Black text and black silhouette of a mustachioed man wearing a bowler hat on a green background

Color illustration of Paddington Bear in a blue coat, red hat, and yellow rain boots. The words "IHI BON" are listed on the red hat in capital white letters. The words "I Met Paddington Bear" are listed on the top of button in capital blue letters. Words and illustration are over a white background. 

Paddington Bear is a fictional character from a series of more than twenty books written by Michael Bond and illustrated by Peggy Fortnum. The first book debuted on October 13, 1958. The premise behind the books is that an anthropomorphized bear was discovered in Paddington Station, London, by the human Brown family. The family subsequently adopted him and named him Paddington Brown. The character was inspired by a teddy bear that the author purchased near Paddington Station and gifted to his wife in 1956.

Purplish-blue background with white bubble text at the bottom and an illustration of an open book in white and red with a rainbow and blue stars across the top edge and colorful swirls and stars emanating from the book.

Book It! is a children’s reading program that began in 1984. It was created by a former Pizza Hut president who was motivated by President Reagan’s push to get corporations involved in education and his own son’s struggles with reading. The program encourages children to read by rewarding their accomplishments with award certificates and pizza from Pizza Hut restaurants. It is run every year from October to March through elementary schools and the reading goals are established by teachers for their students individually.

The original Book It! button debuted in 1985.

Purplish-blue background with white bubble text at the bottom and an illustration of an open book in white with a rainbow and yellow stars across the top edge.

Book It! is a children’s reading program that began in 1984. It was created by a former Pizza Hut president who was motivated by President Reagan’s push to get corporations involved in education and his own son’s struggles with reading. The program encourages children to read by rewarding their accomplishments with award certificates and pizza from Pizza Hut restaurants. It is run every year from October to March through elementary schools and the reading goals are established by teachers for their students individually. 

This Book It! button debuted in 1985.

A photo of a man in profile appears at the center of the button. Above him is one line of blue text. Below him is larger text in gold (with a small caption in Japanese below) that is framed on either side by a laurel wreath in dark blue. 

Over the Top is a 1987 film starring Sylvester Stallone, who also co-wrote the script. The film's plot centers around a long-haul trucker named Lincoln Hawk (Stallone) who attempts to put his life in order and also reconnect with his estranged son by competing in arm-wrestling competitions. 

This button is a color photograph of a woman sitting on the lap of a man who is dressed in a Santa Claus suit and is wearing gold neck chains. The woman is kissing the man on the forehead.

This button shows First Lady Nancy Reagan sitting on the lap of actor Mr. T at the White House on December 12, 1983. Mr. T had been invited to help unveil the White House's annual Christmas decorations. His TV show "The A-Team"  had premiered that year, and both he and Nancy Reagan were known at the time for their efforts to help kids "say no" to drugs.

Yellow text on blue background. Red trimmed yellow triangle with green dagger in the middle located in the center of button. Two green hands curled into fists with thumbs pointing outwards located within triangle on each side of the dagger.

The Mysteries of Myra was a 1916 cliffhanger movie serial, starring Howard Estabrook and Jean Sothern, that featured a mixture of action, intrigue, magic, spiritualism, monsters and zombies. It was allegedly founded upon "the efforts of modern science penetrating the mysteries of our future life."  The silent film series was widely popular and was shown across the U.S. Today, the entire serial is considered lost, with only incomplete footage from three episodes conserved in the Library of Congress.

White text on a black background

My So Called Life was a television show that aired on ABC from August 25, 1994 to January 26, 1995. The show, set in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, follows high schooler Angela Chase, played by Claire Danes, through the emotional trials and angst of being a teenager. The show was praised for its portrayal of adolescence and depiction of social issues of the 1990's, including homophobia, teenage alcoholism, homelessness, adultery, school violence, censorship, and drug use. While the show was critically acclaimed it was canceled after one season because of low ratings.

The quote, "We had a time!", refers to a line in the pilot episode. Angela and her new best friend Rayanne try to get into a club but are denied access. While waiting in the parking lot of the club there is a confrontation when Angela and Rayanne are hit on by some older guys. The girls end up being driven home by a police officer. The next day at school Rayanne, bragging about their escapade, claims "We had a time!"

Illustration of earth with yellow and white text on top

Disney's release of the live-action film My Favorite Martian (loosely based on the 1960s television show) was heavily advertised in commercials, posters, and buttons. The movie, which was released on February 12, 1999 was about a newscaster looking for the scoop of a lifetime when he discovers and befriends an alien. Though the film starred big names like Jeff Daniels, Christopher Lloyd, and Daryl Hannah, it was a box office dud and is now largely forgotten.

Illustration of Mr. Cogswell on a green and yellow background

The Jetsons is an animated futuristic television comedy produced by Hanna-Barbera and was first broadcast in prime-time on ABC in 1962. Mr. Cogswell, portrayed here, was a character voiced by Daws Butler on the show. He was a big rival of the bombastic boss of the protagonist George Jeston, Cosmo Spacely, who owns Spacely Space Sprockets. "Ready to beg?" was Mr. Cogswell's tagline.