Illustration of a red cake with white text on it and white inside

Celebrating a birthday with a cake with lit candles is a practice that has evolved over hundreds of years across the globe. In Ancient Greece, there was a tradition of making moon-shaped cakes to bring to the temple of Artemis, goddess of the moon. The cakes had lit candles decorating them, meant to make them shine like the moon. In Roman times, cakes were made to celebrate some citizens’ 50th birthdays, although this was reserved for men of high social status. By the 18th century, Germans had a tradition of celebrating birthdays for children, called “Kinderfeste,” in which a cake would be topped with candles in the morning, and kept lit all day until the cake was eaten after dinner. It was not until the industrial revolution, however, that birthday cakes became a trend in the United States, when ingredients, baking tools, and even pre-made cakes cost less and were more accessible to the population.

Black text next to an illustration of a brown Easter Bunny holding a basket with colored eggs in it on a white background

Rabbits and bunnies are usually associated with spring and rebirth. A typical spring tradition is the Easter Bunny, who goes from house to house, leaving colored eggs and candy for children. 

The custom in America may have begun in Pennsylvania from German immigrants. They believed in a mythological springtime figure named "Ostara" or "Osterhase," which was symbolic of new life and the coming spring. In the spring, Osterhase laid eggs and gave gifts to children. This myth eventually transformed into the modern Easter Bunny. The tradition is still practiced; children fill baskets with plastic grass, waiting for the Easter Bunny to fill their basket with gifts. Some regional cultures vary the tradition where children leave out a plate of carrots in case the bunny gets hungry. The addition of chocolates to the basket's offerings started around the late 19th century.

Photograph of six people under an illustrated sign with purple text on it on a pink background

International Women’s Day has been celebrated in the United States since 1909. Despite its socialist roots, the holiday has become a rallying point for suffragettes, women’s rights advocates, and anti-war activists. In 1917, as World War I made basic goods increasingly difficult to obtain, Russian women protested for “Bread and Peace” on March 8. The UN later adopted this date as International Women’s Day.

The logo featured on the bottom of the button is that of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (Alliance de la Fonction publique du Canada). Today, the union represents workers in federal agencies throughout Canada.

Blue and red text on a white background

"America's Bicentennial Census" was conducted in 1990 by the American Census Bureau and marked 200 years of census taking in the United States.  This was the 21st decennial census taken and it determined that population of the United States at that time was 248,709,873. The census of population and housing is mandated by the Constitution and is used to determine representation in the United States government.  The long form of the census, sent to 1 in 6 households, gathers more detailed information and is used to determine funding for a variety of government programs.

Red text over an illustration of an airplane over blue with white text

The Boeing 757 was introduced on January 1, 1983 and was produced from 1981-2004.  This jet airliner had two jet engines and was intended for short to medium routes carrying 200 to 295 passengers. It has a top speed of 610 mph and each plane cost $65-80 million in 2002.  Although no longer in production, Boeing 757s are still in use by many commercial airlines, as well as by government agencies and individual owners.

Illustration of Snoopy holding a blue balloon and wearing a green and yellow hat next to Woodstock wearing a red and white hat with black text on a pink background

MetLife was founded in 1868 and celebrated their 125 year anniversary in 1993. In 1985 MetLife licensed the Peanuts characters for their promotions, making Snoopy, Woodstock and many of the other Peanuts characters the face of MetLife promotions for 31 years. The Peanuts and their creator Charles M. Shultz have been popular since the 1950’s and are still known icons today.

Illustration of a person holding a surf board with red text on a white background

“Surf’s Down” is the opposite of “Surf’s Up,” which is surf slang for good waves. This graphic shows a sad surfer because “Surf’s Down” means no waves. American Surf culture began during the 1950s and 60s in Hawaii and along the California coast. The fashion, the lifestyle, and the language caught on with the mainstream, and the popularity of Surf Culture boomed. It affected music, literature, film, art, and youth jargon in popular culture. During the 1960s, teen movies like Beach Blanket Bingo, television programs like Gidget, and hit songs from Jan and Dean, and The Beach Boys featured surfing. Surfing is still very popular; its influence has spread worldwide.

White text on a red background

The sexual revolution emerged during the counterculture movement of the 1960s. Younger generations rebelled against the nuclear family lifestyle of the 1950s by means of self expression through protests, wearing eccentric clothes, and growing out their hair, distancing themselves from the squeaky clean image from the generations before. In response to decades of conservative values that were the backbone of American culture, the sexual revolution espoused liberal attitudes toward sex, reproductive rights, sexual orientation, and fetishism. 

In 1969, the Supreme Court made a landmark decision regarding the right to privacy in possessing pornographic material. Leading up to this historical moment was an evolution of modern pornography that dated back to the late 1800s when photography became commercially available to the general public. By the 1920s, erotic photography had evolved into erotic film, also known as "stag film." During this time, pornography was considered taboo, however by the 1970s, it experienced an explosion in popularity and acceptance, ultimately becoming a billion dollar empire.

Illustration of a person hammering a rock over black text on a yellow background

The television has its origins as early as the 1800s, with rudimentary mechanical devices transmitting images to a screen. The first electronic television was created in 1927 by Philo Taylor Farnsworth, and as the number of television sets began to grow, the first TV stations soon appeared. 

Television sets would not become commercially available until the late 1930s, but from then on popularity began to soar. By 1952 around 20 million Americans owned a TV set. After the remote control was invented in 1955, and color TV became ubiquitous in the 1960s, an already popular device became even more so. By 1993, 98% of Americans owned at least one TV.

Black and red text on a bright yellow background

Oedipus was a figure in Greek mythology who was prophesied to kill his father and marry his mother.  Abandoned on a mountainside by the order of his father the king, Oedipus was rescued and raised by a shepherd.  He learned from the oracle at Delphi that he would kill his father and marry his mother, so he left his home to avoid this fate.  In doing so, Oedipus encountered and killed a stranger who would turn out to be his biological father King Laius. He continued his journey to Thebes where he defeated the Sphinx and married Queen Jocasta, his biological mother.  Unbeknownst to Oedipus, he had fulfilled the prophecy of killing his father and marrying his mother. The Oedipus complex is a concept introduced by Sigmund Freud in 1899 where a child may possess an unconscious sexual desire for the opposite-sex parent.