1950's Jeopardy Template

Prices

Sports

Music

TV Shows

Misc.

This is how much a candy bar cost in the 1950's

A.$1.00

B.$0.18

C.$0.10

B. $0.18

On average, gas cost 18 cents per gallon at the start of the '50s and 25 cents per gallon at the end of the decade. In today's terms, that's the equivalent value of $1.90 and $2.16 per gallon.

He was the first African American to play major league baseball with the Dodgers and helped them win the World Series in 1955

A. Jackie Robinson

B. Dan Bankhead

C. Larry Doby

A. Jackie Robinson

He made his Major League Baseball debut on April 15, 1947, at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, New York. He became the first African-American baseball player in Major League history. He also won Rookie of the Year in 1947.

This was the common name for country music in the 1950's?

A. Southern blues

B. Cowboy tunes

C. Rockabilly

Rockabilly is a subgenre of rock 'n' roll with roots in the American South during the 1950s. As its name suggests, rockabilly draws on two primary influences: country music and rock music, which at the time of rockabilly's emergence, largely referred to rhythm and blues (or R&B).

These were the most popular TV shows to watch in the 1950's?

A. Sitcoms

B. Soap Opera

C. Reality TV

A. Sitcoms

Sitcoms were so popular in America during the 1950s because of the way they portrayed American values and culture. Their “sanitized” view of American life and emphasis on the family was appealing to many Americans, even though they did not sometimes accurately represent American society.

This popular plastic toy, shaped in a ring, was made by Wham-O in 1956 and is still popular today

A. Big Wheel

B. Tryicycle

C. Hula Hoop

The hula hoop originated in Australia, where it was simply a bamboo exercise ring used in gym classes. In 1957 an Australian company began selling the ring in retail stores— which attracted the attention of a small California toy manufacturer named Wham-O. Wham-O’s owners made a few wooden rings for their kids, took them to cocktail parties, "Folks had to have a couple of drinks in them to take a whack at it”…and then decided they had a hot item on their hands. They began producing a plastic version, naming it the Hula Hoop after the motion it resembled—the Hawaiian hula dance.

This is how much a candy bar cost in the 1950's?

A. $1.00

B. $0.05

C. $0.13

The price rose at the end of the decade 10 $0.50. Now, the same candy bars are around $1-3.

This widely read sports magazine hit the newsstands in 1954

A. Sports Weekly

B. Sports Illustrated

C. ESPN Magazine

B. Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated, monthly sports magazine that originated in 1954 and was developed by Henry Luce, the creator of Time magazine. It is the leading sports magazine in the United States still to this day.

In 1954, he brought his guitar to a Memphis studio and only paid $4 to record two songs

A. Johnny Cash

B. Buddy Holly

C. Elvis Presley

The 10-minute demo session featured Elvis singing "It Wouldn't Be The Same Without You" and "I'll Never Stand In Your Way", in which after, he was told he would never make it as a singer.

This famous sitcom was released in 1951 and was the first to gain unprecedented popularity with a woman as it's lead

A. Bonanza

B. Father Knows Best

C. I Love Lucy

Over the course of six seasons on CBS, the show enjoyed tremendous success. It was the highest rated series on television for four of those seasons, and it never dropped below 2nd in the ratings. I Love Lucy remains one of the most beloved television series in American history.

This was a popular place to watch movies in the 1950s?

A. In one's home

B. Drive-in movie theaters

C. Movie Theaters

B. Drive-in movie theaters

Richard M. Hollingshead, Jr., of Camden, New Jersey created the first drive-in by mounting a film projector onto his car’s hood and showing movies on a screen that he nailed to trees in his backyard. Sound first came out through speakers on the screen. Following that there were speakers you could hang on each car. Then the sound could be broadcast and picked up by a car radio. By 1955 there were about 5,000 drive-in theaters in the U.S. Now there are approximately 350.

This is how much a movie ticket cost in the 1950's

A. $4.50

B. $2.75

C. $0.50

B. $2.75

In 1950, a person could purchase a movie ticket for a mere 46 cents on average. By 2020, the average ticket price had increased to $11.65.

He was known as the new "Home Run King," in 1952, when he joined the league

A. Lou Gehrig

B. Hank Aaron

C. Jackie Robinson

B. Hank Aaron

On April 23, 1952, Hank Aaron knocks out the first home run of his Major League Baseball career and first of 20 he will hit in his first season.

This music genre originated in black communities, fusing African and European music styles, and later became popular in the 1950's

A. R&B

B. Gospel

C. Jazz

The 1950s was the final decade in which jazz flourished as broad youth culture. It produced many British solo stars – traditionalists on one side, modernists on the other – and bandleaders. A new term ‘mainstream’ began to emerge for music caught in the middle of the traditional/modern jazz culture wars but trying to avoid rigid allegiance to either camp.

This famous 1950's sitcom series was written from the point of the child and was originally viewed on CBS, but then switched to ABC family?

A. Leave It to Beaver

B. The Aldrich Family

C. The Ed Sullivan Show

A. Leave It to Beaver

Leave It to Beaver is still praised to this day, with Time Magazine comparing Beaver to Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer. It was the first sitcom of it's tome to have large amounts of juvenile merchandise released during the show's first run, including board games, novels, and comic books. The show has enjoyed a renaissance in popularity since the 1970s through off-network syndication, a reunion telemovie (Still the Beaver, 1983) and a sequel series.

This activity was the idea of squeezing as many people into a small place as possible and was popular in the 1950's

A. Cramming

B. Body building

C. Stuffing

Phone booth stuffing was popularized by a group of 25 South African students who managed to cram themselves into a single booth in 1959. As word of their exploit spread, other colleges couldn’t help challenging it. Incorporating the feat into their academics, many students tried to devise ways of fitting in more people through the application of geometry and calculus. Students fasted to fit in and even recruited as many small-bodied freshmen as they could find for the cause.

This is how much a coast-to-coast plane ticket cost in the 1950's?

A. $350

B. $73

C. $110

In the 50s, a flight from Chicago to Phoenix could cost $110 round-trip -- that's $1,168 when adjusted for today's inflation.

He is the famous undefeated boxer that retired with a record of 49-0 in 1956

A. Rocky Marciano

B. Willie Pep

C. Sandy Saddler

A. Rocky Marciano

During the 1950s, Rocky Marciano seized the heavyweight throne and was never vanquished, Sugar Ray Robinson won the middleweight championship of the world five times over, and Archie Moore made history at light heavyweight.

The song "Rocket 88," released in 1951, is often credited with ushering in the era of rock 'n' roll. Who recorded it?

A. Ike Turner & the Kings of Rhythm

B. Bill Haley & His Comets

C. The Everly Brothers

A. Ike Turner & the Kings of Rhythm

It was written about an Oldsmobile 88 as the band drove to Memphis, Tennessee, for a recording session

This popular show in 1955 was staged in the Wild West

A. Rawhide

B. Gunsmoke

C. The Rifleman

b. Gunsmoke

Gunsmoke still holds the title as the longest-running dramatic series in network television history, logging a whopping 635 episodes over the span of 20 years. The TV show was based on a radio drama that began in 1952, and reunion movies were made all the way up until 1994. Westerns became so popular on television that by the end of the 1950s, there would be as many as forty of them airing in primetime.

This plastic toy, shaped as a potato, was invented in 1952

A. Mr. Potato Head

B. The Hamburglar

C. Pacman

A. Mr. Potato Head

Mr. Potato Head was invented and developed by George Lerner. George Lerner would often take potatoes from his mother’s garden and, using various fruits and vegetables as facial features, he would make dolls for his younger sisters to play with. In 1953, due to its popularity, Mr. Potato Head grew and had a family which included; Mrs. Potato Head, Brother Spud and Sister Yam. Extra accessories were created for the Potato Head Family; a car, a boat trailer, a kitchen set, a stroller, and pets call Spud-ettes.

This is how much a Cadillac cost in the 1950's?

A. $4,711

B. $9,967

C. $15,549

A. $4,711

1950 price averaged around $4,000 and today’s value it's now up to $45,000.

This football team won in the first coast-to-coast broadcasted football game against the New York Giants in 1958

A. Dallas Cowboys

B. Pittsburg Steelers

C. Baltimore Colts

The Colts won their first NFL Championship in 1958. The 1958 NFL Championship game is widely known as the "Greatest Game Ever Played". The Baltimore Colts were also one of the first NFL teams to have cheerleaders, a marching band and a team "fight song".

Known for hits including "Crazy" and "Walking After Midnight," this country singer died in a plane crash in 1963.

A. The Big Bopper

B. Patsy Cline

C. Buddy Holly

B. Patsy Cline

Future superstar Willie Nelson wrote "Crazy," one of the songs that made Cline a star before her tragic death.

This popular TV show in 1950 was a game show where people asked yes or no questions to guess the unusual occupation

A. Password

B. What's My Line

C. Who's Line is It Anyway

B. What's My Line

What's My Line? was a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967. It was a guessing game in which the four panelists attempted to determine the occupation (i.e., "line [of work]") of a guest. In the case of the famous mystery guest each week, the panel sought to determine the identity of the celebrity.

This activity became popular in the 1950's, that included painting on a canvas with a numbered outline

A. Finger-painting

B. Paint by Number

C. Watercolor

B. Paint by Number

Robbin’s first ever Paint-by-Numbers kit was called Abstract No. One—a vibrant, abstract still life that paid homage to the abstract expressionists of the era. Unfortunately, the design wasn’t commercial enough to appeal to the masses, so Robbins, Klein, and a new team of artists started to produce less abstract landscape and portrait hobby kits that proved to be more popular.