Black and white illustration of a sperm whale on a white background.

Sperm whales are easily identified by their enormous heads, which make up approximately 1/3 of the whale’s body. With an average length of 52 feet and average weight of 40 tons, these giants of the ocean are larger than the average school bus and consume about one ton of fish and squid per day. Though still an endangered species, the sperm whale population is growing due to stricter regulations in the whaling industry. Arguably the most famous sperm whale in popular culture is the mythical albino nemesis of Captain Ahab in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick; Melville’s leviathan was actually based on a real sperm whale that attacked the whaling ship Essex in 1820. 

Black and white illustration of an orca whale on a white background.

The Orca, known colloquially as the Killer Whale, is the largest member of the dolphin family. Orcas are considered to be one of the world’s most ferocious predators, subsisting on a diet of other marine mammals—seals, sea lions, and other species of whales—as well as fish, squid, and sometimes sea birds. Orcas are easily recognizable due to their distinctive black and white coloring, and are highly intelligent and cunning. They travel in pods of up to 40, and use echolocation to communicate and strategize when hunting. Orca pods are led by a dominant female, and scientists believe that each pod develops its own unique way of communicating, similar to a dialect. Orcas have not been hunted extensively, however populations in North America, Iceland, and Japan have dwindled significantly due to live capture for placement in marine parks and aquariums. 

Black and white illustration of a grey whale on a white background.

The Oakland Whale Center offered an “Adopt A Gray Whale Calf” program to provide an opportunity for children to learn more about the large ocean mammals that migrate up and down the Pacific coast, between the Arctic Ocean north of Alaska and Baja California, Mexico. For $25, adopters received a photo of a whale calf, an official adoption certificate, quarterly updates, and activity pages. Pacific gray whales were targets of extensive hunting in the 19th and early 20th centuries, causing the species to be nearly extinct by the 1920’s. Thanks to conservation efforts, Pacific gray whales are now a protected species; in 1994, they were removed from the endangered species list. 

The Oakland Whale Center was founded by Maxine McCloskey, Ronn Storro-Patterson, Tom Johnson, and other environmentalists concerned with whale issues. During its ten years of operation, the Whale Center was an active presence at meetings of the International Whaling Commission and other international marine mammal organizations. Though now defunct, many of the activities and conservation work carried out by the Oakland Whale Center have been taken on by the Marine Mammal Center of Marin County, California and the International Marine Mammal Project. This includes the Whalebus—a popular outreach program  that brings educational programming about whales and marine life to Bay Area school children. 

Grey and black illustration of a grey whale on a white background.

The grey whale is a type of baleen whale that reaches 45-46 feet and weighs 30-40 tons. They live predominantly in the North Pacific and migrate between the arctic seas and the lagoons of Baja California, Mexico, although there have been sightings of grey whales in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea in recent years. The grey whale was given full protection status by the International Whaling Commission in 1947 and since then, the north Pacific population has reached between 19,000 and 23,000.

Black and white illustration of a blue whale on a white background.

The Blue Whale, at approximately 100 feet in length and 200 tons, is the largest known animal ever to have lived on Earth. A blue whale’s tongue alone is larger than an elephant; its heart is larger than an average-sized car. Despite their large size, blue whales are not aggressive predators. Rather, they subsist on a diet of almost solely krill—tiny shrimp-like animals. Blue whales usually swim alone or in pairs, and can be found in all the oceans around the world. In addition to owning the title of largest animal, blue whales are also considered the loudest animals on earth. Like other whales and dolphins, blue whales use groans and pulses to both navigate and communicate.

Blue whales have few natural predators, however they were driven to near extinction by the mid-20th century due to aggressive hunting. They became a protected species in 1966, and though populations have grown to some extent since then, as of 2015, the blue whale is still officially classified as an endangered species. It is thought that there are between 10,000 to 25,000 of these gentle giants currently living in the wild.

Black and white illustration of a blue whale on a white background.

The Blue Whale, at approximately 100 feet in length and 200 tons, is the largest known animal ever to have lived on Earth. A blue whale’s tongue alone is larger than an elephant; its heart is larger than an average-sized car. Despite their large size, blue whales are not aggressive predators. Rather, they subsist on a diet of almost solely krill—tiny shrimp-like animals. Blue whales usually swim alone or in pairs, and can be found in all the oceans around the world. In addition to owning the title of largest animal, blue whales are also considered the loudest animals on earth. Like other whales and dolphins, blue whales use groans and pulses to both navigate and communicate.

Blue whales have few natural predators, however they were driven to near extinction by the mid-20th century due to aggressive hunting. They became a protected species in 1966, and though populations have grown to some extent since then, as of 2015, the blue whale is still officially classified as an endangered species. It is thought that there are between 10,000 to 25,000 of these gentle giants currently living in the wild.

Black text on a blue white and red striped background with a red star on the left and a blue star on the right

This is an advertising for G.I. Joe’s, a defunct retail chain that sold sporting goods, clothing, and auto parts. G.I. Joe’s was founded in 1952 and operated in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. In 2009 the company filed for bankruptcy and closed for good. 

Black and red text on a white background

For over 50 years, the details and documents of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination have been guarded by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the National Archives. There has been a movement since the assassination investigation to declassify the documents. The most recent plea for the documents’ release was in 2013 due to the 50^th anniversary of the incident. The documents are to be declassified and released in 2017 due to federal mandates.

Illustration of a large bird standing on the lap of a person with a decorative black and white outer edge and black text on a white background. Illustration depicts iconic image of Prometheus chained to a rock where his liver is eaten by by an eagle every day as punishment by Zeus.

This button is most likely in support of the Anti-Junta movement in Greece. From 1967 – 1974 Greece was ruled by a series of military dictatorships. Since the end of World War II, Greece had fallen into a civil war between communists and government leaders who had returned from exile. Supporters of democracy within Greek society strongly opposed the junta several militant groups were formed in Greece and in exile. The junta exiled thousands of Greek citizens accused of being communists or “enemies” of Greece. The dictatorship came to an end after factions within the junta began fighting amongst each other.

Purple outer ring with white text on it surrounding a white background with a black and white photograph of a man's head and shoulders with microphones in front of him.

Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American born minister that was best known as the leader of the African-American Civil Rights Movement during the 1950's and 60's.  King used nonviolent based methods, stemming from his background in the Baptist church, to lead a movement towards racial equality in the South and throughout the entire United States.  King lead many marches, sit in's, and demonstrations as an outcry to the United States to attempt to unite all Americans based off character and not color of skin.  King wanted to demonstrate that people off all races could live together in peace and he dreamed of a day when this would be possible.  King spoke of a day where racial justice would be for all and that all people would be seen as being created equal, though this was not the case in America during King's life.  King was assassinated April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee, four years after winning the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality in a nonviolent manner.