Jenny's Noodle

Photo: The New York Times

I've got at least one of these museum buttons stashed away somewhere. It may be over 10 years old, but at the time I got it, I remember feeling like I should save it as a souvenir of my visit. I'm glad I did.

[In] 1971, the Metropolitan Museum of Art introduced a colorful piece of metal as its admission ticket, a tiny doodad that came to occupy a large place in the reliquary of New York City, along with Greek-themed coffee cups, I ♥ NY T-shirts and subway tokens.

Now the Met’s admission button will go the way of the token. Citing the rising cost of the tin-plate pieces and the flexibility of a new paper ticket system using detachable stickers, the Met will end the buttons’ 42-year run on [June 1], the same time it switches to a seven-day-a-week schedule instead of being closed on Mondays.

“I regret it slightly myself,” said Thomas P. Campbell, the museum’s director. “One of my assistants has a whole rainbow of the colored buttons on her desk.”

The good news: If you happen to be in NYC on a Monday, you won't have to hopelessly wander the streets in search of entertainment—the museum will now be open on Mondays, for the first time in 42 years.

(via NYTimes)