Back in my Day!
If someone in the 1950s described something as “the cat’s pajamas,” what did they mean?
A. It was suspicious
B. It was excellent
C. It was expensive
D. It was ridiculous
Answer: What is excellent?
Which U.S. state has long been stereotypically associated with retirees escaping cold northern winters?
A. Oregon
B. Florida
C. Colorado
D. Kansas
Answer: What is Florida?
Before smartphones, what book listed local residents and businesses along with their telephone numbers?
A. Almanac
B. Telephone directory
C. Rolodex
D. Gazette
Answer: What is a telephone directory?
An “early bird special” traditionally refers to a restaurant discount offered to customers who:
A. Make reservations
B. Eat earlier than the usual dinner hour
C. Order breakfast
D. Pay in cash
Answer: What is eating earlier than the usual dinner hour?
What is the traditional name for a discount offered by some businesses based on reaching a certain age?
A. Loyalty rate
B. Senior discount
C. Pension price
D. Golden rate
Answer: What is a senior discount?
If someone told you to “take a powder,” what were they telling you to do?
A. Calm down
B. Get dressed
C. Leave
D. Take a nap
Answer: What is leave?
What nickname is commonly given to seasonal residents who travel from colder northern areas to warmer states during winter?
A. Sunseekers
B. Snowbirds
C. Roadrunners
D. Winter Texans
Answer: What are snowbirds?
What was the small plastic or metal disk with a large center hole used to play music at 45 RPM?
A. LP
B. Single
C. Eight-track
D. Reel
Answer: What is a single?
Which game traditionally uses cards containing 24 numbered spaces surrounding a free center square?
A. Bridge
B. Bingo
C. Pinochle
D. Canasta
Answer: What is bingo?
What does AARP originally stand for?
A. American Association of Retired Persons
B. American Alliance for Retirement Planning
C. Association of American Retired Professionals
D. American Association for Retirement Protection
Answer: What is the American Association of Retired Persons?
In mid-20th-century slang, calling someone a “square” usually meant that person was:
A. Wealthy
B. Old-fashioned or conventional
C. Dishonest
D. Intelligent
Answer: What is old-fashioned or conventional?
Which Arizona community, opened in 1960, became one of America's best-known examples of a large-scale retirement community?
A. Paradise Valley
B. Sun City
C. Fountain Hills
D. Carefree
Answer: What is Sun City?
What device contained rotating cards for storing names, addresses and telephone numbers?
A. Rolodex
B. Dictaphone
C. Mimeograph
D. Microfiche
Answer: What is a Rolodex?
Which card game became particularly popular among American women during the 1950s and uses two standard decks plus four jokers?
A. Canasta
B. Euchre
C. Cribbage
D. Hearts
Answer: What is canasta?
A retiree who sells a large home and moves into a smaller residence is commonly said to be doing what?
A. Consolidating
B. Downsizing
C. Homesteading
D. Refinancing
Answer: What is downsizing?
The once-common expression “23 skidoo” essentially meant:
A. Hurry up and leave
B. Keep a secret
C. Spend your money
D. Dress your best
Answer: What is hurry up and leave?
Del Webb became nationally associated with retirement living largely through developing which Arizona community?
A. Sedona
B. Sun City
C. Scottsdale
D. Green Valley
Answer: What is Sun City?
What machine produced inexpensive copies by forcing ink through a stencil, becoming a fixture of schools and offices before photocopiers?
A. Telegraph
B. Mimeograph
C. Linotype
D. Dictaphone
Answer: What is a mimeograph?
In the card game bridge, what is the name for the player whose cards are placed face-up on the table after the opening lead?
A. Dealer
B. Dummy
C. Caller
D. Partner
Answer: What is the dummy?
What retirement expression refers to completing a list of experiences or destinations someone hopes to accomplish during their lifetime?
A. Golden list
B. Bucket list
C. Life ledger
D. Freedom plan
Answer: What is a bucket list?
In 1940s American slang, a “khaki wacky” was a woman especially attracted to:
A. Musicians
B. Men in military uniform
C. Wealthy businessmen
D. College athletes
Answer: What are men in military uniform?
The phrase “golden years” became widely associated with retirement after being promoted in the 1950s by which organization?
A. Social Security Administration
B. AARP
C. Del Webb Corporation
D. Continental Casualty Company
Answer: What is Continental Casualty Company?
Before area codes became universally familiar, American telephone numbers often began with a word or name such as “PEnnsylvania 6-5000.” What was this system called?
A. Party-line dialing
B. Exchange-name dialing
C. Operator coding
D. Regional dialing
Answer: What is exchange-name dialing?
In shuffleboard scoring, what is the highest number of points normally awarded for a single disk that remains legally within a scoring area in the traditional outdoor court game?
A. 7
B. 8
C. 10
D. 15
Answer: What is 10?
The term “empty nest” became a common expression for a household after what major life change?
A. Retirement from work
B. Paying off the mortgage
C. Adult children moving away from home
D. Moving to a retirement community
Answer: What is adult children moving away from home?