Bumper stickers have become a fun and entertaining way to convey our favorite jokes, organizations and political preferences to fellow drivers! However, did you know that the man credited with the first bumper sticker lived right here in Kansas City?
People began putting messages on their transportation long before cars and bumper stickers. They would display messages on canvas wheel covers or horsefly nets. When the first Ford Model A rolled out in 1927, along with the first bumper, people started looking for stuff to stick on it. That’s where Forest P. Gill of Kansas City came in. In the 1940s, he pioneered the use of an adhesive to stick bumper stickers to the metal cars. The original bumper stickers were made from paper before vinyl became the norm.
The first stickers were made mostly for tourist attractions, until one Roger Fischer, a political analyst, saw a potential advertising opportunity. So, in the 1952 presidential election between Dwight D. Eisenhower and Adele Stephenson, bumper stickers with the slogan “I Like Ike” began to pop up on cars all around the US. Now, political bumper stickers are a common way to declare to the world your choice of candidate, and when the election is over you can remove the bumper sticker with a few easy steps!
This is just one more thing to add to the list of things that Kansas City has contributed to the world!
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