1950s Pop Culture
With the television becoming more common, the airwaves were filled with entertainment, news, and these segments, which paid for free programming.
What are commercials? This was the decade that launched jingles and slogans into the stratosphere. Companies enticed buyers with must-have products through TV commercials. The era of “keeping up with the Joneses” was born.
No one wanted to hang out with someone who was this, a word meaning “boring” or a “buzzkill.”
What is a drag? A boring person might also be called a party pooper, wet blanket, stick in the mud, or killjoy.
Complete the real-life couple: Katharine Ross and this mustachioed leading man.
Who is Sam Elliott? The pair met while filming 1978’s The Legacy and tied the knot in 1984.
Established in 1973, the International Cosmetic Ingredient Nomenclature Committee oversaw standardizing these for cosmetic ingredients.
What are names? Standardized names for ingredients were created in order to help consumers around the world recognize what was in their makeup.
City dwellers fled to housing developments in these areas.
What are suburbs? It was the ideal place to raise children, and life in the suburbs became more family-centric than in the cities.
This group was known as the “Fab Four.”
Who are the Beatles? The “Fab Four” started in Liverpool, England, and became one of the most successful bands in history. When they arrived in America in 1964, more than 70 million people watched them on TV.
Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell take their romance to the big screen with this 1987 flick about an heiress with amnesia.
What is Overboard? The real-life couple brought their children to the set while filming; the youngest took his first steps there!
Animal lovers rejoiced in 1981, when a research center was founded to find alternatives to this controversial kind of cosmetic testing.
What is animal testing? The Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing funds grants and research for finding animal-safe testing methods.
After World War II, scarcity shifted to this trend.
What is prosperity? The average person could buy a house and a car in the booming economy.
When we stayed out past curfew, our parents did this to their lids, meaning “get upset.”
What is flip? Other ways to say a person is upset include saying they lost their temper, hit the roof, went ballistic, or blew up.
This “Hound Dog” singer and his wife, Priscilla, were one of the “it” couples of the 1960s and early ’70s.
Who is Elvis? The 2023 movie Priscilla examines their marriage.
Popular since the 1960s, this cosmetic brand is named for its founder and known for its trademark pink cars driven by the company’s salespeople.
What is Mary Kay? Mary Kay Ash decided customers would rather purchase products in a home environment and created her direct sales model.
During the 1950s “Golden Age of Television,” this iconic sitcom centered on two couples living in New York City: a bandleader and his mischievous wife, and their landlords.
What is I Love Lucy? The series originally ran from 1951 to 1957, and it still runs in syndication today. Toward the end of its run, Lucy and Ricky had a child and moved to the suburbs, and Fred and Ethel Mertz stayed in New York but visited the Ricardos.
This is another name for the summertime footwear known as thongs.
What are flip-flops? Flip-flops have been worn for thousands of years; early versions were worn in ancient Egypt. The modern style became popular after World War II when soldiers brought home the design referred to as zori from Japan.
In 1984’s Splash, Tom Hanks’ love interest is secretly this type of mythical being, played by Daryl Hannah.
What is a mermaid? The film is credited with introducing the girl’s name Madison, which was popular through the early 2000s.
In the 1970s, this eyelash enhancer became popular in colorful varieties like blue, green, and purple.
What is mascara? Mascara innovation continued in the ’80s, when vitamins and growth serums were added to the cosmetic.
Drab World War II styles evolved into color and pattern, and women’s dresses returned to this type of waist, popular during the late 19th century.
What is cinched (or fitted, or similar)? Polka dots were everywhere, a flourish not seen during the war years
Teenage boys in their muscle cars did this, meaning leaving tire marks on the road from a fast start or stop.
What is “laid rubber”? As cars became more powerful in the 1950s and 1960s, drivers could spin their tires so fast that friction heated the rubber, causing smoking tires and dark marks on the road.
A late ’90s teen romance, 10 Things I Hate About You is based on a (much) earlier work by this English playwright.
Who is William Shakespeare? The Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles film is based on The Taming of the Shrew.
Cover Girl introduced a “crackle” variety of this fingertip-adorning cosmetic in 1999.
What is nail polish? Gals might remember the trend from the ’90s and 2000s of layering crackle nail polish over a contrasting color to create a unique, weathered look.