Red text and a red flower shape on a black background

KVCU AM 1190, more commonly known as Radio 1190, is an independent, non-profit college radio station based in Boulder, Colorado. Rock music dominated college radio airwaves in 1998 when Radio 1190 first began broadcasting from the basement of the University of Colorado Boulder’s student center. Many college radio stations in the 1990s were influenced by the anti-corporate ethos championed by independent rock record labels at the time. Slogans like “Destroy Corporate Rock”, which was likely created by American independent record label SST sometime in the later-half of the 1990s, were adopted by college rock radio stations to help establish their commitment to providing listeners with an alternative to the corporate rock music offered by commercial radio.

White text and an illustration of a hand with a thumb pointing up

"Can do" is a shortened term for "I can do this" or refers to a "can-do" attitude which is someone who is confident and willing to complete difficult tasks without complaining or giving up.

Jean-Léon Gérôme’s 1872 painting ‘Pollice Verso’ is thought to have introduced the concept of the thumbs-up gesture as a sign of approval and the thumbs-down gesture as a sign of disapproval.

In ancient Rome, when Gladiators competed with each other in combat for entertainment, the crowd often decided if the Gladiator was to live to fight another day by giving a thumbs-down which meant swords down. If the crowd gave a thumbs-up, swords up, then it was a fight to the finish with one Gladiator dead and the winner alive.

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White background with an image of a bird, horse, bear, and cat in a forest setting surrounded by red text.

The American Humane Education Society, now American Humane, began commemorating “Be Kind to Animals Week” in the Spring of 1915. It has become the United States’ longest running humane education campaign. It is part of their animal rescue initiative and encourages donations and adoption.

On the back of the button is a pledge that was required of all members of The Bands of Mercy. This organization was part of the American Humane Education Society that focused on educating youth on the importance of being kind to animals. The Bands of Mercy was founded in Europe in 1875, and in 1882, a North American chapter was founded by George T. Angell and Rev. Thomas Timmins.

Be Kind: A Visual History of Humane Education, 1880-1945. (n.d.) “Bands of Mercy.” Be Kind Exhibit. Retrieved from  https://bekindexhibit.org/exhibition/bands-of-mercy/

Rescue Initiative. (n.d.) “Be Kind to Animals Week.” American Humane. Retrieved from https://www.americanhumane.org/initiative/be-kind-to-animals-week/

Black text on a yellow stripe across a black background

"Banana Power" was a slogan adopted by American counterculture during "the Great Banana Hoax of 1967." During the Spring and Summer of that year, counterculture newspapers ran advertisements touting the benefits smoking of banana peels. When properly cooked, dried, and rolled, the resulting powder—called Mellow Yellow—was alleged to produce hallucinogenic effects similar to that of psychedelic drugs. When the FDA attempted to test this allegation, they couldn't find any evidence that the banana peels had any hallucinogenic properties.

The rumor likely started as a subtle but joking protest against the government regulation of psychedelic substances. Thanks to a newly-formed network of underground news papers, the joke made it to the mainstream news and was reported on in magazines such as Time and Newsweek. In April 1967, thousands smoked "Mellow Yellow" together at the Human Be-In in New York City. The fad for smoking banana peels lasted only a few months, but was used in future campaigns advocating for the legalization of drugs like marijuana.

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.