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Besides skinny jeans and a wide variety of belt buckles, one of Howard's signature items in The Big Bang Theory is an alien lapel pin. Is there any Reason or Meaning behind it?

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  • My answer is much more simplistic. But could we consider: Aliens are among us
    – user33261
    Apr 9, 2016 at 23:22
  • @Carl: Jewish Aliens !
    – user30432
    Apr 10, 2016 at 6:19

7 Answers 7

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No, there is not meaning of them in TV series till now. It is noted as Trivia in Wikia

Howard wears alien pins on his collar in every episode, yet the pin has not been mentioned thus far.

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Possible Reason #1

Being regular viewer of TBBT I could say this that we are missing a big fact here.

Howard is an astronaut

I think the pin depicting the alien is a badge that he wears for being out of space or at least traveled in space.

As in our modern society someone coming from space is usually considered to be an alien.


Possible Reason #2

Apart from Howard using that as pin that symbol of alien is also logo of Alienware which is also the brand Sheldon uses. and Howard also owns one computer of same brand..

So maybe it's about branding.

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    I don't think this is relevant: he has been wearing the alien pin since the first serie.
    – mattiav27
    Apr 10, 2016 at 8:18
  • @mattiav27: As there is no interview discussion or any other source confirming the exact reason these are just logical guesses which crossed my mind. I might be wrong though. But then whole point of this community is to explain the plot from their point of view :-)
    – user30432
    Apr 10, 2016 at 12:31
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To expand panthers answer, actually they confirmed that the pin has a meaning, but it is a secret. It is not only one pin, but different pins with different shape and color, but all showing an alien. You can find several discussion and theories of fans about the theme in the net, but no confirmed answer. There is a short behind the scenes video about this with the actor here:

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    The comments on this video suggest that when he was a child, Howard believed that his dad didn't leave them but was instead abducted by aliens. Perhaps he wears it for his dad, in hopes that he is still out there, trying to get back to Earth to be with his family.
    – JaredH
    Aug 28, 2015 at 4:00
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Howard says he used to pretend his dad was abducted by aliens in Season 3 Episode 17 (The Precious Fragmentation) when they go through the box where they find the ring:

Oh, my God. An Alf doll. When I was 11 my mother got me one to help me sleep after my dad left. I used to pretend that my dad had moved to the planet Melmac, and Alf was going to bring him back to me. But he never did. Where’s my daddy, puppet? Where is he?

So Howard wears it because of his childhood, so he would remember to take a step back and be a kid again.

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The show is about disclosure and acceptance. The show might be a well thought out way to show aliens for the first time. There are many references used subtly throughout the series.

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There is a reason that they haven't revealed yet. But i have season 1 through 11 on DVD and on one of them in the special features the costume designer herself admits that he wears them and that the meaning is a secret.

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    This answer would be a lot better if you could edit in the relevant quote? Nov 26, 2018 at 23:51
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It's got to be about branding. Alienware is one of the few companies that gets advertised on this show. They go to great lengths to hide beer and soda labels unless someone is paying. I'm pretty certain if you follow the money, you'll find checks written by Alienware, Cheesecake Factory, Michelob Ultra, etc. Prove me wrong if you can.

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    Not sure why this got downvoted. This is as plausible as any other explanation, and IMO, a good one. Oct 13, 2021 at 10:41
  • I think proving the similarity with Alienware's logo will greatly benefit your answer.
    – Joachim
    Oct 13, 2021 at 13:39
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    Less about similarity for me and more about "prove me wrong if you can" ... he's providing the answer, it's up to him to prove his point, by use of sources, not up to us to prove him wrong.
    – CGCampbell
    Oct 13, 2021 at 15:27
  • @CGCampbell That's exactly what I mean: I wrote "your answer", addressing the author. How could that be misinterpreted?
    – Joachim
    Oct 16, 2021 at 13:24
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    @Joachim Sorry, I should have put Jason's name in my comment, it wasn't to you. Jason asks why this was downvoted. I did not actually do so, but I would, if it were not a new user. I would down vote it because Leonard Kaul challenges us to "prove him wrong" and this is not a forum. There is no opportunity, within the normal usage of this site, to do so. All proof must be included within the answer, otherwise he is asking for discussion to follow in the comments.
    – CGCampbell
    Oct 19, 2021 at 9:44

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