“Club sandwiches, not seals”
“Club sandwiches, not seals” is a humorous saying about a serious environmental topic that has been printed on T-shirts and many other gift items. The T-shirt saying has been cited in print since at least 1983.
“A baby seal walks into a bar…” is a bar joke based on the same message.
Wikipedia: Seal hunting
Seal hunting, or sealing, is the personal or commercial hunting of seals. Seal hunting is currently practiced in nine countries: Canada, The United States, Namibia, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Finland, and Sweden. Most of the world’s seal hunting takes place in Canada and Greenland. Canada’s largest market for seals is Norway.
7 March 1983, Atlanta (GA) Constitution, “Watching the Boys of Spring: For Braves fans who make the pilgrimage south, the trip is rewarding” by Keith Graham, pg. 3B, col. 1:
And the abundant T-shirts, appropriate dress for the mild south Florida weather, have equally diverse messages. “Club sandwiches, not seals,” says one.
29 July 1983, The Arizona Republic (Phoenix, AZ), “Fall’s array of sweaters has comfort” by Margaria Fichtner (Knight-Ridder), pg. B19, col. 3:
Animals: Save the whales and elephants. Save the tigers, lions leopards, and the zebras, too, please. Club sandwiches, not seals.
Google Books
Other Women
By Lisa Alther
New York, NY: Alfred Knopf
1984
Pg. 133:
She shifted her gaze out the window to the “Club Sandwiches Not Seals” sticker on Caroline’s bumper, still in the dark about how they’d gotten from basketball to Hannah’s coping abilities.
23 April 1990, San Antonio (TX) Express-News, “Scene’s marine at parade tonight” by Susan Yerkes, pg. E1:
There they were, wearing T-shirts with slogans like “Club Sandwiches, Not Seals,” and all sorts of hats, and parading around behind Mother Earth (a lady in green) and Garbage Man (a warty old coot covered with the kind of trash we unfortunately associate with Fiesta) and the San Antonio Pipes and Drums (we never thought of bagpipes as exactly nature music, but there you are.)
Google Books
Protecting All Animals:
A Fifty-Year History of the Humane Society of the United States
By Bernard Oreste Unti
Washington, DC: Humane Society Press
2004
Pg. 36:
In the 1980s The HSUS targeted Canada ‘s annual seal hunts with protests and resources such as Club Sandwiches Not Seals T-shirts.
Google Books
Footfree and Fancyloose
By Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain
New York, NY” Hachette Book Group
2008
Pg. 9:
He was dressed in baggy cargo shorts and a CLUB SANDWICHES NOT SEALS t-shirt.
Urban Dictionary
Club sandwiches, not seals
The phrase one would say to get others to save seals, but in a way, be funny about it.
Seal Lover: “Club sandwiches, not seals!”
Person: “He’s right, we should save the seals!”
#seals #club #sandwich #save #wildlife
by Aiexxx January 05, 2009
Twitter
Lame Beachler
@lbeachl
Brainstorming social awareness like
club soda not seals
club sandwiches not seals
just like don’t hurt animals
1:16 PM - 1 Mar 2016