# List Your Refrigerator Magnets Here **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 6, 2003, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-your-refrigerator-magnets-here/166912 "2003-04-06T20:22:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kalashnikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/2bfe46/32.png) [@Kalashnikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalashnikov)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-your-refrigerator-magnets-here/166912/21 "2003-04-07T03:43:43Z")
a “brake for moose” road sign (yes, these really exist here in NH) an American flag with an eagle and “United We Stand” two stainless steel cooking pots which are also real teaspoon and tablespoon measures “not a morning person doesnn’t even begin to cover it” We really need some of those magnetic poetry things. ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-your-refrigerator-magnets-here/166912/22 "2003-04-07T04:25:56Z")
**Otto** , I trust that you evenly distribute all those magnets over your refrigerator’s surfaces so that a disproportionate cluster of them doesn’t halt its motor. PS: Do you ever notice your tomato juice cans sticking to the walls? ---
**Author:** ![elfje](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19b73/32.png) [@elfje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfje)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-your-refrigerator-magnets-here/166912/23 "2003-04-07T11:24:43Z")
I’ve only got 2, and those completely by accident. Bart and Marge Simpson. ---
**Author:** ![Geek\_Mecha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ecae2f/32.png) [@Geek\_Mecha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Geek_Mecha)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-your-refrigerator-magnets-here/166912/24 "2003-04-07T12:08:39Z")
The interesting ones: A magnetic poetry kit, with several two-liners scattered all over A flat red heart picture frame, with no picture in it Two Looney Tunes magnets– Daffy Duck, as Duck Dodgers, pointing a raygun at Marvin the Martian, and Bugs Bunny giving Gossamer (the fuzzy, orange, tooth-shaped, tennis-shoe wearing monster) a manicure. ---
**Author:** ![TelcontarStorm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ab097/32.png) [@TelcontarStorm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TelcontarStorm)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-your-refrigerator-magnets-here/166912/25 "2003-04-07T13:15:22Z")
Man…_another_ trip to the kitchen? I just was in there for the junk…er,_utility_ drawer thread. I go again. Varied alphabets(3+ styles, none complete.) Rectangular shaped blank white thin sheets (I plan on decorating them myself someday I swear) Baseball photoframe from a box of Cracker Jack Homemade 9/11 memorial (one saying ‘Lest we forget’ and one ‘I support Operation Infinite Justice’ ) A purple football Helmet (I have no idea where it came from but I went to a Purple HS) Business card sized, Hanson’s Window co. Adverts for Kroger’s Little Ceasers Pizza A 2002 racing schedule Wooden Palate says “Jame’s Art” (James is RoomMate) Clippy thing from Insurance Co. Advert for Burger Kings Chicken Whopper Paper hanging is just Pizza Coupons (Royal and Marco’s) and an assasinated Smiley my daughter drew about 4 years ago (She did a wonderfull job on the bullet hole in the forehead) That says “Have A Nice Day” ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2003, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-your-refrigerator-magnets-here/166912/26 "2003-04-07T16:53:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zenster \* > \*\ ***Otto** , I trust that you evenly distribute all those magnets over your refrigerator’s surfaces so that a disproportionate cluster of them doesn’t halt its motor. \*\* Honey, that refrigerator’s so old I think the magnets are the only thing _keeping_ the motor running. What can I say, I’m a sucker for fridge magnets. I pick at least one up on every vacation (yes, I did once vacation in lovely Fresno) and I make my own out of that sticky magnetic backing. I had another Ru Paul magnet, a beautiful and irreplaceable picture, that a roommate decided to doodle a goatee on. We don’t see that roommate anymore… ---
**Author:** ![The\_plural\_of\_anecdote\_is\_data](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b38774/32.png) [@The\_plural\_of\_anecdote\_is\_data](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_plural_of_anecdote_is_data)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-your-refrigerator-magnets-here/166912/27 "2003-04-08T00:27:31Z")
I don’t have anything stuck to my refrigerator. That’s an American habit I cannot understand. ---
**Author:** ![Terrifel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c68b51/32.png) [@Terrifel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terrifel)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2003, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-your-refrigerator-magnets-here/166912/28 "2003-04-08T01:50:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The plural of anecdote is data \* > \*\*I don’t have anything stuck to my refrigerator. > That’s an American habit I cannot understand. \*\* Well, America’s fascination with magnets dates back centuries, to the times of the first European colonists. Remember, immigrants traveled to America by boat, and an accurate compass needle meant the difference between a successful crossing and disaster. Colonial Americans thus came to regard magnets as good luck, and adopted the habit of keeping a collection of magnets around the house at all times. Of course, back then they didn’t keep them on the refrigerator, but instead kept them handy on a convenient iron surface such as a coal-scuttle. Later, magnets were extensively used in folk healing and religious practices, and became enmeshed in the lore and legends of the nation. You may be familiar with the stories of Lodestone Joe, one of America’s popular folk heroes. Nearly every region of the country has some distinctive custom or ritual involving magnets. For example, in New England, it is traditional for the groom to gift his bride with a matched set of magnets on their wedding night, symbolizing their mutual attraction. I’m sure any American you ask would have similar anecdotes. In the late Twentieth Century, magnets took on a new, darker significance to Americans as a result of the Cold War. There was a widespread, erroneous belief that attaching a magnet to an electric device would insulate it from the electromagnetic pulse that accompanies a high-altitude nuclear detonation. Confronted by the possibility of a Soviet attack, Americans hoarded magnets like never before. In recent decades this fear has somewhat abated, but a magnet collection is still a prominent feature in most American homes. Even today, magnets are an integral part of the Yankee character, as I think this thread amply demonstrates. When meeting Americans, the highest compliment you can pay is to remark favorably on their magnet collection. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/list-your-refrigerator-magnets-here/166912.md?page=1)