Superscript, subscript…whatever

I was taking a break from a home improvement project and found myself—through a series of steps I couldn’t reproduce if you put a gun to my head—looking at laptop stickers on Etsy.

You’ve seen these, right? They’re vinyl sticker that you put on the top of your laptop to give it a bit of personality. I’ve never had one,1 but at around $10, they’re an inexpensive bit of customization.

The stickers that incorporate the Apple logo can be quite clever and fun. There are several variations on Snow White

and Magritte’s Son of Man.

I also liked this homage to Apple Corps and old 45s:

And this variation on one of Harold Edgerton’s famous images

I looked for a sticker that incorporated Isaac Newton, sort of like the original Apple logo but not as busy and ornate. I didn’t find one, but I did find this, labeled Newton’s Law of Gravity:

It’s a cute idea, and I especially like the rebound off the equals sign, but the maker doesn’t seem to realize that those little numbers next to the letters can’t go just anywhere. And the people who’d want a sticker like this on their laptop definitely know the difference between r2r_2 and r2r^2.

I wanted to tell the maker about the superscript/subscript thing, but Etsy wanted me to “become a member” before allowing me to get to the contact page, and I just didn’t feel like opening another entry point for spam. If you’re already an Etsy member, you might consider giving him/her a heads up.


  1. A laptop sticker or a personality.