Honk if you know where the "honk if you..." meme started.

Factual Questions
1

Last night, while operating my motor vehicle, I noticed a bumper sticker on a car in front of me: “Honk if you understand punctuated equilibria.”

Which got me thinking. But not about evolutionary theory.

Where did this whole “honk if you…” trend start? What was the first bumper sticker to ask someone to honk in sympathy with a philosophical, religious or political belief?

And it makes sense that the phrase would’ve originated on bumper stickers, but did it actually come from some other medium? (Say, billboards? Burma Shave signs?)

The first phrase that springs my mind is “honk if you love Jesus,” but I really have no idea if that was the original “honk if you” bumper sticker, or just a really popular one.

Anyone know the origins of the “honk if you…” phenomenon?

2

I was gonna guess “…love Jesus” also – and date it to the late '70s – but both are WAGs.

3

From Google:

Honk If You Honky Tonk -George Strait
Honk If You Support World Car-Free Day -wha?
Honk If You Love J. Edgar Hoover -actual book written by 2 retired FBI agents
Honk If You Hate Noise Pollution -Pittsburgh Citypaper
Sona si Latine loqueris -Honk if you speak Latin
Honk If You’re a Goose -T shirt

4

Relying solely on my own memory, “Honk if you love Jesus” was indeed the original, but it dates from the early or mid-'70s. “Honk if you’re horny” showed up afterwards.

5

I also remember it from the early to mid 70’s but it was “Honk if you support <political candidate>”

6

Just wanted to note that my ecollection is that “Honk if you love Jesus” was the first incarnation, and the 70s sounds like the right time frame.
This was followed by the “Jeez if you Love Honkus” buttons and bumper stickers.

7

Amazon has a book, copyright 1974, titled Honk If You’ve Found Jesus, lending support to the mid-70s claim.

8

1973 newspaper headline–(talking about protesters with signs)

“Honk if you want him impeached(Nixon)”

9

And just now I found a 1971 newspaper cite for “honk if you love Jesus” bumpersticker.

That may be it.

10

Cool. Did the newspaper article refer to a bumper sticker, or what? I’m curious about the context.

11

Yes, on the bumpersticker in 1971/Jesus.

12

Ankh if you love Isis.

13

You know, I seriously did not see the “bumpersticker” on the end of your previous post until just now. I hate when my eyes do that.