White button with Blue text. 

The now defunct Wang Laboratories Corporation was part of the so-called Massachusetts Miracle of the 1980s.  It, along with Apollo Computer, Data General, and Digital Equipment Corporation, help the Commonwealth's rebound from two generations of de-industrialization and unemployment, especially in the cities along the Merrimack River.  Wang was found by Dr. An Wang in Cambridge, Massachusetts during 1951.  The headquarters moved north to Tewksbury in the 1960s and finally to Lowell in the 1970s, where it remained until 1997.  

The products Wang made varied from decade to decade.  In the 1950s, they may typesetters.  In the 1960s, they made calculators.  In the 1970s, they were creating word processors and experimenting with "minicomputers," basically a mainframe.  By 1977, Wang had released the Wang VS, a minicomputer aimed at business users and data processors.  However, by the 1980s, personal computers, rather than word processors and minicomputers, were taking over the market.  Wang fell on hard times and declared bankruptcy in 1992.  After bankruptcy, the company, now named Wang Global, focused on what it called network services.  In 1999, Wang Global was sold to a Netherlands-based company.  The current owner of the VS line of minicomputers serviced the pre-bankruptcy Wang VSes until the end of 2014.  

An illustration of a red, yellow, blue, and green bird perched on a tree branch next to two red flowers. More trees and branches are behind and below the bird. There is a blue body of water, white mountains, and clear blue sky in the background. 

The image on this button was created by artist Larry Smith. Smith received a Master of Applied Art and Design from Montana State University in 1969. In 1980, he founded Designer Graphics Chula Vista.  It produced greeting cards, posters, stationary gifts, and educational toys and craft items. Among the company’s clients was the San Diego Zoo. As the company was sold in 1992, this button was likely produced between the years 1980 and 1992.  

Image of a pig holding an ice cream cone.  Yellow background with blue border. 

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Black text on a yellow background.

A badge worn by chronic naggers and complainers to explain that they are allowed to bitch.

Yellow smiley face with a frown and tongue sticking out of it's mouth and black text underneath.

This is a variation of the classic yellow smiley face that is comprised of a yellow circle, two black dots for eyes and a black arc ending in serifs for a mouth. It  was designed in 1963 by by commercial artist, Harvey Ross Ball. Ball was commissioned by The State Mutual Life Insurance Company to create a happy face to raise the morale of their employees. His version was created in 10 minutes. The design was printed onto more than 50 million buttons. Neither Ball nor the company copyrighted this smiley, so it was continually used by other businesses in their promotions. 

The design and concept is quite simple and was definitely used before Ball’s 1963 version. However his has become the most iconic. Variations have been used for advertising campaigns and in popular culture ever since.

White text on a pinkish purple background.  

Some people just shouldn't be in charge.

Pink wrap around text on a black background. In the middle, is a green, and presumably dead, armadillo laying on its back with tail and feet pointed straight up in the air. The armadillo is placed on a pink background with a black slash running across its body.

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 White text that becomes light blue (indicating water) with a spigot at the end of the S with red text below it on a dark blue background.

This button was created by the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) of Southern California to promote the conservation of water. Headquartered in Los Angeles, MWD was created in 1928 by the California legislature to build and operate the Colorado River Aqueduct in order to bring water to the expanding population of southern California. Today, MWD owns and operates an extensive water storage and delivery system and provides water to over 19 million people. It is the largest distributor of drinking water in the United States.

Orange text on a black background.

The button was made by Russ Berrie and Company, founded by Russ Berrie in 1963. They specialized in baby and juvenile products and was indeed incredibly successful. The button was produced to elicit humor. The company also manufactured sold a wide variety of gift items that included stuffed animals, mugs, picture frames, and various accessories. Berrie believed their products needed to change according to consumer needs, and this ideology is the key to success.They expanded internationally and owned factories in Taiwan, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, France, and other countries. However Russ Berrie and Company faced financial difficulties in 2005, and the majority of its stake was sold to Prentice Capital Management. After the deal, Prentice Capital Management will become the largest shareholder of Russ Berrie and Company. 

A male cartoon character is skiing awkwardly down a mountain.  The background is white with the cartoonist name “Jim Benton” written in black text above the words “mr. skier”, which is located at the bottom in bold black lower case letters.

Award winning American cartoonist, artist and author, Jim Benton, first gained success in the 1980’s with licensing his cartoon “Misters” series. The comic drawings display the ineptness of the Everyman in various situations. With the success of the “Misters,” he created a series with the female version of the character, the “Ms.” Recently, he authored the Franny K. Stein and Dear Dumb Diary book series.