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Founded in 1966, the National Organization for Women (NOW) is the largest feminist organization in the United States. In 1972, NOW began a campaign in support of the ERA (Equal Rights Amendment), which, if passed, would constitutionally prohibit discrimination based on sex in the United States. The legislation included a seven-year deadline, which Congress extended until 1982 due to activist support. The deadline passed when the act was three states short of the 38 required for ratification in the Constitution. The “59 ¢” seen on this button refers to the gender pay gap: in 1963, when the Equal Pay Act was signed into law, women made on average 59 cents for every dollar made by their male counterparts.

In January 2020, the ERA reached the required 38 state ratifications. However, it is still not enshrined in the constitution. NOW continues to create similar green buttons, using the color of money to recognize the economic importance of the ERA. 

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The Palmer Method is a handwriting method developed by Austin Norman Palmer. Palmer published a work, The Palmer Method of Business Writing, detailing the method in 1900. A defining characteristic of the technique is the insistence on the use of the arm when writing instead of the fingers. As opposed to the popular use of copy-book handwriting instruction, the Palmer Method positioned itself as a guide on penmanship, as well as writing mechanics. As of 2023, the Palmer Method website offers a free downloadable PDF of a digitized copy of The Palmer Method of Business Writing from 1915. 

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The Brady Bunch was an American sitcom which ran from 1969 to 1974. The series follows the blended Brady family as they learn to live under the same roof. The show remains both a pop cultural icon and a site of constant ridicule in its depiction of the American family.

Peter Brady is the middle Brady boy. He is known for his changeable nature, letting experiences build him up or knock him down easily. He is clumsy and impulsive, enjoys joking with his brothers and sisters, and is very protective of the youngest Brady, Cindy.  

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Gund is an American maker of plush toys, established in 1898 by Adolph Gund. The Mary Lou doll was a toy sold by Gund in the mid 20th century. As of 2023, Gund continues to sell toys representing a variety of franchises, including Sesame Street and Hello Kitty, among others. 

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The Brady Bunch was an American sitcom which ran from 1969 to 1974. The series follows the blended Brady family as they learn to live under the same roof. The show remains both a pop cultural icon and a site of constant ridicule in its depiction of the American family.

Jan Brady is the middle Brady daughter. She is portrayed by Eve Plumb. She is most remembered for her quintessential middle child antics, including her well-known line, “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia,” in which she bemoans the attention her older sister receives. 

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Marc Smith, born in Chicago in 1940, is a poet, creator of the poetry slam, and founder of the International Poetry Slam Movement. Smith devised the plan to put on poetry performances as a way to make poetry more interesting. He believed that schools did not do poetry justice and was the reason poetry repelled people. He began the movement as an “Up Yours” to establishment poets as he considered them snooty and boring. Smith hosted his first poetry slam at the Get Me High Lounge in 1986. In 1987, Smith found a permanent home for his poetry slam events at the Green Mill Tavern. Since then, Smith has performed in nightclubs, concert halls, libraries, universities, the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian Institute, and many other venues around the world.

In one of his shows, Smith put on a performance dressed as Dr. John C. Spray. In this one-man show, Smith dressed as the eccentric turn-of the century coroner, “alienist”, and, at one time, an asylum superintendent. In the show, Smith performed monologues which focused on Dr. Spray’s macabre side. Smith’s monologues told the stories of Dr. Spray’s time as the Cook County Coroner. This show was performed in the 1990s.

An interesting fact about Dr. Spray is that he belonged to the Whitechapel Club. The Whitechapel Club was formed in 1889 by newspapermen who named Jack the Ripper the club president. Inside the club, one would find many macabre items including skulls, weapons, bloodied clothes, and debris from the Chicago fire. Dr. Spray supplied the skulls, which were turned into gas lamps and goblets. 

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Rube Goldberg (1883-1970) was an American cartoonist and inventor who is best known for his cartoon depictions of impossibly complicated machines to accomplish simple mundane tasks. Goldberg is the only person ever to be listed in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as an adjective.

Goldberg was a founding member and first president of the National Cartoonists Society, whose Reuben Award for cartoonist of the year is named after him. He received a Pulitzer Prize for his political cartooning in 1948, and in 1995 was honored with a commemorative stamp as part of the "Comic Strip Classics" series from the U.S. Postal Service.

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Katherine "Kitty" Anne Pryde is a Jewish mutant superhero who is also known as Shadowcat in the Marvel comic series X-Men. At the age of 13 years old, Kitty enrolled in Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters after experiencing headaches which were a result of mutant powers emerging; she became the youngest member to join the ranks of the X-men. Kitty possesses the ability to pass through solid matter. While being attacked by the Brood, Kitty met the small dragon Lockheed, who she kept as a pet.