Illustration of a girl with brown braids and wearing a red top with a white collar with black and red text on a yellow background

“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.  

Illustration of a boy in a red and black hat and wearing a blue and white striped shirt with black text on a yellow background

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.

Blue text on a white rectangle on top of a blue striped background

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Red and purple text on a white background with small red dots

This humorous line is from Donald Harstad’s book, Eleven Days. It was written on a coffee mug belonging to Sally, a character who comes into the main protagonist Deputy Sheriff Carl Houseman’s life after a frantic 911 comes in and a grisly murder is found at the scene of the crime. Cops who had thought they seen it all must now piece together what lead to this and who did it in the small town of Maitland Iowa. 

Donald Harstad is a twenty-six-year veteran of the Clayton County Sheriff's Department in northeastern Iowa. Eleven days is part of the Cal Houseman series that includes The Known Dead, The Big Thaw, Code 61, A Long December, and November Rain.

Red text over an illustration of a skunk and three bottles with text on them on a yellow background

Stinker has various meanings in the English language, though traditionally it means someone who smells bad. In American and British slang, it also means a horrible person, a tough task, or something made poorly or is subpar.

Skunks are well known for their characteristic stink. In popular culture, skunks are often portrayed as unpopular or evil permanently smelly animals, always ready to spray. However, in reality skunks only have a limited amount of liquid spray, which takes weeks to refill.

Hot tip: If you ever have problems with skunk odor, all you need are hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, and detergent to remove it!

Black text on a red background

A “groupie”, or a person who obsessively follows a celebrity to try and get to know them, is often referred to as a “chaser” of some kind due to their habit of following specific types of celebrities. “I’m a groupie chaser” puts the groupie in the role of the person who is being followed rather than the follower. 

Illustration of a person laying on the ground under a tree with yellow text on a red background

In 1889, Jerome K. Jerome, an English writer, published a humorous travelogue called Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog) featuring characters based on himself and two friends. It depicted a fictional two-week boating vacation along the Thames River round-trip between Kingston and Oxford with Jerome's (fictional) dog, Montmorency. This book was so popular it inspired several theatrical and film adaptations, various retellings in print, and art. Jerome created a sequel, Three Men on a Bummel (1900), known as Three Men on Wheels, about cycling in Germany. 

Jerome wrote, “I like work: It fascinates me. I can sit and look at it for hours. I love to keep it by me: the idea of getting rid of it nearly breaks my heart.” This quote turned into an Australian catch phrase beginning in 1950. It was shortened to “I like work: I can watch it all day.” This saying was extremely popular during the 1970s and 1980s, and it became a part of British and American jargon, as well.

Illustration of a person wearing a hat and suit holding a drink with black text on a white background

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Black illustration of a person sitting at a desk wearing glasses and a black hat over black text on a white background

Created by American cartoonist, playwright, and artist, Herb Gardner, The Nebbishes was a syndicated comic strip that was originally picked up by the Chicago Tribune and later syndicated to 60-75 major newspapers across the country. Running on Sundays from 1959-1961, the strip features characters called Nebbishes, which are small white blob-like creatures who often spoke with humorous self-deprecating mottos and sayings. Prior to the comic strip being picked up, the characters were already popular from their appearances on cards, napkins, and wall decorations. Gardner has mentioned in interviews that he used the name Nebbishes because in Yiddish, "nebbish" means an insignificant, pitiful person.

Red illustration of the upper torso of a woman wearing a bra with red text above and below on a yellow background

The humor seen here relies on double entendre: traditionally, a “supporter” was an undergarment for male athletes—jockstraps, colloquially—but this button humorously applies it to women, suggesting a bra as the equivalent. Serving as a cheeky, playful, and occasionally raunchy pun about women from the mid-20th century (1950s–1980s), the image was especially popular as souvenirs, carnival prizes, or mail-order novelties. This was also a period when raising money or attention for girls’ sports teams or events could be difficult, since supporting women’s athletics was not as common. 

Two important events from the 1970s probably helped inspire this kind of joke. First, Title IX became law in 1972, banning sex discrimination in federally funded schools, which led to a boom in sports opportunities for girls and women. Then, in 1977, the first sports bra was invented by piecing together jockstraps, addressing a major need for female athletes. This invention, patented in 1979, paved the way for modern sports bras and appeared just as women’s sports participation took off in the years after Title IX. Both this legal change and the new sports bra fueled a dramatic increase in women’s involvement in sports at all levels, from high school competitions to the Olympics. 

Founded in 1971 by inventor Malcolm Roebuck, Badge-A-Minit was created to offer an affordable and easy way for people to design and produce pin-back buttons. Based in Oglesby, Illinois, this privately owned company helped to pioneer the button-making industry.