Red background with white text and blue shadowing.

Introduced in 1973 by Life Saver’s Inc., Bubble Yum bubble gum was known as the first soft bubble gum to be marketed in the United States. Bubble Yum switched hands in a buy-out of Life Saver’s Inc. by the Nabisco corporation in 1981, and then by Hershey in 2000. A rumor began in 1977 that claimed the softness of Bubble Yum was because the company used spider eggs in the recipe. This sent shock waves through the Life Saver company as they tried to put the rumors to rest spending nearly $60,000 in newspaper advertisements cautioning people not to believe lies they hear.

A prize contest was run in 1979 to be “Number Yum.” In order to enter, children had to watch a Bubble Yum commercial on TV and count how many times the phrase “Number Yum” was used. The winner would get a dream room which included a fully loaded jukebox and a Brunswick pinball machine. The “Number Yum” slogan was used continuously in print ads until roughly 1984.

Red metallic button with gold lettering.  "I won't hand you any phony baloney." with a boar's head in gold on a black background illustrated. 

In the 1930s, “phony-baloney” emerged as a slang term indicating nonsense or outright lies. Boar’s Head, a purveyor of deli meats, plays on this phrase to assert the quality and authenticity of their product. Boar's Head Provision Co., Inc. is a supplier of delicatessen meats, cheeses, and condiments. The company was founded in 1905 in Brooklyn, New York.

An illustration of a sad ostrich with its head in the sand with black text around it.  

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Red and white button with white text and the illustration of Santa in the center.

Marshall Field and Company was a Chicago based department store that opened in the late 1800s, and it remained opened until 2005 when Macy's acquired the business.  Over the years, Marshall Field's was a popular destination during the Christmas season, attracting customers with festive holiday decorations and promotions. This button was given to customers that visited Santa.

Illustration of a hand holding a light bulb over a cityscape on a blue background with white text outlined in black around the top edge and black text at the bottom

The Edison Illuminating Company was founded by Thomas Edison. In 1882, the company began operating in New York using Edison's patented electricity distribution system. The system made it possible for homes and business to purchase electric lighting at a price that was competitive with existing gas utilities. By it's 50th anniversary in 1932, the company was the largest electrical service provider in the world, and it still operates today under the name Con Edison.

Illustration of a building on a white background with black text and a decorative gold and navy blue rim.

In 1909 Evans City, PA was a small town of about 1000 people with a train station and a brand new Trolley line. The train depot was famous because it was built over the Breakneck Creek and therefore was the only train depot built entirely over water. The Westminster United Presbyterian Church, in Evans City, was founded in 1837 and a new building was dedicated in 1888.

The Young People's Christian Union (Y. P. C. U.) is the name of a youth group affiliated with the United Presbyterian Church. The Y. P. C. U. was founded in 1889 to organize youth in the church and encourage them to be engaged in church work. They held yearly meetings with two delegates from each church or school. The 1909 meeting was held at Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois.

Red text on a white cream like shape with a light blue background.

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Red text on a white background with a red rim. 

Wonder Bread is a type of bread sold in North America, first introduced in the United States in 1921 by Indianapolis-based Taggart Baking Company. During the 1930s, it became one of the first breads to be sold pre-sliced. 

Wonder Bread became a staple of the twentieth century American diet. Until the 1960s, Wonder Bread made up 25 to 30 percent of the daily calories consumed by Americans (Bobrow-Strain, 2012). The popularity of Wonder Bread symbolized the shift in American consumerism toward mass-produced manufactured goods. This has shifted in the decades since as Americans ideas about healthy eating evolved, and Wonder Bread declined in popularity despite some attempts to produce healthier products.

Black text surrounding an illustration of a face with two eyes and a large nose on a yellow background.

Hey Bob Show was created by Robert J Hassett and existed as a children's radio show from 1949 until the mid 1950s. It was later renamed Hey Bob Enterprises, Inc. to reflect the diversity of the company. Hey Bob used entertainment to teach children to to be safe and created the "Safety Legion Club" for them to join. To further promote safety in the community, Hey Bob created a safety dummy that was used during a safety contest between Des Moines, IA and Omaha, NE. At the end of the contest Hassett made the dummy a mascot for Hey Bob's Safety Legion Club.

The Continental Baking Company, who are the makers of Wonder Bread, was one of Hey Bob's loyal sponsors. Wonder Bread was first sold on May 21, 1921. The slogan "Builds Strong Bodies 8 Ways!" refers to the eight nutrients they added to the flour. When bread was made nutrients were removed in the process, however a government program established in the 1940s required all companies to return vital nutrients to the bread. 

Yellow and black text on a white background. 

In 1885 W.S. Wagar opened an ice cream shop in Troy, New York, making 100 quarts a day using a fifteen-quart freezer he inherited from his father. Forty years later, Wagar had opened several ice cream stores and began selling wholesale for 15 other confectionary stores. His modern ice-cream plant could produce 12,000 quarts a day. In 1926 Wagar took out a full-page ad in the Troy Times declaring “The Most Important Announcement Ever Made by an Ice Cream Manufacturer” and proclaimed that Wagar’s intended to start including more heavy cream in their product than any other manufacturer. Malcolm K Laustrup Sr., the great-grandson of W.S. Wagar, opened his own ice cream parlor selling Wagar’s ice cream in 1978 in Lake George, New York, and remained in operation for 26 years.