Illustration of a grey elephant's head wearing a black hat and tie and holding a large black toothbrush on a yellow background with red text along the bottom

In the 1950s, the New Zealand Department of Health published a poster featuring a variation on this illustration along with the slogan “An Elephant Never Forgets. Clean your teeth after meals and before bed.” The poster was one of a series of which aimed to promote dental hygiene in children.

Red text on a yellow background

The "Friends of the Free Library" is a non-profit organization made up of a group of volunteers located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The volunteers at the “Friends of the Free Library” keep libraries open, vital, and relevant by helping to pay for books and programs.  The organization was founded in 1973, and since then has been an independent, charitable organization supporting the 54-branch Free Library system in Philadelphia. The Free Library of Philadelphia is a public library system, and is the 13^th largest public library system in the United States. 

Blue text on a white background

Dope is for dopes is a slogan created from a segment in the television series Fat Albert and The Cosby Kids Season 1, Episode 17. An excerpt from the episode description reads as follows: Franny Bates' brother Muggles gives him money and a number of material things that he shares with the gang, including a motorcycle that eventually gets wrecked by Fat Albert. He personally goes to Muggles to do what he can to pay for it. Muggles gives Albert a package to deliver, eventually learning it contains narcotic drugs after he gets apprehended by the police, who determine he didn't know about the drugs. Fat Albert agrees to help them catch Muggles and arrest him to stop his drug dealing. While Franny no longer acknowledges Fat Albert as a friend, the rest of the gang stick up for him, knowing he did the right thing to get illegal drugs off the streets.

Along with the popularity of the phrase, the show also provided a song with the same title, Dope is for Dopes.

Illustration of hands holding a scrub brush and a paint bruch on a white inner circle surrounded by an outer blue edge with white text

This button is most likely related to two documentary film shorts released in 1953 and 1954 called The House in the Middle, which showed the effects of a nuclear bomb test on three small houses. The houses on the left and right are run down and poorly maintained, but the house in the middle is clean, freshly-painted, and well-kept. The middle house survives the attack, while the more rundown houses do not. The 1953 version of the film was created by the Federal Civil Defense Administration (which created a nationwide plan for fallout shelters) to show that taking care of your house could help protect you from a nuclear bomb dropped by the Soviet Union.

The 1954 version of the film was released in color by the National Clean Up – Paint Up – Fix Up Bureau, which was created by the National Paint, Varnish and Lacquer Association. This version of the film was geared more toward marketing paint than protection against bombs. 

Green text in the center surrounded by illustrations of marijuana leaves with an outer green edge on a yellow background

Proposition 19, also known as the California Marijuana Initiative (CMI), was a ballot initiative on the November 7, 1972 statewide ballot. The official advocacy group for the initiative was “Yes on 19.” If passed, it would have revised California’s laws about marijuana, and would have made it so that no person 18 years of age or older could be punished in any way for growing, processing, transporting, or possessing marijuana. The initiative was defeated by 66.5%, with only 33.5% Yes votes. Supporters argued that the initiative would decriminalization personal use activities, but not legalize marijuana or encourage sales or use.  

Illustration of silouettes of people from baby to old age over purple text on a white background

Maggie Kuhn popularized the phrase " The best age is the age you are," while being an activist for age rights. Kuhn started a group known as the Gray Panthers, which was an advocacy group for the rights of the elderly. The group was founded after Kuhn was forced to retire at age 65 and met with other retirees to discuss injustices they faced. The original group name was Consultation of Older and Younger Adults for Social Change, but its current name was coined by a news anchor that compared them to the Black Panthers.

Black text on an orange backgroud

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Blue text, including the logo for the Coalition of Labor Union Women, on a white background

‘A Woman’s Place is in Her Union’ was the theme of the first biennial national conference of the Coalition of Labor Union Women, held in 1979. The Coalition of Labor Union Women was formed in March 1974 with the primary objective of developing programs within unions that addresses common challenges and concerns of working women. ‘A Woman’s Place is in Her Union’ continues to remain a popular slogan at labor rallies and conferences.

Green text on a bright orange background

“Sock it to me” conveys enthusiasm and a willingness to engage, often with a challenge. It gained popularity among Black musicians in the soul and jazz scenes of the late 1960s and early 1970s. In Aretha Franklin’s 1967 hit "Respect," background singers repeat the phrase to highlight eagerness for societal recognition and the demand for respect. The phrase also became a catchphrase on the TV show "Laugh In," signaling readiness for the next joke or story. The catchphrase was famously even said by Richard Nixon in 1968. In 1972, The Jimmy Castor Bunch used it in their song "Troglodyte" to suggest sexual advances. 

In 1960s slang, “teach” is used as a casual term for “teacher”—for example, “Hey, Teach.” It has been in use since at least the mid-20th century. Students say “Sure, teach” in the 1955 film Blackboard Jungle, illustrating the school slang of that era. The term can seem friendly or a bit cheeky depending on the tone. 

Hewig & Marvic (often stamped “HEWIG–MARVIC” on the curl) was a New York-based pin-back button manufacturer best documented in the 1960s–1970s, producing club, novelty, and political campaign buttons. 

A purple illustration of the symbol for female with a fist in the middle on a white background

The Women’s Liberation Movement, commonly referred to as feminism, is a series social and political reforms on issues like domestic violence, reproductive rights, equal pay, and women’s suffrage. The history of feminism has been divided into three waves: First-wave feminism focused on middle- and upper-class white women through suffrage and political equality. Second-wave feminism focused on other social and cultural inequalities. Third-wave feminism addresses financial, social, and cultural inequalities and campaigns for greater influence of women in politics and media. The symbol itself, which calls for inclusion of women of color, consists of the astrological symbol for Venus and a clenched fist that was used in the 1960s by the black power movement.