Blue helmet with an orange logo over a white and orange crest. "Chicago" is on a white ribbon above the crest, while "Bears" is at the top of the crest. In between the text and helmet are blue stars. In the background is a green football field with numbers and markers. The rim is metallic. 

The Chicago Bears are a professional football team that plays in the National Football Conference (NFC) of the National Football League (NFL). The franchise began in 1919 and was known as the Decatur Staleys until 1922 when the team changed its name to the Chicago Bears. The Bears are considered one of the most successful football franchises with eight NFL championships and one Super Bowl win. 

Red text over a white background. "Physics" and "Nature" are curved along the top and bottom, while the rest of the text is centered and straight. 

Science is sometimes referenced as a hybrid between poetry and logic or intuition and mathematics. When creating definitions, principles, or laws they become statements of observed patterns that are put into words and equations. Poets exploit the flexibility of language to create new impressions that stretch the limits of words. Physicists who practice science may sometimes find themselves in similar situations. A physicist must prevent the flexibility of words from causing confusion. Owing to the important relationship between physics and poetry, the Society of Physics Students (SPS) used to distribute a lapel button that declared “PHYSICS IS THE POETRY OF NATURE”. 

Blue text over a tan/yellow background. At the bottom right is a black illustration of a dog with bloody paw prints, and at the top left is a red illustration of the front of a car. 

Karma is a concept found across Indian religions that is defined as the impact of one's intent and actions on their future, including reincarnated ones. Dogma, meanwhile, refers to the doctrine laid down by an authoritative body like a church. This is a humorous intellectual spin, then, on an unfortunate automobile accident, highlighting the power of the individual against the system.

Greyscale photograph of smiling Beatles members over a white background, surrounded by red text. 

In 1964, British rock group The Beatles were promoting the release of their feature film debut A Hard Days’ Night\. The marketing of the film included the creation of buttons like this one, meant to draw hype to the movie and encourage ticket sales.

Black text (except for "German" which is red) over a white background. Above the text is an illustration of a man's head wearing a green Bavarian hat.

“Kraut” is the German word for cabbage. During World War I and II, it was common for soldiers to refer to the Germans as “Krauts,” as a derogatory term. “Sour” is often used as a synonym for grumpy.

This play on words also references delicious sauerkraut (a combination of the German words for “sour” and “cabbage”). This dish came to Germany in the 1600s. It is a mixture of pickled cabbage. Did you know sauerkraut is a superfood? It is great for digestion, containing vitamin C, potassium, B6, iron and magnesium. The pickling process makes this food healthy, low-calorie and delicious! 
 

Photograph of Bobby in a black, green, and white striped shirt, with red and yellow text at the bottom. 

The Brady Bunch was an American sitcom which ran from 1969 to 1974. The series follows the blended Brady family as they learn to live under the same roof. The show remains both a pop cultural icon and a site of constant ridicule in its depiction of the American family.

Bobby Brady is the youngest son of the family. He is often picked on for being little but proves himself by saving the day in many episodes.

Illustration of a horse's head over a blue background, surrounded by text. A red and white ribbon with a lapel bar and cowboy hat charm is attached to the bottom of the button.

The Iowa State Fair began in 1854 and is the largest event in the state. It started in the city of Fairfield but moved to the capital city of Des Moines in 1886. The fair began as an agricultural event for Iowans to show horses and pigs. It has expanded in scope and size over the years, adding many food and beverage vendors and a range of attractions including amusement rides, concerts, tractor-pulling, dirt bike racing, rock walls, and mazes. 

Agriculture and animals remain central to the event, which hosts multiple horse and pony competitions. Horse competitions are judged on the horse's performance, the rider's performance, or a combination of both. English and Western styles of riding, horse pulling, miniature horses, and select breeds of horses are all categories of competition. Since the 1960s, the fair has also hosted a popular “Cowgirl Queen” horse contest. 

Red text on a blue and white background with dark blue and light orange ribbons attached. Red, white, and blue ribbons with metal horseshoe and horse face charm attached.

Since the mid 1600’s, Pennsylvania has held agricultural shows throughout the state, where farmers could assemble and share knowledge. In 1917, industry representatives chose Harrisburg as the location to hold an annual, statewide farm show. Since then, the Pennsylvania Farm Show has grown to include several exhibition halls, arenas, and an equine barn and ring. The show is meaningful to the people of the state as farming has always been one of Pennsylvania’s top industries. In January, 2024, 585,000 visitors attended the eight day show.

Illustration of a blue deer over a white/yellow background, surrounded by blue text and a blue rim. 

Johnson Smith & Company began in Chicago, Illinois in 1914 as a mail-order novelty and gag gift supplier, settling in Racine, Wisconsin in 1926. Johnson Smith & Co. or Johnson Smith Company sold an array of toys including pinback buttons with suggestive slogans meant as ice breakers.  Their 1929 catalogue touts, “These Buttons provide subjects for pleasant jokes and amusing conversations, and thus smooth the way to a more familiar acquaintance and cordial friendship. They are very wittily worded and quite unobjectionable. Wear one and see the effect.”

"Will you be my dear" exemplifies the playful and suggestive nature of 1930s humor, utilizing deer imagery to create a lighthearted approach to romance and flirtation. This period was marked by a cultural shift in humor, where double entendres and suggestive language became popular, particularly in male-dominated comedic contexts.

Black text on a white background with red and white checkerboard design around the rim

Jazz and blues musician Lucky Millinder (1910-1966) first recorded his song “Hello Bill” in 1946 to critical acclaim. Lucky could not read or write music and didn’t play any instruments, though this didn’t stop him from performing; Lucky had great showmanship and lent his musical taste to his accompanying bands.

Lucky’s band was one of the first racially integrated in the country and was composed of “mixed musicians” during the Southern Swing era of music. Lucky is quoted as having said, “[The time has come to] do away with the jim crow [sic] attitude of Negroes as well as whites,’ and had Italian, Armenian, Irish, Jewish, East Indian, and Black musicians in his bands.

In the 1940s, carnivals gave out checkered pin-back buttons as game prizes and souvenirs, many of which had funny phrases like “You’re the One” and “Jeepers Creepers” and also included titles of famous songs of the day, like “It Ain’t Gonna Rain No ‘Mo.” This “Hello Bill” button may be a variation of such buttons.