Orange text and a white question mark on a black background

The Beam-A-Scope is a shielded coil antenna that was built into the back of many General Electric radios beginning in the late 1930s. G.E.’s advertising claimed that due to the shielded design of the antenna that blocked electrostatic fields, listeners would have finer reception with less static. Before built-in antennas, radios required a grounded connection that lead to an antenna, usually installed on the roof the listener’s house or building. The Beam-A-Scope and its competitors like the Zenith Wavemagnet eliminated the need for a direct connection to an outside antenna, enabling radios to become more portable.

Illustration of a person in a hat and with closed eyes holding a lightbulb next to white and blue text on a white and blue background

Mr. Magoo is a cartoon character created in 1949 by Millard Kaufman and John Hubley. Mr Magoo's storylines usually focus on his nearsightedness and the comedic problems it causes for him. He appeared in films by UPA Animation Studio throughout the 1950s and won two Oscars for When Magoo Flew and Magoo's Puddle Jumper. In the 1950s and 1960s, Mr. Magoo advertised General Electric products. Mr. Magoo continues to appear in smaller animated roles in films and television.

Illustration of a green, purple and yellow flower with black text on a white background

Spike is the name of the Chicago Botanic Garden's titan arum plant, more commonly known as a corpse flower. This type of flower, which is the largest unbranched inflorescent plant in the world and can grow up to 12 feet tall, was first discovered by Odoardo Beccari in Sumatra in 1878. The Chicago Botanic Garden acquired the plant in 2003 in seed form, and Spike was the first of the seeds to bloom. The plant has a blog dedicated to it to document the rare times when it blooms or is being pollinated, and every year thousands of visitors visit Spike, which continues to thrive.

(n.d.). About Spike. Retrieved from: http://www.chicagobotanic.org/titan_arum_corpse_flower

Amorphophallus Titanum. (n.d.). Retrieved September 27, 2015 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amorphophallus_titanum

This button was manufactured by the Busy Beaver Button Co.

Blue and yellow background with white text and an illustration of a man holding a telephone reciever in the upper right corner

“Detroit says: ‘Watch Ford in ’48’” was a slogan used by the Ford Motor Company as part of a 1948 advertising campaign. The slogan appeared in both print and radio advertisements, as well as on other materials like this button, and played up the city of Detroit’s clout in the automotive industry. Detroit, which has come to be known colloquially as “The Motor City,” was world-renowned as an automotive powerhouse. For the majority of the 20th century, Detroit housed the headquarters for Ford and its subsidiary brands, along with the other two major American car manufacturers, Chrysler and General Motors. 

Illustration of a caucasian man with black hair in a red white and blue suit and cape on a white background with black text.

A series of 86 different comic character buttons were issued by Kellogg's and given away with PEP cereal between 1945-1947. Other characters in the series included Orphan Annie, Dick Tracy, Popeye and Felix the Cat.

Superman is a comic book superhero created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster in 1933. He was born on the planet he was born on the planet Krypton and was sent to earth by his father before Krypton was destroyed. He was found and raised by a family in Kansas. He has superhuman abilities like superhuman strength, speed, senses, breath and the ability to fly.

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Faites-Le! is French for "do it!"

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Hágalo! is Spanish for "do it!"

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Machen Sie Es! is German for "do it!"

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zrób to! is Polish for "do it!"

Illustration of a red train with a triangle of railroad tracks around it and a landscape behind that with red and black text above and below.

The Triangle Trolley Trip was a sightseeing trip offered by the Pacific Electric Railroad in the early 20th century in California. Billed as “The Way to See Southern California,” the 100 mile trip cost sightseers $1.00. The tour travelled southeast out of Los Angeles toward Santa Ana, and advertised such points of interest as “the walnut groves of the Whittier country,” “the oil fields of the Olinda District,” Huntington Beach, Seal Beach, and an aviation field.  The tour stopped for two hours for lunch in Long Beach, and included a free ride on the Hippodrome, a large ocean-side merry-go-round. 

Click here to see an alternate version of this button, also held by the Button Museum.