Black text on a white background. The image displays a black rocket with a white heart that has wings. 

Love and Rockets was a band that was very popular in the 1980s. Members included Daniel Ash on guitar and lead vocals, David J on bass guitar and vocals, and Kevin Haskins on drums. Kevin and David J are brothers, and they met Daniel in kindergarten. They started a band as teenagers in their hometown of Northampton, England. For a few short years from the late 1970s to 1983, they formed a band called Bauhaus. After 1983, they became Love and Rockets, and debuted their first album in Great Britain in 1985, though it did not arrive in the US until after the release of their second album, “Express”, which reached 72 on the US charts. It wasn’t until their fourth self-titled album in 1989 that the band achieved success, when their single “So Alive” hit number three on the Billboard’s singles charts and the video played frequently on MTV. They released seven albums before breaking up in 1999 and reformed briefly in 2007 for a few live shows, before splitting again in 2009.

Black and white photograph of a dog on a white background with blue text and blue banner with white text

Bo is the pet dog of the Obama family. He is a neutered, male Portuguese Water Dog, and joined the first family in 2008. Bo was a gift to the Obama family from Senator Kennedy and was chosen largely because his breed is hypoallergenic. This button was used to add an emotional appeal to Obama's 2012 campaign for reelection. The presence of a dog in the White House helped to make Obama seem relatable and helped him to gain publicity concerning non-political issues.

Fort Pitt Beer is printed on the front of the button in blue text over a white background with a silver border; a trade council emblem and an I.P.E.U. emblem appear in silver text at the top and bottom, respectively. 

Fort Pitt Brewing Company was a brewery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1906 until 1957. The company had manufacturing plants in Sharpsburg and Jeannette, PA. In 2014, the Fort Pitt Brewing imprint was revived by the Duquesne Brewing Company.

Turquoise text on a white background with purple lines

This button is in support of the non-profit organization Planned Parenthood Federation of America and its campaign for pro-choice rights for women.  The organization was founded in Brooklyn, New York and works towards reproductive rights among women and is now headquartered in Washington, D.C.

Black text on a yellow background with an illustration of a cat busting out of an easter egg in the middle

A button from the 1983 White House Easter Egg Roll, using the artwork from the program covers. The Reagan Administration appears to be the first to give out souvenir buttons for the event, as well as hand-painted wooden eggs. Also the first administration that used cartoon and popular characters on the souvenirs; the previous year was Snoopy.  Came in multiple colors--purple, green, yellow, orange, hot pink, and blue.

An adult white tiger with black stripes lies on a brown floor before a black background. Superimposed over the image is red text.

"Chandar" was a rare white, blue-eyed Bengal tiger acquired by the Milwaukee County Zoo in 1984. Chandar, along with his companion, Dadra, a typically orange and black Bengal tiger with yellow eyes, were acquired together. Due to Chandar's unique coloring his residence at the zoo was widely marketed in promotional materials such as this button. In addition, there was a "Chandar Club" for children aged 7 to 13. Chandar died of pancreatitis in 1988.

Pink and green text on a white background with an illustration of miss piggy

Souvenir button from the 1984 White House Egg Roll. Artwork is taken partially from the program cover (which is "The Muppets at Easter Time"), featuring Miss Piggy exclusively, instead of the four Muppets and one Fraggle Rock character that the program cover and bag included, done by Guy & Brad Gilchrist.  The event was canceled due to rain.

Red, green, yellow, blue and white striped background with red text on the center white stripe

This button originally came with ribbons and a football charm.

Carnegie Mellon University (Carnegie Mellon or CMU, and formerly known as Carnegie Tech) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania founded in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie. The university started as Carnegie Technical Schools and changed its name to Carnegie Institute of Technology and began granting four-year degrees in 1912. In 1967, the Carnegie Institute of Technology merged with the Mellon Institute of Industrial Research and formed the Carnegie Mellon University as known today.

The background is split horizontally between yellow (top) and navy blue (bottom). Text straddles both sides and is itself split into the alternating color scheme: navy blue (top) and yellow (bottom).

The United States Naval Academy (USNA, or more commonly known as "Navy," especially in the context of sporting events) is located in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established in 1845 as the nation's service academy to train officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps.

Black text over a black and yellow smiley face with a black outer edge on a yellow background.   

The classic yellow smiley face is comprised of a yellow circle, two black dots for eyes, and a black arc ending in serifs for a mouth. It was designed in 1963 by commercial artist, Harvey Ross Ball. Ball was commissioned by The State Mutual Life Insurance Company to create a happy face to raise the morale of their employees. His version was created in 10 minutes. The design was printed onto more than 50 million buttons. Neither Ball nor the company copyrighted this smiley, so it was continually used by other businesses in their promotions.
The design and concept is quite simple and was definitely used before Ball’s 1963 version. However, his has become the most iconic. Variations have been used for advertising campaigns and in popular culture ever since.

The University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, is a public state university whose colors are black and gold.