White text on a red background

IGA stands for Independent Grocers Alliance,  a franchise of independent retail stores and supermarkets. Their headquarters are located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. IGA was founded in 1926 by 100 independent retailers into one single marketing system led by J. Frank Grimes. The company used a slogan, "Hometown Proud Supermarkets". This badge was used to promote events and charity fundraising efforts that benefited the stores' communities. IGA has member stores in the United States, Canada, Australia, and the Philippines.

Illustration of a bulldog smoking a cigar on a light brown background wearing a white ribbon with red text on it and brown text

The 748 aircraft (referenced here on the ribbon) was designed and first built by Avro, a British manufacturer, in the late 1950s. It was the last aircraft Avro designed before the company merged with another producer, Hawker Siddeley. Following the merger, the aircraft was known as the HS 748. The HS 748 marked a shift away from British military aircraft development and a focus on developing for the civilian market. Though designed for civilian operators—and used by many over the past several decades—the Australian military invested in several HS 748 aircrafts which they used for a variety of training and transport uses. 

The expression "Top Dog" is a common nickname for fighter pilots who excel at dog fighting: close range aerial fighter aircraft battle. In addition, seasoned air combat pilots were sometimes referred to as "bulldogs" for their toughness and tenacity. The combination of "Top Dog" and a bulldog image on this button are likely a reference to the manufacturer's history of developing military aircraft.

Black and red text on a white illustration of paper nailed to brown wood.

This button is meant to be a joke about streaking: the act of running naked through a public place as a prank, dare, or act of protest. It usually involves running quickly to avoid being caught, which also reflects the original meaning of the word before it became associated with nudity. Streaking was an established tradition on some college campuses by the mid-1960s. The current record for the largest group of people streaking was established at the University of Georgia in 1974 with 1,543 simultaneous streakers.

Read more about the History of Streaking Buttons on the Busy Beaver blog.

Black text and stripes on a yellow background

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White horseshoe U shape on a blue background

The Colts are a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1984 and are now based out of Indianapolis. The team name was a nod to Baltimore's historic relationship to horse racing and breeding: the city has been home to the Preakness Stakes, a premier thoroughbred horse racing event and the second jewel of the famous Triple Crown championship series, since 1873. The horseshoe seen here is based on the 1961-1978 team logo.

Red text on a white stripe over a blue background

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Green illustration of two people playing basketball and green text on a white background

Most likely worn by onlookers, this basketball-themed souvenir was designed in support of college basketball.

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Illustration of a human figure outlined in yellow on a black background with yellow text along the bottom

The GCTC or Great Canadian Theater Company began at Carleton University in August 1975 by a group of professors and graduate students.  The founders (Robin Matthews, Larry McDonald, Bill Law, Greg Reid, and Lois Shannon) wanted a theater company that made Canadian based plays that had a social and political theme.

By the early 2000's, the GCTC had outgrown its former building and with a $2.5 million donation from the late Irving Greenberg estate, the GCTC relocated and built a new building that was completed in 2007. Renamed the Irving Greenberg Theater Centre, the new building included 262 seats and two lobbies.

Black text and illustration of an old man with a red cap, blue jacket and brown shirt on a white background

Coots characters are caricatures of elderly men designed by Mike Dowdall of Westland Giftware. Dowdall, an artist, wrote several books examining human behavior in cartoon form, such as Humans and Biddys. The 2004 book Coots featured the characters in various activities. Coots characters have been issued as collectible figurines.

Illustration of the side view of a person standing with their hands in the pockets of red pants and wearing yellow clogs, a yellow shirt and a red hat.

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