Stickers Rule!

Who doesn’t love stickers? Colorful, cool, funny, shiny, informative and occasionally stinky little pictures or messages that can be used to decorate objects and surfaces, giving a personal possession (or public property) a little more personality. We run down some of the more novel places stickers have come from and where they’ve wound up, from Ray Avery’s original “Kum Kleen Price Stickers” in 1940, to the earliest political bumper stickers, to the origins of using “Hello My Name Is” labels to introduce oneself to strangers and mailboxes and of course the sudden sticker explosion in the 1970s and 80s of brands like Lisa Frank, Mrs. Grossman and Sandylion. Plus, some of our personal favorite stickers from throughout our lives and where we put them. Special thanks to Thijis Van Sise, longtime patreon supporter and friend of the show, for suggesting this week’s topic.

Also, friendly reminder you can help support the show on Patreon at patreon.com/thisthingrules, follow us on Bluesky and Twitter @ThisThingRules, or find our little corner of our old podcast’s Discord at discord.comedybutton.com - and of course, we’re always happy to get email from listeners at [email protected]

Intro contains a bunch of sound effects and clips from Eminem’s “My Name Is,” a 1996 Lisa Frank commercial starring Mila Kunis, a Circle K commercial for scratch-and-sniff mother’s day stickers starring a bunch of live skunks, and The Simpsons.