A great 19th century marketing gimmick, the Heinz pickle pin was the brainchild of Henry J. Heinz, founder of the Heinz ketchup-manufacturing empire. Heinz was known for his many tasteful advertising schemes, including a 40-foot-tall electric pickle sign in New York City and a pier in Atlantic City with a 70-foot pickle "perched heroically on the end" (according to Cecil Adams).

For the 1893 Chicago Columbian Exposition, Heinz had tiny lapel pins made up in the shape of pickles to give out to people attending the fair. Supposedly, the company gave away over a million pins, and Heinz's fortune was made.

Heinz, Inc. still makes the pickle pins, and you can write to them at

Heinz Pickle Pin
P.O. Box 57
Pittsburgh, PA 15230

and they will send you one for free.

sources:
www.straightdope.com
www.asktherick.com (I can't vouch for the accuracy of this site, but it seems reasonable)

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