Red text above and below an illustration of a face with one large eyeball on a yellow background

This image is part of a series from the 1965 LEAF "Fink Buttons" illustrated by popular Mid-Century artist Basil Wolverton. Perhaps best known for his work at MAD Magazine, Basil Wolverton (July 9, 1909 – December 31, 1978) was an American cartoonist and illustrator famous for his humorously grotesque drawings. Wolverton worked in the "Golden Age" of comic books doing features like "Powerhouse Pepper" and "Spacehawk" in the 1940s. A 2009 New York Times article states that Wolverton’s drawings embodied the “sick-and-proud humor” of MAD magazine and were considered a “virtuoso exercise in bad taste, made all the weirder for being so meticulously executed."

Illustration of a face over black text

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Illustration of a face over black text

The word “piss” is likely imitative in origin, as the harsh “s” was akin to the sound of urinating, however the word became much more versatile, used in a variety of different expressions. Starting in the 1600s, expressions like “piss money against the wall” (squander), “piss on someone” (disdain), and “piss against the wind” (wasting one’s time) gained popularity. 

In the early 1800s, “pissed” came to mean “drunk.” In the early 1900s, “piss off” came to mean “leave” or “go away,” which is most likely how it is used here. Both of these are common in the United Kingdom. It was not until World War II that the most common usage in the United States emerged: “pissed off,” meaning “angry.” 

Black and white photograph of mannequin legs with slippers

Otto Umbehr (1902-1980), or "Umbo" as he was known professionally, was a German surrealist photographer and artist who studied at the Bauhaus while also dappling in film production, freelance photography, and work as a clown. Umbo was most known for his ability to transmit his darkly humorous ideas through photographic images such as here in Untitled (1928/29) where he presents a lone set of mannequin's legs standing upright in a pair of feathered slippers, transforming them from "elements of consumer display into symbols of erotic dismemberment". This was a subject played out many times by Umbo regarding his interest in "automatons as surrogates for human desire" -- an idea that was popular among many German artists and writers of the early 20th century. Umbo's artistic work was first featured in a surrealism exhibit in 1932 given by New York gallery owner and art dealer Julien Levy. The Art Institute of Chicago was gifted this particular piece from the Julien Levy collection in 1975 and in 1989, it was part of a travelling exhibit entitled: “On the Art of Fixing a Shadow: One Hundred and Fifty Years of Photography”.

Brown and white photograph of a nipple with hair

The nipple-areolar complex (NAC)—an important anatomical structure—is the pigmented area in the most prominent part of the breast. Within this region, there are sweat glands, sebaceous glands, Montgomery tubercles, hair follicles, and smooth muscle. This region also includes many sensory nerve endings and can be considered an erogenous zone for many people. The NAC’s dimension, texture, and color can vary greatly across ethnic groups and individuals.

Red and white stripes next to a blue triangle with white stars

The first official flag of the United States was the Stars and Stripes, featuring thirteen alternating red and white stripes and thirteen white stars on a blue background. Sometimes referred to as the “Betsy Ross” flag, the Continental Congress approved its design on June 14, 1777.  On May 1, 1795, the second Flag Resolution mandated new stars and stripes are added when new states were admitted to the Union. The third and last Flag Resolution of 1818 declared the number of stripes would remain thirteen, but the number of stars would always match the number of states. The Resolution stated that these updates would only be made on the Fourth of July.

Red text over an illustration of a ship on a white background

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Dark blue text on a light blue background

Wendell-Greenwood is a stamps and badges corporation started by Charles W. Wendell. A printer, he arrived in Minneapolis in 1886 to run a branch print shop for his employer. Wendell and C. W. Greenwood bought the shop for themselves in 1886. Advertising lodge supplies for fraternal orders, flags for decorating, and ladies laces and embroidery in the newspaper, their varied business ventures seemed to pare down by 1914, when they were specifically advertising celluloid buttons. They were sued in 1920 for using a trade union label on buttons without permission, however, the company would bounce back in popularity. Wendell-Greenwood also manufactured the original Alcoholics Anonymous medallion. The company, now known as Wendell’s, has weathered relocations and new owners. The company still remains in greater Minneapolis.

White text over an illustration of a red plane on a black background

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Ilustration of lottery tickets on blue background spelling out a word with the pink and blue circles.

Lottery tickets are a form of gambling often used to bring revenue to the state who is sponsoring the lottery. Lottery tickets consist of circles that are filled in with ink or printing and used to register the person's bet. Several variety in the game exist from pick three (numbers) to Powerball, where the exact guess of the correct numbers or placement of specific numbers net the player different amounts for their win. This illustration of lottery tickets spells the word Lotto on blue and pink circles made to look like a filled in lottery ticket. Legislation creating Washington State's Lottery was signed on July 16, 1982, by Governor John Spellman.