Baby On Board

Yuppie car rear-window signs proclaiming the presence of an ankle-biter in the car.

The signs originated in 1985 as a way of informing rescue workers that there was a baby in the vehicle – toddlers were apparently often thrown some distance from car-wrecks and may go unnoticed.

They were also intended to generally alert other motorists of the presence of a young ‘un in the car (presumably in case they hadn’t already heard the crying and screaming).

In the summer of 1985, barely a year after its debut, the Baby on Board sign had been affixed to more than 3 million cars, with 500,000 being sold each month. It became in the 1980’s what the rear-window rainbow sticker was in the late 70’s – or the Christian ‘fish’ sticker.

The sign was a windfall for former real estate investor and Brookline, Massachusetts resident Michael Lerner, who spent $65,000 of his own money to start Safety 1st, a child-focused consumer brand.

Like we cared why you were such a shitty driver!