Forgotten Television & Radio
This mystery radio program famously began with a slow, ominous creaking door.
A) The Shadow
B) Inner Sanctum Mysteries
C) Lights Out
B) Inner Sanctum Mysteries
If you wanted to change the high beams on a 1950s car, you didn't look at the steering column—you pressed a button located here.
A) On the dashboard
B) On the rearview mirror
C) On the floorboard near your left foot
C) On the floorboard near your left foot
Up until the mid-20th century, many homes had a small, insulated door built into the exterior wall specifically for this morning delivery.
A) The newspaper
B) Milk bottles
C) Blocks of ice
B) Milk bottles
In 1957, a stray dog named Laika made global headlines by becoming the first living creature to do this.
A) Deep-sea dive in a submarine
B) Orbit the Earth in a spacecraft
C) Parachute from a military plane
B) Orbit the Earth in a spacecraft
Originating from a 1940s naval engineer messing around with tension springs, this simple toy became a global sensation for its ability to "walk" down stairs.
A) The Yo-Yo
B) The Slinky
C) The Chatter Telephone
B) The Slinky
In 1952, this classic sitcom became the first television show to be filmed before a live studio audience using a three-camera setup.
A) I Love Lucy
B) The Honeymooners
C) The Goldbergs
A) I Love Lucy
This iconic line of roadside restaurants was instantly recognizable by their bright orange rooftops.
A) Big Boy
B) Stuckey's
C) Howard Johnson's
C) Howard Johnson's
These colorful, textured aluminum cups were a staple of 1950s kitchens, known for keeping drinks ice cold—though they sweated heavily.
A) Tupperware tumblers
B) Anodized aluminum glasses
C) Pyrex mugs
B) Anodized aluminum glasses
The world celebrated a major medical breakthrough in 1955 when Jonas Salk's newly approved vaccine effectively eradicated this terrifying disease.
A) Tuberculosis
B) Smallpox
C) Polio
C) Polio
These frozen, pre-portioned meals in aluminum trays hit grocery stores in 1953, forever changing how families ate dinner in front of the screen.
A) Swanson TV Dinners
B) Banquet Bowls
C) Birdseye Platters
A) Swanson TV Dinners
This western TV series starring Richard Boone featured a main character who carried a distinctive chess knight on his holster.
A) Have Gun – Will Travel
B) Rawhide
C) Maverick
A) Have Gun - Will Travel
Introduced in 1954, the Regency TR-1 revolutionized music by being the first commercial version of this portable device.
A) Pocket transistor radio
B) Handheld cassette player
C) Portable record player
A) Pocket transistor radio
Long before plastic storage bins, groceries like flour, sugar, and animal feed were sold in cloth sacks printed with beautiful patterns so homemakers could repurpose them into this.
A) Curtains and dresses
B) Quilt batting
C) Kitchen dish rags
A) Curtains and dresses
In 1958, the nuclear submarine USS Nautilus completed a historic, top-secret voyage by traveling entirely underwater beneath this global landmark.
A) The Panama Canal
B) The North Pole
C) The English Channel
In the 1950s, young kids went crazy for the "Wonder Horse," which was a toy that let them ride a plastic horse attached to this.
A) Large metal springs on a frame
B) A wooden rocking platform
C) A set of roller-skate wheels
A) Large metal springs on a frame
Long before modern morning talk shows, this chimpanzee served as the famous "mascot" co-host on the Today show from 1953 to 1957.
A) Ham the Chimp
B) J. Fred Muggs
C) Cheetah
B) J. Fred Muggs
Chrysler briefly offered an unusual, optional dashboard feature in the late 1950s called the "Highway Hi-Fi," which was actually this.
A) A built-in mini-bar
B) A phonograph that played small records
C) An early mobile CB radio
B) A phonograph that played small records
In 1947, the first commercial countertop version of this appliance was sold under the name "Radarange."
A) Electric toaster oven
B) Microwave oven
C) Automatic dishwasher
B) Microwave over
This 1959 international agreement set aside an entire continent strictly for peaceful scientific research and banned military activity there.
A) The Antarctic Treaty
B) The Geneva Convention
C) The Arctic Accord
A) The Antarctic Treaty
This fizzy, powdery candy came in a straw-like wrapper and was named after the sound it made when you ate it.
A) Pop Rocks
B) Pixy Stix
C) Fun Dip
B) Pixy Stix
This popular 1950s anthology series was hosted by a future U.S. President who traveled the country visiting manufacturing plants.
A) General Electric Theater (Ronald Reagan)
B) The DuPont Show of the Month (Dwight Eisenhower)
C) Goodyear Television Playhouse (Gerald Ford)
A. General Electric Theater (Ronald Reagan)
Before electronic clickers, Zenith's 1955 "Flash-Matic" TV remote operated by shooting a beam of this at the television corners.
A) Ultrasonic sound
B) Visible light
C) Radio frequencies
B) Visible light
This iconic Mid-Century Modern countertop pattern featured small, colorful abstract shapes that resembled boomerangs and pebbles.
A) Tupperware "Pastel"
B) Linoleum "Checkerboard"
C) Formica "Skylark"
In 1947, a pilot named Chuck Yeager became the first person to break the sound barrier while flying an experimental rocket plane called this.
A) The Spirit of St. Louis
B) The Bell X-1
C) The Enola Gay
B) The Bell X-1
This highly popular 1950s fad involved college students competing to see how many people they could physically cram inside this cramped object.
A) A school locker
B) A Volkswagen Beetle
C) A telephone booth
C) A telephone booth