Silver profile of Mao Zedong over red background. 

The button was worn during the Cultural Revolution, a social movement spearheaded by Chairman Mao Ze-Dong. The movement took place between 1966 - 1976. The purpose was to instill Communist ideologies and remove capitalism and traditional Chinese culture from society. The Cultural Revolution quickly escalated and students formed a paramilitary group called the Red Guards. They attacked intellectuals such as teacher, professors, scientists; and even the elderly members of their family for not sharing the same views. The Cultural Revolution was a period of chaos and devastated  China intellectually and economically.

The text on the center of the backside reads "Long live Chairman Mao." The words are in Mao's own hand-written calligraphy. The words on the bottom left reads "China," and the bottom right reads "Shanghai."

Black text above descending horizontal orange, red, and blue stripes over white background. 

United Airlines' "You're the Boss" ad campaign was used during 1976-77 to attract business travelers. Leading up to this campaign, the company researched its customers and their needs and found that business travelers made up around 50% of them. As a result of this research they expanded carry-on luggage space and emphasized food and drink quality.  

United Air Lines was formed with the merger of Boeing Air Transport, National Air Transport, Varney Airlines and Pacific Air Transport in the 1930s. United is the world's largest airline when measured by number of destinations served (as of 2014).

Three curved yellow shapes under blue and red text over white background. 

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Moping guy, who definitely has troubles as well as an arrow through his head, below yellow text over blue and white background. 

Topps, a company that is best known for sports memorabilia, produced "Wise Guy" pins during the 1960s that featured  satire/parody for novelty and humor.

Black text over white background. 

"You can run, but you can't hide" is a saying attributed to the US heavyweight boxer Joe Louis, spoken on 19 June 1946. Joe Louis and Billy Conn were about to face each other in a title fight when Louis declared the famous phrase. Since that time, the phrase has been used in movies, entertainment, and conversationally.

Scattered black and red 'YES's over yellow background. 

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Mouse holding a prezel below German green text over white background. 

This button is a teaching tool for the German language. The button's text "Wie Geht's?" translates to "How are you?". Along with language, this button illustrates German history of clothing (the mouses' green jumper called Lederhosen) and cuisine (the pretzel). Until the 19th century in Southern Germany, young boys below the age of sixteen would wear Lederhosen's with straps, similar to the mouse. The exact origin of the pretzel is unknown, however, the first recorded documentation was found on a German baker's guild crest from 1111C.E. The Lederhosen and pretzel continue to be apart of modern day German culture.

Gnarly wave under red text over ocean-blue background. 

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Red text encircled by blue and white checkered border over white background. 

“Show me where to get a drink” implies the question “would you like to get a drink with me?” in a forward manner. It is one of a series of suggestive novelty buttons issued by Johnson Smith & Company in the 1930s. The buttons in this series all share the visual features of blue and white alternating rectangles around the perimeter of the button with red sans serif font boasting flirty expressions. The frivolous and fun nature of these buttons and other novelty goods produced in the 1920s and 1930s was purported by Johnson Smith & Co. as “provid[ing] an escape for people wracked with economic struggle brought on by WWI and the Great Depression” (Johnson Smith Company, LinkedIn).

Johnson Smith & Co. originated in 1914 as a novelty item mail-order company based in Chicago, IL. The company later moved to Racine, WI, Detroit, MI, and ultimately, Bradenton, FL. Though their website is now defunct, it was active as of 2012. Johnson Smith & Co. often advertised in print media aimed at young adults such as Action Comics, Boys’ Life, Popular Mechanics, and MAD. These ads and larger catalogs were influential in the development of American graphic design.

Plump salesman with a briefcase of samples below black text over white background. 

Hal Hoffman was an editorial cartoonist for the New York Evening Journal.  Hoffman's illustrations were sometime harsh social commentary, like this syndicated 1914 illustration featured in the Wilmette, Illinois's Lake Shore News about poverty and children not receiving holiday gifts.