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This timeless joke is used in common conversation and several forms of media and art for decades. The phrase “watch someone like a hawk” uses a hawk’s keen eyesight to suggest watching someone carefully to make sure they don’t do something bad, or perhaps wrong to the viewer. The addition of someone’s wife to this phrase relates to a wife's watchful attributes in a humorous and playful phrase.

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In the early 1960s newspaper columnist Arthur 'Art' Hoppe invented the slogan on this button. His book The Love Everybody* Crusade (* Except Antarcticans) was published by Doubleday in 1963.

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In April, 1958 Herb Caen, a columnist at San Francisco Chronicle, coined the term “Beatnik” to satirize the Beat Generation; the word was meant to invoke Sputnik, the Russian satellite. Beatnik fashion trends —black turtlenecks, leggings, straight cigarette pants, dark glasses, goatees, berets, horizontal striped shirts, and loose sweaters—gained in popularity throughout the early 1960s. In popular culture, silly, chill, and indifferent characters represented beatniks; they typically frequented coffee shops, played the bongos, and used drugs. Beatnik lingo also influenced the 1960s American popular vernacular, with words such as "cat", "chick", “cool”, “like”, “crazy”, “dig”, and “rad”

In reality, though, the Beat Generation was a literary movement that began in the 1940s and was centered around a rejection of capitalism, materialism, and conformity to the status quo. Writers like Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac referred to themselves as Beats, meaning “weary” and “beatific”. They worked on their craft, and explored spirituality by experimenting with drugs, jazz, sensuality, and Eastern religions.

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ExxonMobil was founded in 1870 by John D. Rockefeller to capitalize on the newly founded oil business, which started when oil was discovered in the United States in 1859. Exxon was founded as Standard Oil Company in Ohio. Originally the company was a regional provider of kerosene, before making the transition into other ventures such as petroleum. The company rebranded many times, finally becoming Exxon in 1972.

Exxon, being an oil company, was used as an insult in the phrase, "Who does your hair? Exxon?," implying that the reader has oily hair. Depending on the tone, it may also be used as a lighthearted joke. Since Exxon is associated with the oil business, this is a clever jab to comment on someone’s oily hair without outright expressing it.

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“Wise Guy” pins featured satirical content for novelty humor. Topps, a company that was best known for sports memorabilia, produced the pins in the 1960s.  

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During the 1960’s, novelty “wise guy” buttons were created by Topps, a company that is best known for sports memorabilia and gum. These memorabilia featured satire/parody for novelty humor and often featured a slang phrase and a comic illustration.

A reminder that they were more than just a gum company, Topps departed from the typical trading cards to produce this collection of "Wise Guy" metal pins that didn't include their trademark gum. During the mid-1960's, the buttons were packed in wax boxes of 24 packs placed along with a display box that advertised Topps.

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