I am hesitant to put bumber stickers on my car because one thing is never funny forever. With magntic stickers, I could rotate my quips and special-interest group jabs as necessary. I suppose I could just use the refrigerator words, but I'd need them bigger and stickier. I'd also need one with a Darwin fish on it.
FakeGreenDress: Getting my stickers stolen is one of the main reasons for this idea. People can steal them without damaging my paintjob (though they might be inspired to key my car for good measure.)
Speaking of which, I want a halfbakery bumper magnet.-- centauri, Apr 10 2000 magnetic & static cling stickers http://www.decalifornia.com/magstat.htmlUpgrade offered original decal stickers to "static cling" or "magnetic". [jutta, Apr 10 2000] (?) Get paid to drive your car to work http://www.paidride.com/Jutta, I'm first in line for the Halfbakerymobile [Klaatu, Apr 27 2006] I put my stickers on the windows because they're easier to remove...Can buy sheets of thin magnetic material, and just stick the stickers to that, then cut them out...I seem to remember sometime in the past having seen 'bumper sticker holders' that were flat magnetic stuff with a clear plastic pouch so you wouldn't have to peel the backing off...-- StarChaser, Apr 10 2000 My wife is learning to drive, and the State of Maryland has thoughtfully provided a larger-than-average -bumpersticker-size magnetic, yellow "sticker" that says, "ROOKIE DRIVER." (It's on the frig.)-- johan, Apr 11 2000 In the UK, rookie drivers get a magnetic plate with a big red "L" (for "learner"). You must use them by law. This is a great idea and should be extended to other domains: I would particlulary like to see ski parkas emblazoned with the scarlet "L." Why not combine with Car-Ma (q.v.): a low Car-Ma score obliges you to put up a taxi-yellow "A" (for "a**hole").-- rmutt, Apr 11 2000 We're slowly creeping away from the original topic, but how do the police enforce the use of the "L" magnets? Slap you with an extra fine if you get pulled over and they see you should be using it? And does the "L" modify the behavior of the learner or drivers around the learner. Is there an "E" for Established or Expert drivers? A "D" for Drunk drivers? Can you be demoted? And why do so many Bakery/2 topics have to do with cars?-- centauri, Apr 11 2000 a good idea in theory, but what happens when somebody just cant live without your "Visualize Whirled Peas" magnet or takes exception to your "My other car is a Broom" decoration? although: the inherent vulnerability of these things might be a feature as opposed to a bug: i would no longer have to look at someone's liberal library on wheels any longer than it took me to rip their damn "Meat Is Murder" placard off the dented fender of their Nova.
but i think the important question here is: how many cars out there have steel bumpers anyway? arent most of them polymers of some sort at this point?-- rhino, Apr 12 2000 Yeah, but bumper stickers aren't just for bumpers... and Saturn aside, most cars still have a metal skin.-- egnor, Apr 12 2000 Similar but not quite the same: I've seen weekend auto racers stick magnetic numbers on their doors. The folks keeping track of times use them to identify the cars (handy when all the contestants are driving the same make of car).-- krevis, Apr 28 2000 um, maybe i am just dreaming, but i think I have already seen magnetic car stuff. made by the magnetic poetry people. or maybe centauri got this idea full baked!-- missritzz, Jun 26 2000 Yes, they do exist - I got some for my fiance at Barnes & Noble for his new Beetle. They are made by the magnetic poetry people. They stick fine (to the body of the car), and come with blanks for you to write your own.-- babyluck, Jun 27 2000 Although perhaps a digression, a response to centauri's question about L plates: All learner drivers in the UK have to by law use L plates, and be accompanied by a driver who is at least 21 and has been driving for at least three years. If they are caught not adhering to these laws they may be fined, banned from driving, or may earn penalty points on their license. I think the penalty points are added to your provisional license and then when you pass your test they are transferred to your proper license. If you get 12 points (I think) you get banned from driving. They now also have P plates which signify newly passed drivers although these are not required by law (unlike in Australia where thet are mandatory for 1 year). The L should modify the behaviour of other drivers as they should realise that the learner driver is likely to make mistakes etc, although from experience it doesn't always do this. Oh, and you can't drive without insurance. EVER!-- MrTheRich, Jun 30 2000 To digress even more, our wonderful UK system has the added advantage that you can end up like my brother, who'd lost his license before he got it.-- DrBob, Jun 30 2000 I'm taking driver's education this summer, and they have large magnetic numbers on the sides of the cars so they can tell who is who on the driving range. It's really quite helpful when they point out a mistake, although more embarrassing- when you mess up, EVERYONE knows.
About magnetic stickers getting stolen: If someone really wants to take something off your car, they will. I've got a friend with a Darwin fish on his car (not magnetic), and it has been repeatedly stolen by some of the fundamental Christians at my school. They must have never heard of "Thou shalt not steal."-- FakeGreenDress, Jun 30 2000 Lot of that going around...And copyright violations...I see a lot of stickers that look from a distance to be X, but up close are something religious. Like a red and white sticker with Spencerian script that looks exactly like a Coca Cola ad, or yellow on black with orange and white that looks exactly like a local <non religious> radio station's logo...-- StarChaser, Jul 26 2000 You just can't trust anybody these days.-- centauri, Jul 26 2000 Sure you can, you can trust them to be untrust worthy.-- wrenchndmachine, Sep 27 2000 actually I think the concept is sound and has been done by a couple of different companies.... and yes you can trust people to behave just like a "HUMAN"... but on other thoughts.. if people keep stealing your magnetic car words... maybe you should add your own ID on the bottom edge and promote the idea of exchanging with other people to show how much you like someone else's thoughts. just a thought.-- SecretArts, Apr 27 2006 Hm! Good idea, SecretArts. (Cut to two confused car owners at the site of an accident, trying to sort out which sticker in a big mushed-up pile belongs to whom.)-- jutta, Apr 27 2006 I don't know about all Saturns, but my ION in particular has a metal hood, roof, and trunk. I think it has something to do with lightning protection. Anyway, we're not immune to these antics. Assuming this is legal, it'd be very good fun indeed.-- kevinthenerd, Jun 22 2008 random, halfbakery