Bumper Sticker Mystery

January 20, 2005 5:40 AM

I've seen a bumper sticker on a significant number of cars, and it's been bugging me for a long time. It's (very roughly) 15x6cm. It has the letters "ET P" in blue on a white field, and there are very small symbols to the left of the E and to the right of the P. I've never been able to get close enough to a sticker to see what they are, nor has googling really been much help. The sticker is almost always on the left of the rear bumper. I can only recall seeing the sticker on my commute in Southern CT, USA, so it's possible it's a regional thing. What is this sticker for? What does it mean?
posted by Plutor to Travel & Transportation (18 answers total)

Maybe this.

I googled "ETP" "bumper sticker".

I'm just guessing as I am no where near Connecticut. I hope that helps.
posted by geekyguy at 6:30 AM on January 20, 2005

Possibly a parking sticker of some sort. Maybe for a large employer or large residential area? Is it more common in any particular area?
posted by bh at 6:55 AM on January 20, 2005

This is something I've wondered about too. Being in southern CT, I see these stickers all the time, but I can't say if it's a regional thing - I don't think it's an employer, school, or town sticker because I can't think of anything around here that goes by "ET P".

Googling hasn't helped, so I might have to ask the driver of a car that has one.
posted by isotope at 7:05 AM on January 20, 2005

Response by poster: geekyguy: e-thepeople just happens to have the right acronym and some posts about political bumper stickers on their site. I don't think that's it.

bh: The parking sticker was my best guess, also. It's not really common enough that I could really tell you if there's some sort of important distribution. I see the sticker probably once a week. It's possible that this it's a New York City phenomenon, since I live only an hour or two from there.

But I've never heard of a parking lot with a rear-bumper sticker. It's usually a rear-view mirror tag or a window sticker, both easily removed.
posted by Plutor at 7:45 AM on January 20, 2005

Best answer: Is this it?

It fits your description well, and is apparently for residents of Easton, CT.
posted by brad! at 8:17 AM on January 20, 2005

"Officer's." Sigh.
posted by emelenjr at 8:22 AM on January 20, 2005

Response by poster: Brad! Amazing! That's exactly it. Thank you so much.
(And that explains why Googling doesn't help. That stupid page's text is all images!)
posted by Plutor at 8:23 AM on January 20, 2005

brad! has it right - it's Easton Police Dept. It took me forever to figure it out.

Off-topic: I had no idea there were other active CT MeFites!
posted by widdershins at 8:33 AM on January 20, 2005

And why would it matter that you are a resident of Easton? Shouldn't the police be applying the laws fairly to all?
posted by grouse at 9:09 AM on January 20, 2005

Grouse - It's probably so that they can employ more effective racial profiling.
posted by bshort at 9:34 AM on January 20, 2005

Shouldn't the police be applying the laws fairly to all?

Having lived in CT for 8 years, I can safely say that your comment has no meaning there.
posted by thanotopsis at 9:46 AM on January 20, 2005

And here I was thinking it was some exclusive skull-and-bones society thing.

Kinda strikes me as strange that this is coming from the Police dept and not from Parks & Rec, which most other towns would have issue stickers for residents. But then I've lived in CT for most of my life, so it really shouldnt strike me as strange.
posted by isotope at 10:09 AM on January 20, 2005

Response by poster: Isotope, I had the same thought initially. I think I'll get my first full night's sleep in a long time tonight.
(Anyone else up for a CT Mefi meetup?)
posted by Plutor at 10:24 AM on January 20, 2005

That is flipping brilliant.
No one could possibly fake such a bumper sticker.
posted by spock at 1:01 PM on January 20, 2005

I imagine Easton is one of these speed-trap-financed towns and they prefer not to impose their freeway levy on their own residents.
posted by ikkyu2 at 2:42 PM on January 20, 2005

Some states do basically the same thing by putting your county name on your plate (FL and OH, for example).

This helps the fuzz determine that you've strayed from your appropriate neighborhood when they are deciding whether or not to pull you over.

I betcha Easton is a nice suburban town near some not-so-nice area.
posted by Mid at 2:57 PM on January 20, 2005

Or it could just be that Easton has residential parking rules and/or different admission rates to public parks and beaches. Local taxpayers may have benefits.
posted by dness2 at 3:02 PM on January 20, 2005

Eddy was the only full-time cop in Canterbury, N.H. If he pulled you over for speeding and realized you were one of the 1,500 or so town residents, he's apologize and let you go. Except if you were drunk. Then he'd make you get out of your car, and give you a ride home.
posted by sacre_bleu at 10:27 PM on January 20, 2005