Photograph of chili cheese fries with white text over the top

In 2024, this button became the subject of a podcast episode, when a librarian named Casey Koss became obsessed with finding the person who made it.  Koss first came across the button while working as an intern, researching unidentified buttons in the Busy Beaver Button Museum’s collection. 

After years of unsuccessful attempts to find any information about the business listed on the curl text, Koss contacted Alex Goldman’s Hyperfixed podcast for help.The podcast team discovered that the button had not been made by a restaurant, but by a former Busy Beaver employee named Nick Rouley.

When asked why he made it, Rouley explained that – as a collector of buttons and other historical ephemera – he’d always been drawn to the kind of weird objects that compelled him to ask: Why did somebody make this? So Rouley decided to make a button that would someday elicit that feeling in someone else. He added the curl text to give it the appearance of authenticity, and left two copies of the button at the museum, hoping someone would find it someday.  

When contacted about the button, nearly 15 years after its creation, Rouley told the podcast team: “This is a dream come true.”

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ERA is the Equal Rights Amendment, which is a Constitutional Amendment started in the 1970s to create equal rights for women. This button is worn by supporters of the amendment to prompt conversation and inquiries into a conversation about gender, equality, and the amendment itself. To date, the amendment has not met the requirements for passage, but its supporters continue to gather support.

Blue text on a white background with a pink face in the letter O

A campaign promotion by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention encourages patients; “It’s OK to ask” their healthcare providers to do more to reduce healthcare facility infections through better clean hand hygiene. 

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Black and white illustration of a person in clown make-up and a black shirt with black text above on a white background

The Meat Puppets are an American rock band who were active primarily during the 1980's to the early 2000's. "Scum" was the first single from their "No Joke" album, as well as the only one from the album to have a music video. The image featured on the button is of the same character shown on the cover of the album. 

Red text over an illustration of a blue square with two hands inside of it on a white background

The Cambridge Diet is a "fad diet" during which an individual only consumes 600 to 1500 calories per day. These calories usually come from liquids, which are part of the diet regimine. It was developed in England in the 1970's by Dr. Alan Howard. In the 1980's, the diet gained popularity in the United States, but not without controversy.

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Jaycees is the commonly used nickname for the United States Junior Chamber of Commerce, an organization that trains people aged 18 through 40 in developing personal and leadership skills. The Jaycees was established in 1920 to train men until 1984 when the Supreme Court prohibited sex discrimination. 

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Ten Speed Press was founded in 1971 by Phillip Wood, and is still operational as an independent publisher today. Known for their colorful illustrations, Ten Speed Press has found success in the world of cookbooks, graphic novels, and photography books.

Published in 2004 by Ten Speed Press, the book titled People I Sleep With, by Jill Fineberg was being promoted at book conventions and shows. In the book, Fineberg presents a collection of photographs detailing the intimate relationships between fifty people and their pets, or "those we let into our beds".

Ask me buttons, especially ones like this with a booth number, were typically worn at events or places of employment by employees as leading prompts to customers encouraging them to inquire about a hot or provocative item.

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E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 American science fiction film created by Steven Spielberg and starring Henry Thomas and Dee Wallace. The film centers on the story of a boy and his friend, an extraterrestrial nicknamed “E.T.”, and his attempt to help E.T. get home while avoiding government interference. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was the highest-grossing film of the 1980’s and is considered one of the greatest films ever made.  

White text on a red circle with an outer blue edge with white text

Asbury Park, a small seaside city in New Jersey, was famous for its exceptional hospitality and tourism boom in the early 20th century. In fact, it was known around the United States as the "town without a frown". All twelve thousand men, women and children of the community were made members of the Asbury Park "Glad Hands Society", which prided itself on providing hospitable welcomes to visitors from around the country and around the globe.