White circles and a cross shape on a green background

Fangamer is an independent merchandise company founded in 2008 specializing in products that feature video games and entertainment. In the early 2010s, every order from the company would include different series of pin buttons or stickers, sometimes featuring the logo of the company. In late 2009, Fangamer sponsored a contest called the Artist Pin Series and went on to produce at least 14 winning designs through the Busy Beaver Button Company. These buttons were offered to the public through the Fangamer online store in early-mid 2010.

Green and blue triangles on a yellow background

The Idaho State University's Eco-Alliance Committee sold these buttons to support the first "Environmental Teach-In" on April 22, 1970, now known as Earth Day. Yellow is for sunshine. Green is for plants, grass and trees. Blue is for clear skies and water. This teach-in was a major moment in changing American's consciousness of ecology and the deterioration of the environment.

red and blue star shape on a white background

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Image of Pope Leo XIII with white text above and below on a brown background

Pope Leo XIII was the head of the Catholic Church from 1878 until his death in 1903. He was born in Italy on March 2, 1810 as Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci. During his papacy, he re-founded the Vatican Observatory, opened the Vatican Secret Archives to researchers, and established a hospice inside the Vatican during the cholera pandemic in the 1890s. Pope Leo XIII was the first Pope to be filmed with a motion picture camera and he was also the first Pope to be heard on a sound recording, which can be found on a CD of Alessandro Moreschi singing.

Illustration of green scaley snakelike shape on a pink and black striped background

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Illustraiton of a a tree with an owl in it over a green creature in a red tent on a yellow ground with blue sky

The Snorks was an American-Belgian animated television series that aired from 1984-1989, about small, colorful creatures called “Snorks” that live in an undersea world called “Snorkland”. Unable to speak, green-skinned, good-natured Snork Tooter Shelby was known for making tooting and beeping noises with his head snorkel, a special talent that allowed him to talk with various sea creatures and communicate with his Snork friends.

Belgian businessman Freddy Monnickendam, head of SEPP, created The Snorks to compete with popular children’s television series The Smurfs. Monnickendam, an executive producer for The Smurfs cartoon, decided to develop his own animated show after a legal split with Smurfs’ creator Peyo. Although The Snorks ran for four seasons, Monnickendam was never able to recreate the success that he had had with The Smurfs.

Illustration of a branch with multi colored leaves on a red background

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Illustration of an American flag and a Greek flag with blue text on a white background

The illustration likely depicts U.S. relations with Greece. The United States established diplomatic relations with Greece in 1868. After World War II, the United States contributed millions of dollars to rebuild Greece’s industry. Today, approximately three million Americans claim Greek descent, cultivating close political and cultural ties with Greece.

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Blue and red text on a yellow background

Parkay is a brand of margarine that was first introduced in 1937. Due to opposition from American dairy farmers, companies that manufactured and sold margarine in the United States often had to get creative when selling this highly contested butter substitute. Over the years, many companies developed contests to positively promote their margarine products. In 1966, Kraft, makers of Parkay, Miracle Brand, and Kraft Corn Oil Margarine, came up with the “Andy Williams Mystery Song Contest” where contestants could win cash prizes and records by American pop musician Andy Williams. One lucky winner would also get to choose the name for a "mystery song" by Andy Williams, who would announce the title and sing the “mystery song” live on his NBC television show “The Andy Williams Show,” presented by Kraft Music Hall, of course.

Originally invented in 1869 by French chemist Hippolyte Mége-Mouriés for Emperor Louis Napoleon III, margarine was first developed as a cheap alternative to butter for Napoleon III’s armies and the French lower classes. The arrival of margarine to the United States in the 1870s upset American dairy farmers so much that they lobbied for restrictions and taxes on the butter-like product, even going so far as to ban the manufacture and use of margarine in some states, including Wisconsin, where it is still illegal to serve margarine in state institutions like schools, prisons, and hospitals. Dairy farmers also objected to margarine manufacturer’s practice of dyeing the naturally white product yellow to make margarine look more appealing and butter-like, proposing that margarine should be dyed pink, red, brown, or even black to set it apart from real butter (which is also often dyed yellow…). Margarine makers got around these “color constraints” by including yellow dye packs in packages of white margarine, so consumers could color their spread at home. Despite the efforts of American dairy farmers, the cheap price and supreme spread-ability of margarine eventually won over consumers and margarine secured its place in U.S. grocery stores.

Sources
Kraft Foods. (2003, September 15). Retrieved from https://adage.com/article/adage-encyclopedia/kraft-foods/98739/​

Rupp, R. (2014, August 13). The butter wars: When margarine was pink. National Geographic. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/people-and-culture/food/the-plate/2014/08/13/the-butter-wars-when-margarine-was-pink/

Image of Mystery Contest Poster retrieved from https://www.ebay.ca/itm/1966-vintage-ad-Andy-Williams-Mystery-Song-Contest-double-ad-070913d/223148098448?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D20140620075055%26meid%3De87c2251643a40e7ac16e626ff274da5%26pid%3D100011%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D1%26sd%3D223065546156%26itm%3D223148098448&_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850

White text over a red triangle with white text and a yellow illustration of a puma with a white ribbon with black text on top and white text on a red background on the bottom of the button with a black background

Puma, a shoe company formed in 1948 that produces many athletic shoes, ran a campaign for a new shoe called The Challenge.  This was a modified version of the classic Puma GV Special model shoe. The Challenge features a lace up closure system, padded ankle, cushioned insole, and rubber outsole. They have been released in numerous colorways and were notably customized by the rapper Meek Mill.