White button with black text in the center and red text around the rim.

James Boren was a public servant turned humorist, who used his time working in the Washington D.C. bureaucracy as a subject for his humor. Boren hosted mock presidential campaigns (he ran in 1984 and 1992, the latter time for the Apathy Party of America) and coined several key phrases, “When in Doubt, Mumble” and “Dynamic Inaction” to distinguish his platform. The former refers to his most frequently cited and well-known line, “When in doubt, mumble; when in trouble, delegate; when in charge, ponder.”

Illustration of a pelican in a blue suit and top hat, holding an umbrella beside the Miller High Life beer logo. Black text on the top and bottom edge on a white background.

Officially known as the Louisiana World Exhibition, the 1984 World's Fair was meant to commemorate the New Orleans Cotton Exposition's 100^th anniversary. Miller High Life was an event sponsor and hosted a German beer garden. The fair exhibited works by local artists, displays of New Orleans architecture and cuisine, and amusement rides. One popular attraction was an air conditioned boat ride dubbed the Louisiana Journey. The ride wove through mock swamps and bayous, and it allowed attendees to escape the summer heat. Organizers spent $350 million to stage the event, but the 7 million guests didn't produce the revenue necessary to cover the costs. The fair did benefit New Orleans in the long run, as it resulted in new construction in the warehouse district and public access to the Mississippi River.

White button with blue text surrounding a blue photograph of John Glenn.

Decorated war veteran, astronaut, and Senator, John Glenn is a legendary American figure from Ohio who has been awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree from 10 universities.  On July 16, 1957, Glenn beat the cross-country speed record by flying from California to New York in 3 hours and 23 minutes.  The New York Times named him “Man of the Year.”

President Kennedy adopted the slogan “The New Frontier” in his 1960 acceptance speech to the Democratic Presidential nomination.  This slogan became the theme of Kennedy’s administration.  On February 20, 1962, Glenn piloted the Mercury-Atlas 6 "Friendship 7" spacecraft on the first U.S. manned orbital mission, which completed a successful three-orbit mission around the earth, reaching an orbital velocity of approximately 17,500 miles per hour.  Glenn’s triple orbit around the earth took 4 hours and 55 minutes.  In 1998 became the oldest man to fly in space aboard the STS-95.  In 2012, Glenn received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama.

White button with black text. An image of hands shaking over the US and Viet Nam's flags is in the center. 

In 1973, after five years of negotiations, the Paris Peace Accords were finally signed to bring an end to the Vietnam War. The four signers represented the United States, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (otherwise known as North Vietnam), the Provisional Revolutionary Government of Vietnam (otherwise known as Viet Cong), and the Republic of Vietnam (otherwise known as South Vietnam). The agreement contained a cease fire and a promise to remove all foreign troops from the country. 

Yellow, white, green and red text on black background with photographs of Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield. 

Heavyweight champion boxers Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield were scheduled to fight on November 8, 1991 at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. Tyson had lost his title to Buster Douglas in 1990, and Holyfield defeated Douglas later that year to become the reigning champion. After Holyfield also beat former and future champion George Foreman, a deal was signed for Holyfield to defend his crown against Tyson in Las Vegas. The projected gross earnings for the fight were over $100 million. TVKO was the event production leg of HBO that was slated to show the 1991 fight on pay-per-view television. Tyson was indicted on rape charges in September of 1991, but the fight was not canceled until Tyson claimed he had suffered an injury in training. Tyson was later convicted and imprisoned for three years, but the two finally had their first match in 1996 following Tyson's release, which ended in victory for Holyfield. 

A bright blue rimmed button with white text on the rim.  In the center of the button is the image of an elephant driving a red Model T type car emblazoned with the year "1980". The elephant is waving a flag. Black text is underneath the cartoon. 

The 32^nd Republican National Convention was held in July, 1980 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit Michigan.  This was the third attempt for Ronald Reagan at a nomination (1972, 1976).  Reagan arrived at the convention with 400 out of 478 delegates in his favor.  Although rumors floated around about a Reagan-Ford ticket, discussions between the two broke down and Reagan chose George W. Bush as his running mate. 

The pairs’ slogan was “Let’s Make American Great Again.”  Reagan and Bush overwhelmingly defeated incumbent Jimmy Carter for the Presidential Election.

Illustration of a muscular Superman in red blue and yellow busting through the yellow background

Superman is a fictional comic book character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1933 and published by DC Comics. Superman is considered to be one of the original superhero archetypes and has one of the most iconic appearances ever created. The character of Superman has been portrayed in films, television shows, and video games, among others. 

Orange, black, white and green illustration of African animals riding on a roller coaster.  

Busch Gardens Tampa is an amusement park located on 335 acres in Tampa, Florida. It opened on March 31, 1959 and was originally tagged as "The Dark Continent" due to its African theme. The park was originally developed as a marketing tool for Anheuser-Busch and housed some of the company's recognizable Clydesdale horses. A subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch, SeaWorld Entertainment, operates the park in Tampa and a second park located in Williamsburg, Virginia. Busch Gardens Tampa now features thousands of animals, a replica steam train, bird gardens, rope bridges, thrill rides and roller coasters. The park was the first to offer animals in a free-ranging environment with the opening of its Serengeti Plain animal habitat in 1965, which now covers 65 acres. 

Illustration of a car with gold watch outer design and orange and yellow text on a black background

Following the success of Back to the Future in 1985, Back to the Future II was released in 1989.  Starring Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd, the movie follows Marty McFly as he visits 2015, then goes back to 1955 to undo the damage done during his trip to the future.  Although it received mixed reviews by critics, the film grossed over $331 million worldwide.

Neon orange button with black text and an illustration of a hospital in the center. 

The building of the University of Illinois Hospital was a collaboration between the University of Illinois and the Illinois Department of Public Welfare. The State has acquired the old Chicago Cubs stadium and the University used that land to build a Research and Education Hospital in 1919. The present hospital complex was built in 1980. The hospital specializes in sickle cell research and treatment. It also was the first to conduct an adult-to-adult living donor liver transplant and conducted the world's first robotic donor nephrectomy for a living-donor kidney transplant.