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The American Tobacco Company introduced Lucky Strike cigarettes in 1916, acquiring its name from a chewing tobacco that originated in 1871. In the 1930s, it was the best-selling cigarette in the United States, controlling 39 percent of the market in 1931. However, sales dwindled as smokers sought filtered cigarettes. In the 1980s, Lucky Strike had less than 1 percent of the market. The company introduced a new filtered, low-tar cigarette with the advertising slogan “Lucky Strikes Again” aimed at male smokers ages 21 to 35 in the early 1980s. In the 2000s and 2010s, the company saw an uptick in sales, which some have tied to the television drama Mad Men. In the show, Lucky Strike is the client of a New York City advertising agency, and the cigarette is frequently smoked by many characters. Lucky Strike sold 23 billion packets of cigarettes in 2007 when the series first aired. In 2012 the company sold 33 billion.  

Illustration of smiling anthropomorphic "dilly bar" style ice cream wearing cowboy hat, neckerchief, gloves, spurred boots, and chaps holding a glowing "D" shaped branding iron.  Red text on a white background.

Dairy Queen's cowboy-themed "Dilly Bar" character, complete with a "D" branding iron, graced the ice cream bar’s paper wrappers throughout the latter part of the 1950s. The franchise's famous "Dilly Bar" is a circular soft-serve ice cream treat on a stick, coated in either chocolate or butterscotch, and topped with the trademark Dairy Queen swirl. The bar's creator, Robert Litherland, was the co-owner of a Dairy Queen store in Moorehead, Minnesota, when he introduced it to headquarters in 1955, making it an instant staple for the franchise. While demonstrating the technique of how one was made, the demonstrator held up the completed ice cream treat and pronounced, “Now isn’t that a dilly!” and the name was born, although never copyrighted.

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The phrase "let's lock loins" dates back to 1960s counterculture and is tied to the “free love” movement. The alliterative expression means to have sex with someone and is not in common use today.

Illustration of a 19th century man's shirt with black text above and below on a white background

"Keep Your Shirt On" is a phrase often used to mean stay calm. The origin is unknown, but it was likely formed at the time when people would take off their good shirts to get ready for a fist fight where they might get dirty or bloodied.

Small pinback buttons were often included in cigarette packs in the late 1800s and early 1900s. “Keep Your Shirt On” features a pen and ink drawing of a 19th century man’s dress shirt and was given as a complement or prize in High Admiral Cigarettes, a product of the National Cigarette and Tobacco Company. Admiral Cigarettes also included trading cards with their cigarettes.

Noted on the back on the High Admiral Cigarette pinback button is backing paper by the Whitehead and Hoag Company.  The Whitehead & Hoag company was formed in 1892 in Newark, New Jersey, as a partnership between printer Benjamin S. Whitehead and paper merchant Chester R. Hoag. It soon became the largest manufacturer of novelty advertising in the United States, eventually making over 5,000 different items. In the 1890s, it held three different button patents, and during the 1896 presidential election, campaign buttons swept the nation for the first time.

Illustration of hand doing a peace sign with yellow text outlined in black on a blue background.

Candidates for the 1972 U.S. presidential election included the popular Republican incumbent Richard M. Nixon and his Democratic challenger George McGovern. Throughout his campaign, Nixon campaigned on his success in foreign affairs and championed the strong economy. McGovern, on the other hand, promised an immediate end to the Vietnam War and guaranteed a minimum income.

In the end, Nixon won in a landslide and secured 520 electoral votes compared to McGovern’s modest tally of 17. To put it another way, Nixon won the hearts and votes of 46 million Americans, which was a staggering 18 million more than what was under the Democratic nominee’s belt. So sound was Nixon’s victory that it came to represent the widest popular vote margin in a post-World War II presidential election. In spite of early polls accurately predicting this resounding win, Nixon could not help but cheat to ensure his victory. In the summer of 1972, Nixon’s reelection committee infamously wiretapped the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters in the Watergate complex. This “Watergate scandal” eventually landed the president in hot water and prompted him to resign from office in August 1974.

Illustration of the head of a pink elephant with orange and black text on a green background.

Candidates for the 1972 U.S. presidential election included the popular Republican incumbent Richard M. Nixon and his Democratic challenger George McGovern. Throughout his campaign, Nixon campaigned on his success in foreign affairs and championed the strong economy. McGovern, on the other hand, promised an immediate end to the Vietnam War and guaranteed a minimum income.

In the end, Nixon won in a landslide and secured 520 electoral votes compared to McGovern’s modest tally of 17. To put it another way, Nixon won the hearts and votes of 46 million Americans, which was a staggering 18 million more than what was under the Democratic nominee’s belt. So sound was Nixon’s victory that it came to represent the widest popular vote margin in a post-World War II presidential election. In spite of early polls accurately predicting this resounding win, Nixon could not help but cheat to ensure his victory. In the summer of 1972, Nixon’s reelection committee infamously wiretapped the Democratic National Committee’s headquarters in the Watergate complex. This “Watergate scandal” eventually landed the president in hot water and prompted him to resign from office in August 1974.

Illustration of gaunt looking man in yellow, orange, white and black.  Grinning skull is floating above man's right shoulder.  Black text inside a yellow arrow is atop his left shoulder.  Orange text below his head, and an orange and white starburst behind.  Black background.

John Zacherle was a popular horror movie television show host, recording artist, and radio disc jockey. He was most well-known as the undertaker character “Roland” (pronounced Ro-LAND) which he portrayed as Philadelphia WCAU’s Shock Theater host in the late 1950s. His signature look was to wear his hair parted down the middle, ghastly white face make-up, and a long black overcoat. His show was so popular, at one point there were over 800 fan clubs for him in the Philadelphia area. In 1958, Zacherle moved his character to the Manhattan station, WBAC, to host their presentation of Shock Theater. Due to still-existing contractual issues with WCAU, he added a "Y" to the end of his last name to create the new character name of "Zacherley"(or sometimes "Zacherly") which he went by up until his death in October of 2016. During the summer of 1960, commercials began airing for the "Zacherly for President" set. The package included a photo, two posters, two bumper stickers, a book, and a button. However, due to poor distribution, the set was hard for many to find and has since become quite a rarity.

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Illustration of an anthropomorphic mug wearing a white shirt and bow tie with shaving brush and overflowing shaving cream.  Black text on a yellow background.

Union County Pennsylvania was established in 1813 from area taken from Northumberland County. A celebration of the county’s founding occurred on July 21-27, 1963. Shaving permits were sold as a means to raise money for centennial celebrations in towns across the United States. Most of the time the fundraising effort was conducted by an organization called the Brothers of the Bush. The organization got their name because they sought to embody the men who founded the town, most of which would have had beards. The Brothers of the Bush would convene anytime a town would be preparing to celebrate an anniversary of the town’s founding. At the beginning of the anniversary year, men could enter a beard and mustache growing contest. The men had to be entirely clean shaven when they registered. Anyone who didn’t wish to participate was supposed to purchase a shaving permit. These permits ranged in price from a couple of cents to a couple of dollars depending on the year the celebration was being held. All of the proceeds from the sale of the shaving permits and the registration fees were given to the town’s centennial celebration fund.