Come on, admit it, you’ve got a couple of fridge magnets, don’t you? Or do you prefer your brushed aluminum side-by-side to be pristine, free of magnetized kitsch?
I have a haiku magnet set that I use for non-haiku prose: “Without Fish Life I Weep”
I also have a “Iowa Department of Public Health” magnet I picked up at the State Fair.
How about you?
I just counted. There are over 50 magnets on our refrigerators. They range from local pizza place ads to Quakes 2007 Baseball schedules. Quite a few are mementos of our travels. My favorite is one that says: “When things look bad I just remember that I’ve got a big dick and things seem much better.” 
My husband got, as a REAL gift – not a gag-- a magnet that is a clear to-go box, with a salad inside. (plastic of course!!) Lettuce, tomatoe etc. STUPIDEST thing we have ever ever seen. Courtesy of my Mom!! She was not joking around, she thought it would be cute. (this was over 8 years ago, and it STILL is on our fridge!)
I could start my own thread about useless things Pandapop got from my Mom for Christmas.
Most of mine were free, as in advertisements. Trucking companies I dealt with, insurance companies, fraternal organizations. One says “Zero, garbage, recycle”, whatever that means.
“Trash, or treasure”, who knows what people will collect. I remember in the late 70’s that Avon bottle were going like hotcakes, then there was the “Cabbage Patch Dolls” craze, or what about “POG’s”, I guess if you’re a packrat it might make you rich some day.
The trouble with the free magnets is they are useless for holding things up. Good strong refrigerator magnets are hard to come by. I have none. My place is brand new to me.
You can have my cartoon mosquito-on-steroids saying, “Chain O Lakes, Albion, Indiana” when you pry it off my cold, dead refrigerator.
My taste can be described as utilitarian or spartan and I don’t put magnets on my fridge or stickers on my car. They distract me at best and outright annoy me at worst.
I have:
I’m not all that attached to them. I came very close to buying a group of pin-up-girl magnets once, but decided it wasn’t worth the $20.
I need a Miss Piggy magnet, now that I think of it. I need to go shopping.
The best fridge magnets are the ones the come out of hard drives, my SO hates them but when you put something on the fridge with them it’s not gonna come off till you pry it off! We have about 100 magnets on there, about 15 are from disassembled drives.
Forgot to mention my “Colorado Alligator Farm” and “Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame” magnets…
“Deadwood Institute of Higher Learning” (Iowa City, IA veterans will know that one)
I also have one: “Locke’s Carpet Castle” from Mt. Pleasant in the same state. Got it from a kid when I was in fourth grade. It’s been out of business for about 30 years.
I also have one that my sister gave me for Cristmas once: “Creative minds are seldom tidy.”
Boy, ain’t THAT the truth!
I have eight fridge magnets, all from a local meditation group that sells old photos at various local events as a fundraiser. (Yeah it sounds weird to me too.) By far the oddest is one that is exactly like the poster for “Top Gun”–except Bill Gates has been substituted for Tom Cruise.
You realize, of course, that brushed aluminum would be magnet-free regardless of the owner’s opinion on kitchen aesthetics? :dubious:
We have a brushed steel fridge, which is magnet-free for the same reason. The steel used for the front has too high a percentage of non-iron metals to hold onto a magnet. This is okay, however, because in my experience important papers hung up on the fridge in the Casaflodnak household will quickly disappear behind less important papers, meaning it’s useless for organization and looks terrible besides. So we’re happily magnet-free. If it makes you feel better, my sister’s fridge more than makes up for it… she doesn’t hang any papers on the fridge, either, because she has so many magnets there’s no space left to hang anything with them.
Yes, I’m pretty sure we’re related.
I recently got rid of all my fruit fridge magnets and replaced them with ones from Las Vegas.
Fridge magnets don’t seem to be a Dutch thing.
We have smaller fridges, because we shop for groceries more often in a week. And that, inturn, is because the distance any stores is generally shorter, so most people do groceries on their bike, so no need for big fridges, so no fridge magnets.
Every once in a while, stickers become a fad again for kids. Kids stick the damn things everywhere.
There used to be a fad, over 50 years ago, for little metal plates to be fastened to ones walking cane. They were a popular souvenir with hikers back then.
And 40 years ago, companies used to give out "pin-shields ", that also became collectors’ items. But since then, it has been mostly stickers.
My fridge has state-outline magnets of all 50 states and all 10 Canadian provinces, plus one representing Washington DC. My wife and I bought the state’s or province’s magnet only after having toured that place, so completing the “map” on the fridge was a big deal!
We wouldn’t want our fridge bare, no way.
I have fridge magnets, but they are on the side facing away from the common views in/into my kitchen.
My favorite is my George Bush “Emperor Has No Clothes” dress up set. Naked GWB and the best outfits!
All of ours are from drug companies. The best ones are heavy-duty clips held to the fridge with strong magnets. They don’t move, but you can still put stuff in them without a crowbar. Those are pretty useful.
I dream of one day starting a company that goes on to become the largest producer of refrigerators in the world. Yes, I want to be known as a refrigerator magnate.
My favorite one is a rectangular picture of Mr Bill, saying “Oh no!!!” I also have one that says “Prozak, schmozak. Ever heard of a martini?” I have a big one that hubby glued a handle to, that I switch back and forth from the dishwasher to the fridge to indicate whether or not the dishes are clean. I have another one shaped like a pack of cigarettes, with a red “no” circle on it. You push a button, and it says “No smoking!” Also, a variety of chip clips.
I only have cheap magnets that I get in the mail. They started taking over and last weekend I pitched 3/4 of them. I fucking hate them!!! I need a bigger, better bulletin board.
