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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Sealtest Dairy was a division of the National Dairy Products Corporation that manufactured dairy products throughout the United States.The Sealtest brand was ultimately acquired from Kraft (along with Breyers) in 1993 by Unilever, which retains the rights to the brand. Sealtest milk products are currently produced under the Good Humor-Breyers subsidiary of Unilever. Unfortunately, Sealtest ice cream products have been discontinued. Sealtest at one time had an ice cream parlor in Walt Disney World and also sponsored a pavilion at the 1939 World’s Fair in New York. 

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The Gremlin was manufactured by American Motors Corporation from 1970-1978. It was a small hatchback advertised as an American-built car that could stand up to the German and Japanese cars that were taking over the market. The Gremlin was well-received upon its release and was eventually succeeded by the AMC Spirit in 1979.

The Gremlin logo of the cartoon imp was chosen because, like the design of the automobile, it was different. It was also meant to counteract negative connotations of gremlins as mischievous and meddling. The cute logo and affordable car design sold well to a younger demographic, who made up the majority of buyers during the eight years that the car was manufactured.

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Creative House Productions Inc. originated in 1964 and were responsible for the creation of many promotional comic pins found in gumball machines and Cracker Jack boxes. Creative House eventually created the brand PinMart, which became the first website to sell lapel pins. PinMart eventually outgrew its parent company and bought Creative House in 2008.