Illustration of a red flag with a white elephant on it on a white background with black text 

The first national flag of Thailand was a plain red flag, but this flag was changed because vessels often confused the Thai flag for other countries with red flags, such as China. In 1855, a white elephant was added to the original red flag. The white elephant is part of the mythological origin of Thailand’s founding dynasty and is the symbol of the royal family.

Sweet Caporal was a brand of cigarettes created by the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company in 1878 and sold to the American Tobacco Company in 1911.  Sweet Caporal was especially popular in Canada during the early part of the 20th Century.  In 1908, 50% of cigarette sales in Canada were comprised of the Sweet Caporal brand.

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To smile is when the corners of a person's mouth turns upward, sometimes showing teeth, to express a happy or content feeling. Encouraging others to smile can often be a positive motivator.

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Green and white illustration of a dump truck with a picture of Carter on it over green text on a white background

The 1980 National Convention for the U.S. Democratic Party was held from August 11 to August 14. Seeking a second term in office, President Jimmy Carter was once more the official Democratic nominee while Carter's Vice President, Walter Mondale, also received his nomination to continue on in his position. Though Carter was the incumbent president, his term was beleaguered by numerous issues, including a poor national economy as well as an unresolved hostage situation in Iran. Carter's chief rival for the nomination was Massachusetts Senator, Ted Kennedy. Brother to former President, John F. Kennedy, Ted Kennedy was seen by many as a natural leader for the future of the Democratic Party. Regardless, Kennedy was unsuccessful in his attempts and Carter managed to achieve the nomination.

“Dump Carter” was a movement started in 1978 in an effort to stop Carter from being re-elected. This movement was supported by the Kennedy campaign. The American Agricultural Movement (AAM) also heavily backed the “Dump Carter” movement as a result of the agricultural crisis in the late 1970s. These efforts along with others would lead to Carter’s loss in the election. Ronald Reagan would go on to be president.

Illustration of the Lone Ranger on his horse on a red background with an outer white edge and black text

Fran Striker created the Lone Ranger character which first appeared in a 1933 radio show on WXYZ Detroit and expanded to additional stations including NBC. The fictional character, who rode a white horse named Silver, is titled the Lone Ranger because he was the only survivor of a group of six Texas Rangers who were ambushed by outlaws. Although originally created for children, adults made up at least half of the audience. The Los Angeles Sunday Herald and Examiner began running a weekly feature of the Lone Ranger in their comic section of the paper on September 11, 1938. The strip ran until 1971 and was illustrated by Charles Flanders and written by Ed Kressy.

Red and white striped background with a white horizontal stripe with blue text and a blue illustration of a flying goose

Republic Airlines was created in 1979 after a merger between North Central Airlines and Southern Airways. Based in Minneapolis, Republic became the country's largest airline by number of airports served after their buyout of Hughes Airwest in 1980. Between the merger and the acquisition, Republic took on enough debt that it could not sustain its routes. Services at the airline quickly deteriorated before operations ceased entirely in 1986.  The logo of a mallard duck is a remnant of North Central Airlines and was adopted as Republic’s first logo.

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Clark Super Gas, later Clark Oil, was founded in 1932 by Emory T. Clark, who opened the first Clark gas station in Milwaukee, WI. The brand expanded from Milwaukee across the American Midwest until it faced financial difficulties in the 1980s. These troubles led to many shifts in ownership, most recently in 2003 when Clark Oil became Clark Brands, LLC. Clark Brands operates gas stations in thirty-two states and the District of Columbia.

Illustration of a a raisin with arms and legs wearing orange sunglasses and orange and white tennis shoes with blue and black text on a white background

The California Raisins were a fictional claymation blues group commissioned by the California Raisin Advisory Board for a 1986 Sun Maid commercial.  The Raisins sang, “I Heard it Through the Grapevine,” a song originally recorded by Marvin Gaye in 1968. The commercial was very successful and more commercials were made, including one with singer Ray Charles and one with a characterization of Michael Jackson.  The Raisins made four albums, with the song, “ I Heard it Through the Grapevine,” making the Billboard Top 100.

The popularity of the California Raisins resulted in a television special called Meet the Raisins, which aired on Nov 4, 1988. This special gave us the names and personalities of these raisins. There was Stretch on bass, Red on guitar and piano, and A.C. Beebop on drums. The special was nominated for an Emmy.

Illustration of a raisin with arms and legs blue and white tennis shoes and riding an orange skateboard with blue and black text on a white background

The California Raisins are a fictional rhythm and blues musical group created in 1987 by the California Raisin Advisory Board as a promotional gimmick for Sun-Maid Raisins.The commercials utilized claymation to deliver performances by anthropomorphized raisins. These ads gained enough popularity to produce merchandise and promotion through tie-ins such as Hardee’s Cinnamon ‘N’ Raisin biscuits and Post Raisin Bran cereal. TV specials followed along with booming merchandise sales of toys and memorabilia with images of the California Raisins characters. Many original promotional items are now popular collectibles or held by permanent museum collections, such as the Smithsonian.