Red background with an illustration of green waves and a white mushroom cloud; green text is overlaid over the illustration. 

In November 1970, the community of Florence, Oregon faced a problem: a dead sperm whale, eight tons heavy and forty-five feet long, had washed up on the beach shore and was decomposing. The Oregon State Highway Division considered multiple options, but decided that using dynamite to vaporize the whale would be the correct course of action. Unfortunately, for the community and the spectators who came to witness the event, not enough explosives were used, resulting in an eruption of whale blubber and viscera landing in the area, even crushing a car. As no one was injured, the event became a humorous misstep that may have been the inspiration for cultural references such as in an episode of the television show The Simpsons and whose anniversary prompts interviews with the reporter who was present, reporting the case, and caught the footage for the news. 

Background is divided in half with  brown on the top and yellow on the bottom, with yellow and brown text

In the Bakke decision of 1978 the United States Supreme Court ruled that while racial quotas were not constitutional, consideration of an applicant’s race was constitutionally allowed on college applications.

Allan Bakke brought his case against the University of California Davis because he was denied admission to their medical school due to what he called “reverse discrimination.” At the time, UC Davis had a policy of reserving 16% of their admissions for minority students. The court ruled that while race could be a consideration on a college application, it was unconstitutional to set an exact number of slots. With the ruling, precedence was set to uphold affirmative action in future cases.

Button is white on the top half and blue on the bottom half with blue text on white and white text on blue; a large, red illustration of McGovern's face is overlaid on the right-hand side. The button is attached to a red, white, and blue ribbon with blue text that reads "OUR NEXT PRESIDENT."

George McGovern (1922–2012) was a Democratic senator from South Dakota from 1963 to 1981. During his time as senator, he ran for president twice. McGovern was the Democratic nominee in 1972, running against then Republican president, Richard Nixon. In 1968, he ran for president in place of the assassinated candidate, Robert F. Kennedy. McGovern's views were progressive for his time; he supported the decriminalization of marijuana, reproductive rights, and withdrawing from the Vietnam War. Some consider McGovern to be the Bernie Sanders of his time due to his grassroots support, advocacy for equal rights, and being the underdog candidate. McGovern received 37.5% of the popular vote, losing the election to Nixon, who won with 60.7% of the votes. The 1972 election is considered to have the lowest voter turnout since 1948.

Color illustrated portrait of George Washington in the center surrounded by two US flags on the bottom and laurel on the top. Above the laurel is black text on a white background; below the flags is a banner with black text on a light brown background. A faded red, white, and blue ribbon is attached to the button and a brass badge with black text reading "OFFICIAL" is attached to the top of the ribbon. 

Slightly colorized photograph of a naked woman giving a salute on an off-white background with banners of bold text on a striped background strategically place to cover her chest and pelvic region; the image as a whole is evocative of art nouveau graphic design.

This is one of a series of six buttons designed by Peter Max to promote the 1969 movie Paint Your Wagon. The film is a western musical starring Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood, and Jean Seberg. It was adapted from a Broadway show with the same title and cost $20 million to make, which was a large budget for film production at the time. The movie received negative reviews, and the costs were never recouped.

Peter Max is a graphic artist know for his use of psychedelic shapes and bold color palettes.

Click here to view another button from the series

Illustration of a yellow dog with a dark blue nose and bright red tongue above yellow text on a dark blue background

Ken-L Ration was the first canned dog food in the United States, started by the Chappel brothers in 1922. They proudly advertised it as horse meat, which was cheap and widely available at the time. Fido, the yellow dog, was a popular mascot. Many are still familiar with their popular jingle, “My dog’s better than your dog!”

Neon yellow background with black text above a black smiley 

The classic yellow smiley face is comprised of a yellow circle, two black dots for eyes, and a black arc ending in serifs for a mouth. It was designed in 1963 by commercial artist, Harvey Ross Ball. Ball was commissioned by The State Mutual Life Insurance Company to create a happy face to raise the morale of their employees. His version was created in 10 minutes. The design was printed onto more than 50 million buttons. Neither Ball nor the company copyrighted this smiley, so it was continually used by other businesses in their promotions.

The word written above the face, “Kalimera,” means “good morning” in the Greek language.

Green outer band with yellow text and a yellow center with green text and a thin yellow line around the outer rim

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Blue text on a white background with a red border around the rim

In 1935, this was the title song for the Betty Boop cartoon, “No! No! A Thousand Times No!!” The song, written by Al Sherman, Al Lewis, and Abner Silver became a popular hit.

In the cartoon, Betty and her boyfriend are acting in a melodrama on the stage. The song is her response when the villain crashes the story, ties up Freddy, and attempts to woo her with diamonds and pearls. Freddy escapes his bonds and is eventually victorious in rescuing the damsel in distress. The song is sung in the cartoon by Mae Questel, who later generations may remember as Aunt Bethany in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989).

Black and white photograph of Willie Mae Reid on a white background with black text

Willie Mae Reid is an American feminist, activist, author, and socialist political candidate. Upset with American politics and the the approach the U.S. government took towards domestic and foreign issues, Reid chose to become active in politics. Issues which frustrated Reid included the Boston desegregation busing crisis of the 1970s, and CIA interference with democracy in Chile, Congo, and Cuba. Reid first threw her hat in the political ring in 1975 when she ran for mayor of Chicago. Although she lost that election to Richard J. Daley, the defeat did not hinder her desire to remain active in politics. Reid ran as a vice presidential candidate under the Socialist Workers Party in 1976 along with presidential candidate Peter Camejo, and again in 1992 with James “Mac” Warren. Aside from participating in politics, Reid was also active in the Civil Rights movement, and authored multiple books about feminism and racism.