manufacture and market them worldwide.
- It was R. Stanton Avery who invented it in 1935, launching a new company and a new industry. These innovative products were manufactured in a 100-square-foot rented loft space in Los Angeles.
- World’s Largest Collection of Stickers Has 102,317 Pieces. Indian sticker collector and artist Nidhi Bansal. Bansal is the sole owner of the largest sticker collection in the world.
- Fruit Stickers Are the Same All Around the World. the PLU codes on the stickers are the same all around the world. PLU is an acronym for ‘product look up’.
- Fruit stickers are edible. Eating fruit stickers won’t hurt you. The sticker is not harmful but will just pass right through your body.
- Before the invention of the automobile, business owners would communicate to the public by printing their advertisement on horse fly nets.
- The more sophisticated bumper sticker first appeared in the late 1920’s and was made out of metal or simple cardboard attached to a car by wire.
- The First Bumper Stickers Promoted Tourist Attractions. Back in 1946, Forest Gill, a screen printer from Kansas, invented the world’s first bumper sticker. Tourist attractions were quick to realize the advertising potential in using cars as moving billboards. Soon bumper stickers became popular souvenirs for car owners all around America.
- The ‘I Voted’ Sticker Was Invented by Realtors…or was it? At least that is what The Phoenix Association of Realtors claims. The realtors say they came up with the “I Voted Today” sticker in 1985. But other sources claim that an article in Miami Herald from 1982 told the story about small businesses in Fort Lauderdale that offered discounts to customers who were wearing ‘I Voted’ decals.
- The ‘Hello My Name Is’ Sticker Was First Introduced in 1959.
- 1928-1940s: Most frequently, a “bumper sticker” in this time was metal or cardboard wired to the car
- 1952: The first real use of the bumper sticker in a political campaign occurs in the 1952 Eisenhower -vs- Stevenson election.
- 1956: Ike campaign once again uses bumper stickers, and so does every presidential campaign since.
- 1991: Baker v. Glover in Alabama and Cunningham v. State in Georgia ruled that free speech applies to bumper stickers – although the debate continues.
- In Europe, drivers with oval bumper stickers must have up to three letter codes to distinguish country origin.
Sources:
Disclaimer
The information contained in South Florida Reporter is for general information purposes only.
The South Florida Reporter assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in the contents of the Service.
In no event shall the South Florida Reporter be liable for any special, direct, indirect, consequential, or incidental damages or any damages whatsoever, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other tort, arising out of or in connection with the use of the Service or the contents of the Service. The Company reserves the right to make additions, deletions, or modifications to the contents of the Service at any time without prior notice.
The Company does not warrant that the Service is free of viruses or other harmful components
