# Does anyone know what this might be? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 16, 2003, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-this-might-be/195639 "2003-08-16T20:57:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CptSmashy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e56c9b/32.png) [@CptSmashy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CptSmashy)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2003, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-this-might-be/195639/1 "2003-08-16T20:57:41Z")
Greetings, I haven’t been here in ages, but I figured if anyone could figure this out, you guys could. [http://www.jessolution.com/smilies/button.jpg](http://www.jessolution.com/smilies/button.jpg) This is from another message board and was accompanied with the following message: [quote] OK, first I’d like to say I honestly don’t get this. If it’s something offensive, I’m not aware (I’ve been thinking about this for 8 years now). My wife was given a button around 15 years ago by a friend in high school. This guy commited suicide some years back. When he gave her this button, he wouldn’t tell her what it meant. He said she would figure it out. Well, here I finally got a working scanner and I can’t take it anymore. This thing has been stuck to our wall for years and this is me -\> 😕 for the past 8 years.{/quote] Any ideas? Its been driving us nuts over there all day. ---
**Author:** ![CptSmashy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e56c9b/32.png) [@CptSmashy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CptSmashy)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2003, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-this-might-be/195639/2 "2003-08-16T20:59:28Z")
Ooops…I boogered the quote. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2003, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-this-might-be/195639/3 "2003-08-16T22:11:59Z")
Well, I fed it through an anagram generator and got some amusing results, including the repulsive “Dinghy of pus” and the sound advice “Pudgy if nosh”. But nothing that leapt out as significant… ---
**Author:** ![CptSmashy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e56c9b/32.png) [@CptSmashy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CptSmashy)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2003, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-this-might-be/195639/4 "2003-08-16T22:17:39Z")
Well that’s a start. Dinghy of pus…has a nice ring to it. ---
**Author:** ![CptSmashy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e56c9b/32.png) [@CptSmashy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CptSmashy)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2003, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-this-might-be/195639/5 "2003-08-16T22:22:52Z")
Well that’s a start. Dinghy of pus…has a nice ring to it. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2003, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-this-might-be/195639/6 "2003-08-16T23:02:55Z")
Hey You Stuck Up F\*\*king Piece Of God Damn Ignorant Nookie? ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2003, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-this-might-be/195639/7 "2003-08-16T23:18:21Z")
More anagrams: FISH POND GUY GO FIND PUSHY PUNY DOGFISH FUDGY SIPHON FOUND SHY PIG I SPY FUND HOG DYING OF PUSH FISHY PUN GOD DUG SHINY FOP HOUND FIG SPY PHD INFO GUYS …but I’m guessing **Chefguy** has the right idea, and it’s an abbreviation of something. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-this-might-be/195639/8 "2003-08-17T00:07:11Z")
Honor Your Soul, Usually Finding Presence of God During Immense Night. ---
**Author:** ![Iteki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/eada6e/32.png) [@Iteki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iteki)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-this-might-be/195639/9 "2003-08-17T01:13:18Z")
The form of the G is quite different to the other letters, which makes me wonder if it isn’t something to do with the way you view the badge? Upside down it could be an ornate H for example… In bastardised scandinavian it could be “harbour UPFand your”. \ ---
**Author:** ![CptSmashy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e56c9b/32.png) [@CptSmashy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CptSmashy)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-this-might-be/195639/10 "2003-08-17T01:36:27Z")
We’ve run thru a gammit of various languages (and encryptions) and all of those are turning up with jibberish. The G caught our attention as well. It looks to be a G and a J combined looking at the rest of the font used oe even a combination of a J and a C to form the G, which could give rise to a Christian message, Jesus Christ and God. One of our best answers so far: > [@](#): > > I think it means > > “Show this to your Husband, and make him wonder what the fu\*k it means for the rest of his life” ---
**Author:** ![Ringo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/779978/32.png) [@Ringo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ringo)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-this-might-be/195639/11 "2003-08-17T02:04:18Z")
I rotated it through the alphabet and didn’t come up with anything. Maybe we need some input from someone who was in high school 15 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-this-might-be/195639/12 "2003-08-17T02:46:41Z")
My WAG: Help (Hi) Your Self You (U) F\*\*\*ing Piece (Pile) Of… 1. Garbage D? I? N? 2. God Damned I? N? I shudder to think of the extremely poor taste and racial slur if the direction I’m heading turns out that the N word is the N word. ## P. Hi, You Seeking Unlimited Full Potential Of Gladness? Do Inquire Now. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-this-might-be/195639/13 "2003-08-17T03:18:29Z")
I’m not sure the acronym thing is on the right track. The source says “You’ll figure it out”, but an acronym with that many letters is un-figurable. There’s just too many possibilities. On the other hand, I don’t know what else it might be. So basically, I’m no help. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TheBrahmanator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de0a6/32.png) [@TheBrahmanator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheBrahmanator)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-this-might-be/195639/14 "2003-08-17T04:01:44Z")
I don’t have anything to contribute that hasn’t been touched on, but does the poster’s wife remember anything about the circumstances in which she recieved the pin? Anything she could tell us about the dude who gave it to her? Anything in particular about their relationship? I don’t think we’re going to figure this out without some sense of context. If you could point us to the original thread, that might also be helpful. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-this-might-be/195639/15 "2003-08-17T04:23:12Z")
A long time ago we had a motivational speaker come to a club, who had some saying he put on slides and also had as pins for sale. Two of them were: HYS = Help Your Self (yes, ‘yourself’ as two words) and DIN = Do It Now Whether that has anything to do with the button \ The middle part means nothing to me. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-this-might-be/195639/16 "2003-08-17T04:27:55Z")
I can’t make much of it. What if the first three letters should be pronounced like “HIS” and the last three like “D(Y)IN”. That leaves UFPOG… The whole thing together almost makes me think of Old English. The button is probably one of a kind, made with one of those button-making kits that are relatively easy to find. The lettering appears to have been created on a dot-matrix printer. So… Could the sets of three letters be two people’s initials? And the five letters in the middle line may then be an acronym that would have meaning to those two people? Since the guy told her that she would figure it out, we kind of have to assume that he thought she would recognize the significance. On the other hand, if he was suicidal, he may not have been rational when he made the button and when he gave it to her. So it would have made sense to him at the time, but opaque to anybody else. In any case, I think the interpretation depends on having known the guy. The letters alone are out of context and void of meaning. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-this-might-be/195639/17 "2003-08-17T04:52:29Z")
Have You Signed Up For P… O… G… D… I… N… ??? ---
**Author:** ![Stage\_Manager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stage_manager/32/7267_2.png) [@Stage\_Manager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stage_Manager)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-this-might-be/195639/18 "2003-08-17T05:04:08Z")
I found [this](http://groups.google.com/groups?q=ufpog&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&selm=any%25a.434%248Z6.163%40newssvr31.news.prodigy.com&rnum=1) thread. I’m not clear if you (Smashy) have posted that or not. Anyway, it’s something. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-this-might-be/195639/19 "2003-08-17T05:51:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CptSmashy \* > \*\*The G caught our attention as well. It looks to be a G and a J combined…which could give rise to a Christian message, Jesus Christ and God. \*\* > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by StarvingButStrong \* > **HYS = Help Your Self (yes, ‘yourself’ as two words) and DIN = Do It Now** Putting these two thoughts together, I wonder if it represents 3 inspirational phrase. The first and third would be what Starving mentioned, the second would be U\_\_\_ F\_\_\_ P\_\_\_ O\_\_\_ God/Jesus. Maybe something like “u\_\_\_ f\_\_\_ praise of God?” ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2003, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-this-might-be/195639/20 "2003-08-17T06:59:44Z")
Guys, I can say with some authority that the G/J theory is a dead end. The “tail” that makes the “G” look like a “J” is called a swash in typography circles. Having been something of a graphic designer in the 70’s & 80’s, I can attest that letterforms with swashes were all the rage at the time the button was made. That version of “G” was just one available optional “G” letterform for the typeface in question (Cooper Black, incidentally). See the masthead of “New York” Magazine for a well-known example of swash use from the era. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-know-what-this-might-be/195639.md?page=2)