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The Badge Shop (1978-1983) was established in the Covent Garden area of London by sculptor Des Kay who hoped to tap into the button craze of the late 1960s. The shop sold vintage buttons, customizable buttons, and commercial buttons (known as badges in the United Kingdom) that specialized in primarily text-based slogan buttons promoting bands, social justice movements, pop culture commentaries and political opinions.

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Candid Camera was a television show from 1948 to the 1970s, and has been revived several times since then. It first began as The Candid Microphone on radio before coming to television. The show was all about practical jokes and getting people to do things on hidden camera before letting them in on the joke. Hosted by Allen Funt, he and many other celebrities would be placed in funny situations and would play a joke on that person. No one was immune to the practical joke. At the end of each joke, the person would be told, "Smile, You’re on Candid Camera." They would point toward the camera showing the person that they were just on television.

This show has been revised many times over with other guests and hosts including Peter Funt, son of Allen Funt, and co-host Mayim Bialik. It was shown on every broadcast channel and several cable channels. It has a large following on the web, and full episodes can be watched online.

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The Sisters of the Good Shepherd is an order of Catholic nuns that was established in Louisville, Kentucky in 1842. In that city the nuns ran a shelter for homeless and at-risk girls. They also provided vocational training for women in skills like sewing and stenography. The Sisters remain active in their mission to promote the welfare of women and girls, most recently by speaking out against human trafficking.

The original site of the convent at 8th and Madison no longer exists.

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The image of the boy with nose upturned along with the words press here for a punch in the nose is a joke and play on words. To press the button with a finger would be to punch the cartoon image in the nose, however, touching the button of a stranger uninvited may invite them to physically want to punch someone in the nose.

Creative House Productions Inc. originated in 1964 and was a design and manufacturing company based in Chicago, Illinois. It was 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.

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In 1932, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's newspaper, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, offered a five-week long giveaway to daily readers. "Prosperity Buttons" with serial numbers printed on them were delivered to subscribers, and each day winning numbers would be printed in the Post-Gazette, in news stories about the campaign and in the classified columns. The giveaway was intended to demonstrate confidence in the return of prosperity following the Great Depression. There was a weekly grand prize of $100 every Saturday, as well as $5, $10 and $25 daily prizes throughout the week, encouraging subscribers to read each daily paper and new subscribers to sign up for daily delivery of the Post-Gazette. 

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The now defunct Unicorn City Corporation was located at 55 Greenwich Street in New York City. The gift shop claimed to be purveyors of unicorn “gifts extraordinaire” and operated from 1976 until the company was permanently dissolved in 1993.

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The Parisian Novelty Company which was founded in Chicago, Illinois, in 1898. In 2008, the button portion of the Parisian Novelty Company was sold to the Matchless Group and renamed Matchless Parisian Novelty, Inc.

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Tweeduroy was a clothing line for boys by Hockmeyer Brothers, Inc., New York. Advertisements described it as the “Aristocrat of Corduroys”  known for “its beauty of pattern, rich coloring, lustrous finish and remarkable durability.” Tweeduroy was marketed as the suit for the active outdoor boy with suits made of cotton corduroy which was stronger than wool tweeds.