Button, Button…

Happy National Button Day!

Who hasn't spent many happy childhood hours playing with the little treasures found in Grandma's button jar? I remember my great grandmother using buttons to teach me my colors and arithmetic, too.

Antique and vintage buttons are a popular collectible. In fact, there's even a National Button Society with state and local chapters that talk about, write about, swap, sell and show off their collections. Click HERE to visit the NBS website.

Here's a bit of button trivia you can work into the conversation around the water cooler today: The word button comes from the French word bouton, which means "knob" or "bud". Buttons were merely decorative until someone invented the buttonhole.

If you wish to be labeled the "office know-it-all", wait for a co-worker to mention that early police uniforms featured large copper buttons, hence the nickname "Coppers" or "Cops."  You can add that while that may be true, it's more likely because the duty rosters included the notation "C.O.P." to designate the "Constable on Patrol" for each shift.