0946: “Family Decals”

[ebola8mystinkymonkey]

I totally made my own to screw with all of the people who have these. Dinosaurs eating children!!!

http://hphotos-sjc1.fbcdn.net/264153_10150232718456512_579151511_7611243_4439204_n.jpg

- R

[Invisiblemoose]

Those stickers are super common in suburban metro Atlanta. I'll reckon they have a presence all over the country -- maybe you guys who claim to have never seen one will start noticing them now.

Anyone sure what the alt-text is referring to?

[pbnjstowell]

I'd do xkcd family stickers, as long as there were light sabers involved.

Also,

The van the right is the reason that the Mormons, Amish, Hasidic Jews, and conservative Catholics will inherit America [with some other ethnic groups thrown in].

(by the way, you do realize that of the groups you've listed only the Hasidic Jews are even potentially an ethnic group, right?)

According to Wikipedia, Mormons and Amish are also considered ethnic groups. They fit the definition. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_ethnic_groups with explanations.


PS. My car has an elephant in the traditional family-sticker spot.

[lukewarm]

On topic: why is it that people with "baby on board" signs never take them off when the baby is not actually in the car? Or rather, why is it that I see so many "baby on board" signs on cars which manifestly do not contain a baby in the passenger compartment? And should I call a cop and have them rescue the baby from the trunk? And isn't a "baby on board" sticker more or less a confession to child abuse? (think about it...)

You don't understand. The sign refers to the driver who is susceptible to baby-like behavior.

[drazen]

So this seems to be saying "Haha, look at those dumb people!" but does so in such an arrogant, pretentious way as to make the "rich" couple seem like petulant jerks. Personally, I'd rather have love and family than a pile of money (although I'll take both if I can get them, obviously).y I live alone with no pets, though, so I guess I could only have one adult sticker, which would probably be sort of sad-looking. The person in this thread with one man and one cat is being much more clever.

Actually, the second car seems to have stickers that look like Randy and Megan; maybe that's just the ransom money her family sent. Heh.

Also, the Honda Fit (assuming the person upthread identified it correctly; I couldn't tell) is one of the ugliest cars on the road right now. A friend recently described it to me as "the illegitimate offspring of a minivan and a station wagon."

[PatrickRsGhost]

I've seen these all over Georgia as well. Some variations I've seen include Mickey Mouse ears on everyone (indicating they went to Disney World), the kids dressed up in some sort of uniform (soccer, tennis), the mother dressed in a tennis outfit, cats, dogs, fish, and sometimes a cross, indicating they're a Christian family. I've also seen footprints, either bare, or flip-flops/sandals. A couple of times I've seen deer tracks or deer heads used to symbolize the family.

[RAGBRAIvet]

I had always wondered if those weren't kill tallies like on fighter planes.

No, proper placement for that would be along the fender or underneath the driver's window.
Although if you were to put a large self-adhesive "X" over one or more of the figures I wonder how long it would take before the car's owner would notice.

[intruder313]

Thankfully these ridiculous stickers have not made it here to the UK. "Baby on Board" is bad enough....

If they are here I imagine I will start to notice them soon, all around me, giving me yet another reason to hate fellow road users!

[RedBrick]

They're fairly common in Australia. I find them weird. They sometimes include pets.
What if it dies? Or the parents split up?
Where do you get them? One moment there were none, the next they were all over everyone's cars.
I've never seen them in shops. Was there a memo or something that was sent out?

I can't remember where I saw it - it was either on failblog or a friend sent me a photo - but I've see a car obviously post-divorce/death with these stupid stickers - there was a husband, a scratchy white remnant of a wife, a boy and a scratchy white remnant of another boy.

I've also seen these stickers referred to as "a handy pointer on how many body bags to bring".

[mrpaape]

I just saw a car with 4 Star Wars walkers set up in this fashion. 2 of the Large AT-AT walkers and 2 of the smaller AT-ST Walkers. I gave them a cheer as I passed and they laughed.

[Maea]

Hah. I looked at this one and thought, "You know, I'm ok with that."

$$ is overrated

[lmarinho]

Amazing, I live in northeast Brazil and just before seeing this comic I was pretty sure these family car stickers were a local thing. xkcd just keeps changing my life.

[jonadab]

Are these…common? I’ve never seen them before.

I've never noticed them here (in central Ohio). Whether that means they're uncommon here or simply implies that I don't pay close attention to stickers on cars, I don't know. It could even be some of each.

[Maxpm]

What about those stickers that read something along the lines of, "My son is an honors student?"

Those always bugged me for a lot of reasons.

Hah. I looked at this one and thought, "You know, I'm ok with that."

$$ is overrated

Good point.

[chrth]

Since this thread is turning into a "which parts of the country will get this comic" listing, I can confirm that they're pretty popular in Central NC.

Based on personal experience, I can also point out that having a child (or three) is not as much of a cash sink until they hit about 15 or 16, and the more important reality is that the DINKs have more time.

The best one I saw was a family where the Mom sticker was very obviously missing.

Which brings up my biggest concern about something like this: imagine you're the parent, and something tragic happens to your child. Do you leave the sticker on with the constant reminder of their existence, or do you find the strength to accept the finality of their death and remove the sticker? Not a fun proposition in either case.

[darkwing0o0rama]

Get decals and put the word "Hitlist" over the family stickers, so people know you take out women and children (and pets), too.
Murder for hire is a word of mouth business.
Or "One down, Four to go." With an X over the adult.

(not intentionally putting this after the death of a family member post, that would be sad)

[JakeArkinstall]

Which brings up my biggest concern about something like this: imagine you're the parent, and something tragic happens to your child. Do you leave the sticker on with the constant reminder of their existence, or do you find the strength to accept the finality of their death and remove the sticker? Not a fun proposition in either case.

Maybe somewhere in between and rotate it 90 degrees?

[adho]

[I'm not sure why this would be a problem.

I just feel that having it brandished all over your car would be odd.
Is your ex now not your family? Do you include all the kids? Do you keep it on as a sad reminder of what life used to be like?
I don't know. I'm a kid. [goat noise]

[sbarr]

Reminds me of this http://youtu.be/xv-0Sr-BV5A

[thevicente]

That fad stuck here. I've seen all combinations, including pets, grandparents, gay and lesbian couples, single women w/kids and adhesive smudges left from ripped stickers in place of ex-partners.

Not wanting to join the crowd nor be left behind, I made mine myself. May I show you the rear of my motorcycle:

bike fender

bike fender detail

[Lazy Tommy]

Are these…common? I’ve never seen them before.

They're quite common here in New Jersey, so it's not just something that's confined to big-family areas like Utah or the Midwest.
I would totally go for Randall's version.

[Apeiron]

http://xkcd.com/946



Title: “My decal set has no adults, just a sea of hundreds of the little girl figures closing in around a single cat.”

Are these…common? I’ve never seen them before.

Here in Virginia their fairly common.

[Apeiron]

oh wow, this is a total GOOMHR moment!
I live in Australia, these damn awful decals are ubiquitous. And annoying. Seems like just about every family car has a set depicting all family members. But I was recently driving and saw this:

BMW Z4 my family stickers by majikfaerie, on Flickr

Seriously - anyone putting My Family stickers on a BMW Z4 deserves to have their car confiscated for crimes against humanity! Or at least against discernment in automobiles.

How dare people be proud of their families?! Or worse yet, care about something you don't!

[paladinsama]

Those decals have also been common in Lima for the last few years, I always wondered who started the trend.

[LeiraHoward]

Are these…common? I’ve never seen them before.

I've never noticed them here (in central Ohio). Whether that means they're uncommon here or simply implies that I don't pay close attention to stickers on cars, I don't know. It could even be some of each.

They are all over the place here (also in central Ohio). So I think you just don't pay close attention. They've been around for quite some time, too, as I remember seeing them on vehicles before I went to college.

I've traveled to most of the 48 states (and also to Hawaii) and have seen them all over, so I don't think they are a regional thing. Heck, I was in a "Bed, Bath, & Beyond" (large household goods store chain) the other day, and they were selling packages of them next to the cash register.

I had to capitulate and get a minivan to haul our kids, but there is NO WAY I'm putting those stickers on it. My husband joked about it and got the Look Of Death.

And as far as the ones where someone has died... they actually sell some stick figure stickers with angel wings, so I suppose people could put those in for the dead relatives. I wouldn't, but that's me.

If you want an idea of how popular the things are, just search the internet for stick family cars or some such variation, and see all the stores you find. Besides which, there are a ton of places that will make a little image with all the same people that you can put in your signature.

[Andrusi]

I had always wondered if those weren't kill tallies like on fighter planes.

Suddenly I feel distinctly less weird.

[LeiraHoward]

oh wow, this is a total GOOMHR moment!
I live in Australia, these damn awful decals are ubiquitous. And annoying. Seems like just about every family car has a set depicting all family members. But I was recently driving and saw this:

BMW Z4 my family stickers by majikfaerie, on Flickr

Seriously - anyone putting My Family stickers on a BMW Z4 deserves to have their car confiscated for crimes against humanity! Or at least against discernment in automobiles.

How dare people be proud of their families?! Or worse yet, care about something you don't!

I don't think that was the original poster's intent. It was more a "look, this is a very expensive and classy car... why are you putting stuff on it" ... this would fall (sort of) under the same category as dressing up in a tuxedo for a formal dress party, but then wearing (and keeping wearing during the entire party) a baseball cap with your team's logo on it. It isn't a problem that you like the team (well, depending on the team... ), but it is not "right" to be wearing such a casual item to a formal party. So it is a similar idea- why would you put a casual item on an expensive car? What next? Those hideous metal bull testicles dangling from the rear axle? (I HATE those things...)

[marieC]

I registered with the site just so that I could give the Honda Fit a shout out and then I read this:

Also, the Honda Fit (assuming the person upthread identified it correctly; I couldn't tell) is one of the ugliest cars on the road right now. A friend recently described it to me as "the illegitimate offspring of a minivan and a station wagon."

Dude, I love my car though I have to say my husband totally agrees with you. He put the bike rack on it, not his car, so that it'd look "cooler". Whatever. My car has personality (she's funny, right?) and I can put near anything in it AND get 38mpg. And entire IKEA living room can go in the back of my car.

Uh, on topic, these stickers are EVERYWHERE. I want to know where you live to have not seen them. There's a robot family version we saw once that might be in our future. Self replicating robots.

[niknowj]

I would like to see combination of both stickers.

[Deltamcl]

A while ago I had posted on Facebook that I wanted a set of family decals that were running across the window, being chased by zombies. The Facebook crowd didn't think it was that funny, but I'm sure there's a market for it somewhere.

[servman]

The fact that they're stick figures lends them to the xkcd store for sure. The one we need is the family fleeing from a raptor (possibly on a hoverboard).

[dttth]

I like how everyone's just ignoring the questions about the alt-text.

[The Moomin]

oh wow, this is a total GOOMHR moment!
I live in Australia, these damn awful decals are ubiquitous. And annoying. Seems like just about every family car has a set depicting all family members. But I was recently driving and saw this:

BMW Z4 my family stickers by majikfaerie, on Flickr

Seriously - anyone putting My Family stickers on a BMW Z4 deserves to have their car confiscated for crimes against humanity! Or at least against discernment in automobiles.

How dare people be proud of their families?! Or worse yet, care about something you don't!

I don't think that was the original poster's intent. It was more a "look, this is a very expensive and classy car... why are you putting stuff on it" ... this would fall (sort of) under the same category as dressing up in a tuxedo for a formal dress party, but then wearing (and keeping wearing during the entire party) a baseball cap with your team's logo on it. It isn't a problem that you like the team (well, depending on the team... ), but it is not "right" to be wearing such a casual item to a formal party. So it is a similar idea- why would you put a casual item on an expensive car? What next? Those hideous metal bull testicles dangling from the rear axle? (I HATE those things...)

A pox upon those people that personalise their own property with things that they like. Everything should be factory default, or only have sheep decals.

[OtherRob]

Based on personal experience, I can also point out that having a child (or three) is not as much of a cash sink until they hit about 15 or 16, and the more important reality is that the DINKs have more time.

Wait, you mean it gets worse? They're gonna cost me more? Though I agree with you 100% about people without kids having more time. And more sleep...

Which brings up my biggest concern about something like this: imagine you're the parent, and something tragic happens to your child. Do you leave the sticker on with the constant reminder of their existence, or do you find the strength to accept the finality of their death and remove the sticker? Not a fun proposition in either case.

I imagine that if something were to happen to one of my kids, the last thing I would be thinking about are stickers on my car.

[A_of_s_t]

My own car has two stickers: one adult male, and one cat. Hey, my cat is my family!

Awwww.

[dp2]

They're somewhat common in Michigan.

"Baby On Board" however....really? I haven't seen one of those since 1986. By the time the Simpsons did a song about them, they were already retro.

[dp2]

Based on personal experience, I can also point out that having a child (or three) is not as much of a cash sink until they hit about 15 or 16, and the more important reality is that the DINKs have more time.

You're right about the time, but feeding and clothing and housing and medically maintaining even a small human costs a lot. It's just that when it's rolled into your weekly grocery bill or your monthly insurance premium, it's not as obvious as a new car payment or college tuition. Check your employer's insurance plans and see how much less you'd be paying for just yourself or yourself and spouse.

Which brings up my biggest concern about something like this: imagine you're the parent, and something tragic happens to your child. Do you leave the sticker on with the constant reminder of their existence, or do you find the strength to accept the finality of their death and remove the sticker? Not a fun proposition in either case.

I thankfully don't know, but I don't see how it's any worse than the family photographs and the kid's bedroom still being attached to the house.

[resu427]

I'll just leave this here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv-0Sr-BV5A

[BrianB]

What is not being discussed here is how the people with the kids are obviously douchebags and jealous of the people with money.

I mean, why else would they park sooooo close as to make it impossible for the DINKs to get in the driver-side door of their car?

[Odd_nonposter]

I interpret the title-text as meaning "this cat owns everyone in this family." Which, if you've ever owned a cat, is not very far from the truth.