Discover the Sticky Truth: Top 7 Fun Facts About Stickers You Never Knew!

1. Fruit Tattoos: The New Peel Deal

Move over, sticker shock: fruit tattoos are the new peel deal! In a bid to prune away excess waste, some fruit stickers may be replaced by laser-etched tattoos, thanks to recent EU regulations allowing the use of iron oxides, hydroxides, hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose, and polysorbates. It's a fruitful change indeed, and retail giant Marks & Spencer has already inked a deal with a laser printing company to trial the technology on oranges, potentially sundering the sweet, sticky tradition cherished by collectors like Christopher Crawcour, who proudly guards 30,000 fruit labels in nine lever arch files at his cozy abode.
Source => dailymail.co.uk

2. Acacia Tree Snot: A Sticky History

Who knew tree snot could seal the deal? That's right, folks: the sap of the Acacia senegal tree, aka gum arabic, has been a multipurpose goo throughout history, ranging from paint bases to ancient cough drops, but its superpower today rests in its ability to stick stamps and envelope flaps together like best friends at a high school reunion.
Source => woodmagazine.com

Did you know the iconic Slinky toy was originally meant to stabilize naval instruments at sea? Discover how a chance event led to its playful transformation in 1943! 🌊🌀

=> Fun Facts about Toys

3. Whisk Brooms to Sticker Booms: Political Gear Evolution

From whisk brooms to sticker booms: Back in the days of yesteryear, political paraphernalia consisted of outrageous items like whisk brooms, dustpans, and quirky cigar boxes. Yet, as times evolved, election campaigns in the mid-1800s transformed their messaging tactics, adopting less costly items like metal tabs and paper stickers to spread the word and boost chances of winning with catchy slogans.
Source => heraldnet.com

4. WW2 Housewives and The Great Ration Race

Before online shopping and extreme couponing, there was an epic battle of clipboard-wielding WW2 housewives: The Great Ration Race! : Stickers played a vital role during World War II as part of the rationing system by the OPA, where people received two ration books containing stamps with point values assigned to essential items like sugar, meat, and gasoline, ensuring a fair distribution while preventing hoarding.
Source => sos.oregon.gov

5. Velologists: Superheroes of Windshield Tax Discs

Velologists, assemble! No, they're not a quirky superhero team saving our windshields from monotony: Velology is the study and collection of vehicle tax discs, specifically from the United Kingdom between 1921 and 2014. Displayed on car windshields as quiet taxation trophies, collectors search high and low for intact, unfaded, and rare specimens, cherishing finds like emergency discs and Welsh language discs. Since 2014, however, the need to display these little round marvels has faded, and they've become relics of the past.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

6. Nidhi Bansal: Sticker Collection Queen

If you thought your childhood sticker book was the bee's knees, think again, my friend: Nidhi Bansal from India holds the Official Guinness Record for the largest collection of stickers in the world, boasting an astounding 102,317 stickers as of September 2013, with her hobby beginning in 2007 and her collection featuring an array of colorful designs and styles.
Source => vercalendario.info

7. Passport to Sticky Philately: Geopolitical Adhesives

Stamp your passports, folks, because we're embarking on a journey to a land where sticky philatelic treasures rule the roost and geopolitics takes a paper-thin form: Over 700 geopolitical entities have issued postage stamps since 1840, with some halting production due to political shifts and others, like Afghanistan and Algeria, sticking around to administer their own adhesives – all providing a fascinating glimpse into history and geography.
Source => linns.com