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Jean-Léon Gérôme’s 1872 painting ‘Pollice Verso’ is thought to have introduced the concept of the thumbs-up gesture as a sign of approval and the thumbs-down gesture as a sign of disapproval.

In ancient Rome, when Gladiators competed with each other in combat for entertainment, the crowd often decided if the Gladiator was to live to fight another day by giving a thumbs-down which meant swords down. If the crowd gave a thumbs-up, swords up, then it was a fight to the finish with one Gladiator dead and the winner alive.

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The phrase “I’m number 3, I don’t try at all” is typically used when one is not putting in any effort or trying hard at all, to a point where being the best at something or being in first place is out of the question. The phrase has been used as early as the 1960s and has since become popular as a humorous way to express one’s lack of motivation in a given situation. Although its origin is unclear, it is believed that the phrase is a parody of the revolutionary tagline, "when you're only No. 2, you try harder," created by American car rental company Avis Car Rentals.

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Hallmark’s humorous Shoebox line was created in 1986.  

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George McGovern attempted to become the first president from South Dakota. He ran an unsuccessful campaign for the 1972 presidential election. He had previously run as a stand in for the assassinated Robert. F. Kennedy during the 1968 presidential election. McGovern advocated the removal of U.S. troops from Vietnam in exchange for the return all U.S. prisoners of war, for a 37% reduction in defense spending, and the replacement of the personal income tax exemption with a $1,000 tax credit. He had the support of a wide range of celebrities including, Paul Newman, Jack Nicholson, Warren Beatty and, Barbara Streisand. Numerous high-profile Democrats of the time turned down requests to run as the vice-presidential candidate. McGovern finally settled on Senator Tom Eagleton of Missouri, which turned out to be a disastrous decision when it came to light that Eagleton had depression. McGovern and his then running mate Sargent Shriver, brother-in-law of John F. Kennedy and Ted Kennedy, suffered a landslide defeat. The Electoral College vote was 520 for Nixon to 17 for McGovern. It was one of the largest margins of defeat in American history.

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Julius Hobson (1922-1977) was a civil rights activist and leader in the D.C. Statehood Party. Because Washington, D.C. is controlled by the U.S. Congress, its citizens do not have congressional representation. The party was formed in 1969 to address the inability of Washington residents to exercise their rights as American citizens by not having a voting delegate in Congress. Because the district was composed of primarily African American citizens, this lack of representation became a civil rights issue and led to the push for D.C. Statehood. In 1971 Hobson made the issue the central part of his campaign for election as a non-voting delegate to the U.S House of Representatives. Although he lost the 1971 election, Hobson was elected to the City Council in 1974 and continued to be a central figure in the fight for D.C. statehood.

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The legend of Santa Claus can be traced as far back as the third century, to a monk named Saint Nicholas. The name Santa Claus evolved from Saint Nicholas’ Dutch nickname, Sinter Klaas, which is a shortened form of his Dutch name Sint Nikolaas. 

It is said that Nicholas inherited his family’s wealth after his parents died and used it to help the poor and sick. He was much admired for his generosity, goodness, and kindness and became known as the protector of children and sailors. He was the popular saint in Europe by the time of the Renaissance and even remained so after the Protestant Reformation, when the traditional veneration of saints was discouraged. It was during the later part of eighteenth century that he became a familiar figure in American popular culture, introduced by groups of Dutch immigrants. 

Saint Nicholas is now more commonly known as Santa Claus, the legendary character dressed in a white fur trimmed red jacket and pants, a matching hat, and black boots. He brings Christmas gifts to well-behaved children around the world, and coal or even nothing at all to naughty children. Nowadays, this character has a few residences around the world. It is believed in North America that Santa Claus lives at the North Pole, while each Nordic country believes that he lives within their own territory.

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Serving as an imprint of DC Comics, Vertigo began publication in 1993. Founded by editor, Karen Berger, the Vertigo brand was created to publish stories with more adult and graphic content as opposed to what DC Comics usually featured in their comics. The comics under this brand were given more creative freedom due to being unconfined by the rules imposed by the now defunct Comics Code Authority.  Stories tend to thematically revolve around supernatural, horror, and crime-noir themes. Though many Vertigo titles take place in the greater DC Comics universe, many comics under the imprint exist within their own separate and original continuity. In the years since its introduction, Vertigo has enjoyed numerous successes as a result of a passionate fan-base. Examples of its more popular works include  The Sandman series, Preacher, & Fables. 

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Though many believed the end of World War II would usher in a period of stability and peace, a new conflict between the United States and Soviet Union was brewing at the time. What resulted was a decades-long Cold War characterized by international proxy wars and a tense arms race. The competition for nuclear supremacy led to several close calls, including the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, which led many Americans to question the safety of nuclear stockpiles. Protests were launched all around the nation that argued for nuclear disarmament. Some even pointed to the ethical dilemmas and environmental issues involved with the use of nuclear weapons, citing Hiroshima as a case in point. The largest anti-nuclear protest took place on June 12, 1982, in New York City, where more than one million people gathered at Central Park to denounce the arms race. Though the two superpowers eventually entered a period of reduced tension in the 1970s and agreed to thin out their stockpiles, both countries still retain relatively large amounts of nuclear weapons.