Dark blue sailboat on a light blue background with dark blue text between two dark blue lines around the rim and small dark blue text under the sailboat

Nowadays a trip from New York City to Albany, New York will take just about an hour by plane, or three hours by train. But until the mid-1800s, you were in for a 24-hour boat ride aboard the Hudson River sloop! The sloop, a type of sailboat, transported passengers, cargo, and livestock along the Hudson River from New York’s days as a Dutch colony until the widespread adoption of the steamboat in the 1820s. In the 1960s, folk singer and environmental activist Peter Seeger and his wife, Toshi, began raising funds for a full-size replica of the sloop Clearwater, which launched from South Bristol, Maine, in 1969. Ever since, Clearwater has served as a mascot for cleaning up the Hudson and hosts local students for field trips. As Seeger told the New York Times in 1969, “Until people start to love their river, it’s going to be a sewer.”

Yellow background with a brown illustration of a man in a suit riding a bicycle overlayed by light brown filigree in the center of the button; to the right of the primary illustration is a small circle with brown bicycle on a yellow background in the center and white text on a brown background around the rim

New Belgium Brewing’s story began in June 1988, when co-founders Kim Jordan and Jeff Lebesch took a life-changing bike trip through Belgium. Inspired by the country’s rich brewing traditions, they returned home to Fort Collins, Colorado, eager to start crafting their own beer. By 1991, Jordan and Lebesch had transformed their basement into a small brewery. That June, they launched test batches of two brews nicknamed “Fat Tire” and “Abbey,” which later debuted at the Colorado Brewers’ Festival. Just two years later, their “Abbey Ale” won a gold medal in the Specialty Category at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver.

As the brewery grew, so did its identity and values. In 1999, New Belgium established a tradition of gifting every employee a custom cruiser bike on their one-year anniversary as a nod to the company’s origins.

For much of the brewery’s history, local watercolor artist—and Kim Jordan’s neighbor—Ann Fitch created the artwork featured on New Belgium’s bottle labels. Her illustrations also inspired the bicycle-themed logo shown on this button. However, in 2013, the company opted for revamped designs with hopes of attracting newer generations of beer drinkers, though Fitch is still largely credited for the success of their early branding.

As of 2025, the company’s slogan sums it up best: “We were born on a bike. The rest is history.”

Illustration of a yellow and green ornate entryway with an open door surrounded by foliage in the center surrounded by black text on a light blue background around the rim

Rally Day is an annual event observed by some Protestant congregations marking the start of the church calendar. Rally day is also commonly regarded as a day to emphasize Christian education for children and other church participants, often through Sunday School. 

The phrase, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet" is an abbreviation of Psalm 119:105, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path". It refers to the teachings of Christ being a guide for the faithful to conduct their lives. 

White text in a black box on a white background, with an illustration of a red apple below.

On April 1, 1976, Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne co-founded the Apple Computer Company, later renamed Apple Inc., a major corporation in Silicon Valley, California. "The two Steves" had been developing computer technologies since 1971 and famously conducted their early operations in Jobs' childhood home. Apple was catalytic in expanding computer usage beyond commercial businesses. By 1984, Apple was the main competitor of established computer company IBM, and the two companies raced to release personal computers into the market. One of Apple's most famous lines of computer models is the "Macintosh," referring to the McIntosh apple.

The simple font and design of the Apple logo, along with parallels with the naming conventions of iPods and iPhones, is reminiscent of 2000s Apple marketing and branding. Apple devices are often designed to be sleek and user-friendly, perhaps suggesting that Apple Inc. simply "gets" what users really want.

Illustration of a blue and white box of tissues on red background.

Kleenex Brand tissues have a long history, originally developed by parent company Kimberly-Clark for a surprising purpose: as filters inside soldiers’ gas masks during World War I! The innovative, crepe-like paper proved so useful that, after the war, Kimberly-Clark began incorporating it into its consumer products. In the early 1920s, it was used in menstrual pads branded as Kotex. In 1924, a thinner and softer version of the material was introduced specifically as a makeup remover. It wasn't until 1929, in response to reports that Kleenex was being used in place of a handkerchief, that the brand evolved into its now familiar form. 

Kleenex packaging has changed repeatedly over the decades to reflect changing trends and new features of the product; the one seen on this button is representative of Kleenex in 1964. 

See the Busy Button Museum’s other Kleenex packaging buttons from 1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1960, and 1968. 

Illustration of a bald child in a yellow and black shirt running with a kite trailing behind him in front of an orange background with black text. 

Good grief! Charlie Brown is a fictional character in Charles M. Schulz's daily comic strip Peanuts which debuted in 1950 and later as a TV show in 1965. Known as a “lovable loser” he became a widely recognized cartoon character that is relatable to all ages. Charlie Brown lacks self-confidence and goes through pessimistic and optimistic days, representing the average person and what many people go through.

One recurring challenge that Charlie Brown faces on several occasions is his attempt to fly a kite. A certain tree so often swallows up his kite, he names it the Kite-Eating Tree in a comic strip published on March 14, 1965. There is a published collection of comics from 1959 and 1960 titled Go Fly a Kite, Charlie Brown! and the Charles M. Schulz Museum even has an exhibit dedicated to Charlie Brown's many Kite-Flying Foibles. Although Charlie Brown's attempts to fly a kite are not exemplars of success, he is often depicted with determination to try again.

White and Orange text on a black background

WAAF 107.3 FM was a radio station broadcasting to the greater Boston area. While WAAF formally began in 1961 as an easy-listening station, it transitioned to hard, melodic rock in 1970 and retained that identify for the rest of its existence. The station prominently played artists like Guns n' Roses, Metallica, Red Hot Chilli Pepper, and Motley Crue, as well as local bands. WAAF had a rivalry with fellow Boston station WBCN due to their similar sounds and a feud surrounding which station would be first to play an embargoed Aerosmith album Nine Lives. WAFF went off the air in 2020 following a sale by the company owning the station. Since that time the 107.3 frequency has become a Christian music station. 

Illustration of a blue-skinned character wearing a white hat, shirt and shoes and swinging a tennis racket. Black text on a yellow background.

Smurfs are woodland creatures created by Belgian writer and illustrator Pierre “Peyo” Culliford (1926-1992). First introduced in the comic series Johan and Peewit in 1958, the Smurfs quickly gained popularity, earning their own series in 1959 and a Belgian animated show that aired from 1961 to 1967. The Smurfs' big breakthrough came with their introduction to the American audience through the Hanna-Barbera cartoon Smurfs, which ran from 1981 to 1990 and firmly established the lovable blue characters in American pop culture. This particular button offers a playful pun. In tennis, "love" indicates a score of zero points, so "love two" means a score of 0-2 or 2-0, with the first number representing the serving player's score. The Smurf shown here is unnamed, as the total number of Smurf characters across entertainment platforms remains unknown. 

Green text on a white background

"You Belong in the Zoo" is a 1978 song with lyrics written and music composed by Mel Hall for the San Diego Zoo. The song was used in commercials and the slogan was used for promotional materials and advertisements. 

Illustration of a blue-skinned character with a white hat and yellow sweater wearing orange skis. Blue and white background with black text. 

The Smurfs, small blue elf-like characters, were created in 1958 by Belgian cartoonist Pierre “Peyo” Culliford (1926-1992). They debuted in the comic strip Johan and Peewit before gaining popularity in their own series. Each Smurf is named after their main trait or role—such as Papa Smurf, Brainy Smurf, or Smurfette. Countless Smurf characters were created. They live in mushroom-shaped houses in a village, with adventures often involving escaping the evil wizard Gargamel and his cat Azrael. The Smurfs gained worldwide fame through comics, toys, and especially the 1980s Hanna-Barbera animated TV series.

The history of sports in the Smurf universe primarily begins with a special episode titled "The Smurfs' Greatest Sports," where Smurfette, a well-loved character, hosts the first Smurfic Games. These games draw inspiration from ancient Greek traditions, including events like the Smurf-a-thon and Smurfberry Toss. The lore of the original Smurfic Games also includes the Downhill Smurfer, which depicts a Smurf skiing downhill in traditional gear, such as vintage ski poles called alpenstocks or skistavs. Due to the large number of unique Smurf characters, individual identities are often unrecognizable.