White backgroudn with black text around the rim and an illustration of a large trailer truck in the center

The Port of Oakland, California—the city's Port Authority—is an independent city department governed by commissioners nominated by the mayor and appointed by the city council. A primary self-funded department, its major operations are in aviation, real estate, maritime, and port utilities. In 1971, Leanord Sloane wrote for the New York Times that the Port of Oakland created The Shipping Machine, a "combination of the four major modes of transportation near the port" and placed the image featured on this button in trade journal advertisements. The Shipping Machine has the cab of a tractor-trailer, parts of a container ship, the tail of a jet liner, and the base of a locomotive. 

Colorized photograph of a pond surrounded by lush greenery; a man with a long beard wearing a suit and fedora stands in the middle ground, looking toward the camera

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Pink triangle over white text on black background.

Silence=Death is a symbol and slogan created in the 1980's by Avram Finkelstein, Brian Howard, Oliver Johnston, Charles Kreloff, Chris Lione, and Jorge Socarrás to raise awareness about the AIDS epidemic. The phrase was meant to criticize both the public stigma surrounding the disease as well as the Reagan administration's lack of response. The pink triangle was a symbol used by Nazis in the 1930's and 1940's to identify homosexuals, but by flipping it upside down, the creators of Silence=Death helped to reclaim the symbol for their community. The visual iconography was chosen to make the movement as inclusive as possible. As a result, the group of creators choose not to use photographs, but rather a more general symbol of a pink triangle.  

Silence=Death—and the upside down pink triangle—became a hugely impactful symbol, and eventually was adopted by the organization AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP). With its new symbol, ACT UP would go on to fight AIDS both in the U.S and around the world. As of 2024, ACT UP continues to advocate for the nearly 40 million people living with HIV and AIDS. 

Click here to see another version of this button held by the Museum

Black text on aged white background with red and aged white checkered edge.

“It Ain’t Gonna Rain No ‘Mo” is a hit 1923 folksong first recorded by Wendell Hall (1896-1969). Known colloquially as “The Red-Haired Man,” Hall helped bring “hillbilly” tunes onto the music scene, and “It Ain’t Gonna Rain No ‘Mo” is often considered the first hillbilly song. Despite selling more than 2 million copies of one of his records, Hall’s legacy was not everlasting; Hall saw several decades of recording success in the 1920s and 1930s but then faded away into almost obscurity.

In the 1940s, carnivals gave out checkered pin-back buttons as game prizes and souvenirs, many of which had funny phrases like “You’re the One” and “Jeepers Creepers!” and also titles of famous songs of the day, like “I’m No Angel,” sung by Mae West for her movie I’m No Angel (1933). This “It Ain’t Gonna Rain No ‘Mo” button may be a variation of such buttons and would certainly fit the theme of a country, or “hillbilly,” carnival.

Blue tinted head and shoulders portrait of a man in the center with red text on a white background surrounding the photograph

Born in England on December 28, 1763, John Molson moved to Canada as a teenager. He quickly found his place, helping to found what would eventually become Canada’s biggest and oldest brewery. While this accomplishment would be enough by most standards to earn him a beloved spot in history, Molson went on to help fund Canada’s first railroad system and introduced steamship travel to the St. Lawrence River. Through his philanthropy, he was directly responsible for Montreal’s transformation into a cosmopolitan hub of culture; he helped found Canada’s first public theater, the Theatre Royal, and built the popular and successful Mansion House Hotel.

Molson moved on to politics and served in Lower Canada’s House of Assembly before deciding not to run again and instead became the president of the Bank of Montreal and sat as chair of the Montreal General Hospital. Following that, he received a powerful political appointment on the Legislative Council, which served the Governor General.

Come December 28th this button might just inspire you to pour a glass of ice-cold Molson Canadian and raise a toast in John Molson’s honor.

Black outlined bubble letters above a smiley face on a pink background

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Red and black text on a white background

In 1904, The Louisiana Purchase Exposition commemorated the completion of the sale of land by Napoleon Bonaparte to President Thomas Jefferson in 1804. Lewis and Clark would set off that year on their famous expedition to explore the new acquisition. More commonly referred to as The St. Louis World’s Fair, held in St. Louis, Missouri, the fair was notable for many innovations including popularizing the ice cream cone. There are many remnants of the Fair which can be seen in St. Louis today.

To aid the many visitors who may become lost in the expansive fair and surrounding area, a St. Louis citizen may have worn this button as a prompt to answer questions.
 

White background; in the center is a black and white photograph of a smiling man with a pompadour haircut wearing a suit with black text above and below 

Elvis Presley (1935-1977) was a rock and roll icon and is often attributed with having brought rock music to the white audience of the late 1950s. His career had its ups and downs, notably the down of his movie career, but also the up of his 1968 “comeback” special. His legacy is undeniable.

His home in Memphis, Tennessee, “Graceland,” continues to draw tourists from the world over. Elvis Presley Fan Clubs were created to generate excitement as he began his touring phase. The clubs are still going strong, and the Graceland website encourages joining or starting a club today!

Cream colored background with blue band around the edge, and blue text above and below an illustration of a blue lettuce head.

According to John Pollack, the 1995 O. Henry Pun-Off World Champion, "The most common type of pun is the humorous use of a word in such a way that because of its sound, you can interpret it in more than one way." “Lettuce Marry” is a pun on the phrase, “Let us marry.” Puns and wordplay have a long history of use, notably with Shakespeare in the 18th century (Shakespeare is known to have used over 3,000 puns across all of his plays!). The exact date of the first pun used is lost to time, but scholars think puns can be traced as far back as the 8th century BC.

Punning can be seen throughout the classic epic of Gilgamesh. In Tablets 11 and 12, when Utnapishtim tells the people that they will have a bountiful harvest full of bread and wheat, he is making a cruel pun relating to their fate; in Akkadian, the ancient language in which Gilgamesh was written, the word for “bread” is nearly identical to the word for “darkness,” while the word for “wheat” is nearly identical to the word for “misfortune.”

According to Pollack, puns enable us “to pack more meaning, or more layers of meaning, into fewer words [and] to convey complex ideas.”

White background with image of a fish in center with black text under image. Blue text surrounds top and bottom of image.

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources was officially formed in 1986 and oversees all of Iowa's natural resources and carries out state and federal laws to protect air, land, and water. They also facilitate education and outreach to Iowans on how they can interact with the local resources.

Crappies are two types of freshwater fishes of the Pomoxis genus. They are a popular food and are one of the most frequently caught panfish, the category of edible fish that do not outgrow the standard size of a frying pan. They are also enjoyed in sport fishing. Crappies are popular among people who fish in Iowa and are a catch suited for anglers of all ages and skill levels.