Illustration of two hands shaking. Dark blue background and gold text. Green drawing of leaves on left, white and gold book below, cornucopia in black and white on right. 

The letters stand for "Modern Brotherhood of America, Fraternal Beneficiary Society," which was a society organized and incorporated in the state of Iowa during the 1890s. it offered a "duofold  protection" plan which covered life insurance and provided a modest savings plan for old age. The MBA's headquarters were in Tipton, IA and Mason City, IA until its merger with the Independent Order of Foresters.

An illustration of Maypo's Marky stands over a bowl of Maypo cereal with black text and a white background. 

Maypo was a maple flavored oatmeal cereal that was originally manufactured by the Maltex Corporation. It was created in 1953 by Herbert A. Bahrenberg. Maltex corporation introduced a health club that customers could join as a means to promote eating a healthy breakfast. Pins were issued to members.

Despite its beginnings as a potential tax write-off for a failing product, the 1956 ad campaign featuring "Marky" became incredibly successful, boosting sales of Maypo by 78%. 

Color illustration of a moose head with prominent antlers. White text in red circle surrounding illustration. Black text on white outer rim. 

The Loyal Order of Moose is a fraternal club that originated in 1888. It has nearly 800,000 members and operates orders in the United States and Great Britain.

Member name written in ink on yellow background. Inner circle of white with gold text above. Lion's Club logo at bottom in gold and blue. Dark blue outer rim with gold text.

The Lions Club was started in Chicago in 1917 by Melvin Jones. Now an international organization, the Lion's Club has 1.3 million members. Clubs allowing women to join opened in 1986. 

This button belonged to the curators' grandfather.

Color illustration of a bird flying over a bronze bell. White background with black text and red outer rim. 

The motto of the Philadelphia-based Liberty Bell Bird Club was: "Protect our feathered friends." 

Illustration of a left hand in green on a white circle. Green band on outside edge with text in white. 

Famous left-handeders include Marie Curie, Albert Einstein, Alan Turing, and 4 of the 5 original designers of the Macintosh computer. 

White text on red background. Illustration of Polish crest (White Eagle). 

The Polish Club at Lane Tech dates back to the 1970s and is still going strong. The student group can be seen performing at Lane Tech's International Days and Nights.

Dark blue image of winking bobcat wearing a bow tie. Yellow background with dark blue text and rim. 

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Early-style Felix the Cat illustration. Black text on white background. 

This 1930s button came with a membership card and was issued by a movie theater owner named Katz.

Illustration of the Joker in blue, black, red, and white above a red background. Text in white. 

The Joker was a fictional character from the DC comic book series,Batman. The Joker made his first appearance in the comic book's very fist issue in Spring 1940. Credit for the character's creation is often disputed, with Jerry Robinson, Bill Finger, and Bob Kane all receiving some or all of the credit. Although Kane and Robinson take credit for the design of the character, they acknowledge Finger's writing contribution. 
 
Throughout the comic book series and various film adaptations, the Joker is often portrayed as a master criminal with a genius intellect and sadistic sense of humor. Many observers have noted that the Joker and Batman's dynamic relationship parallels the concept of yin and yang. In numerous episodes, for instance, when Batman was able to kill the Joker, or vice versa, the former relented at the last moment. Without each other's arch nemesis, either one would lose their identity, thus bringing an end to this seemingly endless battle.