White text and a white star of david on a light blue background with an outer white edge

Halt Hitler is in reference to the anti-Nazi movement against Adolf Hitler before World War II.

Two purple horizontal lines on a white background

This button is most likely supporting a feminist or LGBT cause. 

Purple was one of a trifecta of colors used by the Women’s Suffrage and Political Union in England at the turn of 20th century. The colors were brought to the United States suffrage movement by women who had worked for British suffrage. The three colors—purple, white, and gold—originally symbolized loyalty, purity, and hope, and have remained symbolic to the modern-day feminist movement. The equals sign with regard to feminism is a statement indicating that women should be equal to men.

Since the mid-1990s, the equals sign has become primarily associated with the LGBT rights movement. This is in large part due to the Human Rights Campaign—an LGBT advocacy group—who adopted the symbol as its logo in 1995. Lavender, similar to the color of the equals sign on this button, has also been historically associated with lesbian rights. 

Black text on a black and white photo of a horse with black numbers and letters in the background.

William “Doc” Key was a former slave educated by his master and his master’s sons. Key was a self-trained veterinarian and was always known to have extraordinary skills of animal communication and healing. After adopting a weak foal that was not expected to live, Key treated the horse with his own medicines. He named the horse Jim Key, giving it his own last name. Through kindness and patience, Key taught Jim how to read, write, spell, do math, tell time, sort mail, use a cash register and telephone, and engage in political debate. From 1897 to 1906, Key and Jim performed all over the nation, always with the message of the “power of kindness”. Over ten million Americans saw the duo perform, making Key one of the most famous African Americans of his time and bringing together many races of people. A quote attributed to Time Magazine declared, “This wonderful horse has upset all theories that animals have only instinct, and do not think and reason.” Though there was, and still is, debate as to how Jim performed his tasks, the important message of treating animals humanely has lived on.

The image here depicts "Beautiful" Jim Key spelling his own name, and the numbers in the background were most likely used to count and do math.

Black text and black stars on a white background with a blue Oscar in the background.

The 31st Academy Awards were held at the RKO Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles on April 6, 1959 to honor motion pictures released in 1958.  From 1949 through 1959, this American movie industry's annual event was held there.  All efforts by the Academy are the result of committee work including granting press access. ‘Legitimate and verifiable members of the media’ must register with the Academy to be considered for the privilege of receiving press passes and Oscar Week credentials in order to attend and report on the event.

The 31st Awards in 1959 were the shortest televised Academy ceremony, with a running time of one hour and forty minutes, due to efforts of the producer to not go long. The event was hosted by an ensemble of a half dozen actors including David Niven. That night Niven ended up winning Best Actor making him the only host in Oscar history to have won an award during the same ceremony.  The Academy Awards are the oldest entertainment awards ceremony.

White text on a red and blue background with two white stripes, with two black and white portraits.

The Gemini 4, also known as the Gemini IV, was a NASA space mission which was completed by American astronauts in June 1965. Also, it was the first NASA operation in which ground control headquarters were located in the Houston Mission Control Center. The mission featured the first internationally broadcast spacewalk, as well as the first spacewalk attempted by an American. On June 3, 1965 James McDivitt and Edward White, the two crew members manning the spacecraft used for the mission, were rocketed into space. Interestingly enough, the space shuttled used for Gemini IV didn't have an official name. On the same day, Edward White did a spacewalk for over fifteen minutes. Although the astronauts conducted experiments and other activities during the course of the four day mission, White's accomplishment overshadowed anything else done during the course of the NASA operation.

Read more about the History of NASA buttons on the Busy Beaver blog.

White text outlined in black on a blue background with a piece of white wall that has a crack

The 1980s were marked by drug hysteria and high incarceration rates. Then President Ronald Reagan’s zero tolerance policy—dubbed The War on Drugs—was targeted especially towards users of crack cocaine, which in turn disproportionately impacted people of color and those impacted by poverty. 

Reagan’s anti-drug campaign was highly effective: in 1985 a poll revealed that only 2-6% of Americans saw drug abuse as a top concern. By 1989, however, that number shot up to 64%. Although subsequent presidents were outwardly more lax in their drug policies, heavy criminalization continued. By1997, there were over 400,000 nonviolent drug offenders in prison. As of 2023, public perception has largely shifted, and criminalization has been reduced significantly in favor of more treatment-based approaches.

Black text on a white background. 

The famous "I Have a Dream" speech was delivered by civil rights activist Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. on August 28, 1963 on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The crowd included over 250,000 civil rights supporters and the speech (and its title, as in this button) went on to become one of the most well-known and cited texts of the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. In it, King expounds upon a dream he has for a future in which Americans of all different backgrounds can live together in a spirit of equality and peace. 

"Morris" was and currently is again the spokescat for 9Lives brand cat food. Morris was conceived by the Chicago-based Leo Burnett advertising agency in 1969. The original Morris, a male orange tabby, was rescued by Bob Martwick, an animal talent scout, from the Humane Society in Hinsdale, Illinois, in 1968. Morris starred in over 50 commercials as well as in the movie Shamus with Burt Reynolds in 1973. In 1988, 9Lives launched the "Morris for President" ad campaign with another orange tabby who had assumed the role of Morris.

Black text on a white background with an image of a person wearing blue wearing a yellow mask.

In the 1890s, Willis C. Vajen of Indianapolis Industries invented the Vajen-Bader smoke helmet, designed to protect firefighters from inhaling smoke when they entered a burning building. The helmet was made of a chamois leather that was specially treated to be fire and water proof. The helmet was attached to a compression tank to aid in respiration and to keep the internal temperature of the helmet cool. Both the eye and ear pieces (diaphragms) were made from mica, enabling clear sight and sound for the firefighter. By 1897, the helmet was in use all over the world.

Red text on a white background with the outline of a man's head.

Mincemeat pie (or mince meat pie) is a sweet fruit-based pie that is traditionally served during the Christmas holiday season in United Kingdom. The combination of ingredients in mincemeat pie—typically, a mixture of minced meat, suet (fat), fruits, and spices like cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg—can be traced to the 13th Century, and are said to have been brought from the Middle East to Europe by crusaders. Though sweeter than their predecessors and no longer made with actual meat, mincemeat pie recipes still generally include suet. They remain a very popular holiday dessert in the UK.