Spotting Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln sells everything from books and movies to t-shirts and shot glasses. As the bicentennial of his birth approaches in 1809, I suspect we will be seeing his image in new and unusual places.

The Associated Press recently ran a story about Lincoln’s birthplace in Hodgenville, Kentucky. Local merchants sell “slingshots and apple-bourbon scented candles graced with Lincoln’s face.” Lincoln’s image even appears on pencil sharpeners and painted gourds.

The executive director of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission has tried to put Lincoln’s marketability into perspective. “Lincoln understood the value of appealing to people. He’s always been commercial,” she explained.

The story got me thinking again about Lincoln in popular culture. Not only does he sell products, but his image is also on the penny and the five-dollar bill…his face is even carved onto the side of a mountain.

The photo above was taken at the Summit Rest Area (Exit 323) on Interstate 80, in Wyoming. Lincoln certainly appears in strange places!

Where have you unexpectedly “spotted Lincoln?”