Cartoon illustration of a sheepish-looking brown squirrel with large buck teeth standing in front of a two small piles of acorns stashed in a leafy tree

The phrase on this button is a play on "get it together", meaning making a positive decision or impact on one's life. The wearer is implied to have made positive strides in life but is still struggling in spite of that. The squirrel evokes the tendency for squirrels to forget where they've hidden caches of nuts.

Dark green and red text on a light green background with an illustration of a man, yelping and rising off a chair with a tack on it, in the center

According to John Pollack, the 1995 O. Henry Pun-Off World Champion, "The most common type of pun is the humorous use of a word in such a way that because of its sound, you can interpret it in more than one way." “Call Me Tack, I’m Sharp” is a pun “poking” fun (pun-intended!) on the word “sharp,” also meaning “smart.” Puns and wordplay have a long history of use, notably with Shakespeare in the 18th century (Shakespeare is known to have used over 3,000 puns across all of his plays!). The exact date of the first pun used is lost to time, but scholars think puns can be traced as far back as the 8th century BC.

Punning can be seen throughout the classic epic of Gilgamesh. In Tablets 11 and 12, when Utnapishtim tells the people that they will have a bountiful harvest full of bread and wheat, he is making a cruel pun relating to their fate; in Akkadian, the ancient language in which Gilgamesh was written, the word for “bread” is nearly identical to the word for “darkness,” while the word for “wheat” is nearly identical to the word for “misfortune.”

According to Pollack, puns enable us “to pack more meaning, or more layers of meaning, into fewer words [and] to convey complex ideas.”

Light green background, dark green and red text, and an illustration of a smiling anthropomorphic pickle in the center

According to John Pollack, the 1995 O. Henry Pun-Off World Champion, "the most common type of pun is the humorous use of a word in such a way that because of its sound, you can interpret it in more than one way." "Call Me Pickle, I’m A Dilly" is a pun on a type of pickle, with the word "dilly" also meaning "outstanding." Puns and wordplay have a long history of use, notably with Shakespeare in the 18th century (Shakespeare is known to have used over 3,000 puns across all of his plays!). The exact date of the first pun used is lost to time, but scholars think puns can be traced as far back as the 8th century BC.

Punning can be seen throughout the classic epic of Gilgamesh. In Tablets 11 and 12, when Utnapishtim tells the people that they will have a bountiful harvest full of bread and wheat, he is making a cruel pun relating to their fate; in Akkadian, the ancient language in which Gilgamesh was written, the word for "bread" is nearly identical to the word for "darkness," while the word for "wheat" is nearly identical to the word for "misfortune."

According to Pollack, puns enable us “to pack more meaning, or more layers of meaning, into fewer words [and] to convey complex ideas.”

Dark blue and teal text, and illustrations of a wheelbarrow filled with junk, a large iron appliance, and a hand truck on an off-white background in the center; teal with off-white text on the top and bottom

Scrap Iron and Junk Handlers Union Local 20467 was a workers union based in Chicago. In 1957, the union changed its name to the Waste Materials Handlers Union Local 20467.

This union is best known as having once employed Jack Ruby, the man who shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald, the suspected killer in the assassination of John F. Kennedy. 

Black text on a yellow background

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Yellow-gold crest on a red background with red text on the crest

The Carnival of Roses was a rose-themed parade first held in 1896. The 1901 event that this button refers to was the second Carnival of Roses, held to honor a visit to San Jose by President McKinnley. The parade took place in the Alameda, a now historic district of the city. Another Carnival was held in 1910m and again in 1926 under the new name "Fiesta de la Rosas" in honor of San Jose's Spanish heritage. The last Fiestas de la Rosas was held in 1969. In 2008, a similar parade tradition, "The Rose, White and Blue," began, and continues be be held, as of 2024. 

Blue text on a white background in the center with two oval patches of blue on the sides

“Behind every great man is a woman” is a phrase oft quoted historically. Originating in the 1990s, it comes from the French phrase, “cherchez la femme,” meaning “seek the woman,” and was coined by Alexandre Dumas in his novel, “Les Mohicans de Paris.” According to this phrase, all great men of influence and power are “backed” by women who are hidden from public view. The phrase recognizes the often under-acknowledged contributions of women who supported men in their professional and personal lives. Historically, this may have been a step in the right direction towards recognizing women’s vast and important contributions to society, though in more recent years it has come to imply that women exist solely in the background, relegated to a supporting role.

This button, “ Behind every good woman is herself,” recognizes a woman’s agency and accomplishments separate from men. This modern phrase celebrates women and their active participation in their own successes.

White art nouveau-style text on a red background

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Yellow and dark blue background with white and green text and a dark blue illustration of an eye and eyebrow on the top

George L. Schneider was a German immigrant and prominent optometrist in the Berkley area during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He served on many civic organizations in Berkley including the City Planning Commission and Downtown Association. 

Schneider also served as chair of the California State Association of Optometrists, as President of the California Association of Optometrists, and President of the American Optical Association (AOA). He made significant impacts in these roles, and his overhaul of the AOA’s governance rules have persisted for over a century. 

This button advertises the new location for Schneider’s practice, which was located in the Hotel Shattuck building.

Color illustration of a nature scene with trees, mountains, and a small body of water. A man in the background holds an axe above his head, as if about to chop down a tree. A large, dark brown animal is leaping toward the viewer in the foreground. 

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