50s Pop Culture
Which aspiring rock-and-roll singer appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1956, but could only be shown from the waist up?
Elvis Presley
What’s the official name for the blob of toothpaste on your toothbrush?
A nurdle.
Which famous song sung by Doris Day was introduced in the 1956 Hitchcock thriller, The Man Who Knew Too Much?
Que Sera Sera
Which president resigned in 1974 over the Watergate scandal?
Richard Nixon
What marks the official start to the fall season in the Northern Hemisphere?
The autumnal equinox
Which rising young star from the movie Rebel Without a Cause died in an automobile accident in 1955?
James Dean
Where is Hell?
In Norway. There’s a village named Hell.
What singer had a country music chart hit with Sixteen Tons in 1955?
Tennessee Ernie Ford
During which Apollo spaceflight did an oxygen tank explode, putting the crew in severe danger even though they managed to survive?
Apollo 13
In colonial times, what were apples called?
Winter bananas or a melt-in-the-mouths
Which television game show first aired in 1956 and is still running today?
The Price is Right
What’s the smallest human bone?
The stapes. It’s a bone in your ear.
Which group had a hit with Twilight Time in 1958?
The Platters
Which Pennsylvania nuclear-generating plant suffered a partial meltdown in 1979?
Three Mile Island
What happens if hay bales get too wet?
They can spontaneously combust.
What famous baseball player married Marilyn Monroe in 1954?
Joe DiMaggio
What’s Johnny Depp afraid of?
clowns
Which smoky-voiced singer sang Too Young in 1951?
Nat King Cole
What war ended in April 1975 with the fall of Saigon?
Vietnam
What was fall originally called?
Harvest
What piece of women's clothing, named after a dog, became popular in the 1950s?
Poodle skirt
What’s coprastastaphobia?
The fear of constipation.
What Cleveland disc jockey first used the term rock 'n' roll in 1951?
Alan Freed
What is the name of the deadly disease that struck a convention in Philadelphia in July 1976 and was named for the convention where it struck?
Legionnaire’s Disease
Who was the first group of people in history to use scarecrows?
The Egyptians
What teen idol sang, Kookie, Kookie, Lend Me Your Comb?
Edd "Kookie" Burns
In what state is it illegal to wake up a bear?
Alaska.
Tony and Maria were the lead characters in what Broadway musical that premiered in 1957?
West Side Story
What newspaper heiress took part in a San Francisco bank robbery in April 1974?
Patricia Hearst
What is the official word for the sound of leaves and trees rustling in the wind?
Psithurism (pronounced sith-yuh-riz-uhm)
What type of hat/cap did both Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone wear on TV in the 50s?
Coonskin
What toy bridge in Germany can you walk on?
The Lego bridge.
Who recorded Rock Around the Clock in 1955?
Bill Haley and the Comets
In June 1971, the 26th Amendment passed, giving 18-year-olds what right?
The right to vote
What is the smell of the first rain of fall called?
Petrichor
Who originally sang That'll Be the Day in 1957?
Buddy Holly and the Crickets