1950s Pop Culture
With the television becoming more common, the airwaves were filled with entertainment, news, and these segments, which paid for free programming.
Answer: 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.
Many people wear these three colors to celebrate the Fourth of July.
Answer: What are red, white, and blue? They are the colors of the U.S. flag. Many people fly the flag on this day.
It became the 49th state on January 3, 1959.
Answer: What is Alaska? On August 21, 1959, Hawaii became the 50th state. An easy way to remember which state came first is to remember that they became states in alphabetical order.
This island city just off the mainland in South Florida is known for its beaches, spring breaks, and its Art Deco District.
Answer: What is Miami Beach? It’s located on a strip of land between the Atlantic Ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway.
This Greek island in the Aegean Sea has been its party island since the 1950s, when celebrities began flocking to it.
Answer: What is Mykonos? By the 1970s, the hippies discovered it. By the 1980s, its image as a party island of the rich and famous was cemented.
City dwellers fled to housing developments in these areas.
Answer: What are suburbs? It was the ideal place to raise children, and life in the suburbs became more family-centric than in the cities.
Eat some funnel cake and take the grandkids to ride some rides at these state and county events, if one starts in July near you.
Answer: What is a fair? The focus of state and county fairs is livestock, horticultural, and craft competitions, but entertainment features draw the crowds. Fairs typically run from May through October.
This state is known as “America’s Dairyland.”
Answer: What is Wisconsin? The only U.S. Master Cheesemaker program is in Wisconsin. It takes more than 13 years in the program to become a master cheesemaker.
This U.S. city hosts the largest party in the country in the lead-up to Lent.
Answer: What is New Orleans? The biggest party day of the year in New Orleans is on Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday. Similar festivities take place in many parts of the world, and in some places, they are called Carnivale.
Apple seeds contain amygdalin, a compound that, when crushed, releases this poisonous substance.
Answer: What is cyanide? Swallowing a few apple seeds isn’t a problem; in order to cause damage, the average human would have to chew about 150 seeds.
After World War II, scarcity shifted to this trend.
Answer: What is prosperity? The average person could buy a house and a car in the booming economy.
On July 6, 1885, Louis Pasteur experimented on a nine-year-old boy who had been bitten by a dog by injecting him with this vaccine.
Answer: What is rabies? The dog was rabid, and the vaccine was unproven; fortunately, it worked, and Pasteur saved the child’s life. It was a gamble worth taking.
Northwestern University is in this state.
Answer: What is Illinois? Northwestern was founded in 1851 to serve the former Northwest Territory
The largest parade in the world for this celebration takes place on March 17 in New York City.
Answer: What is St. Patrick’s Day? The parade now has around 250,000 participants and around two million spectators. Dublin has the third-largest parade.
The first heart transplant was performed by this doctor.
Answer: Who is Dr. Christiaan Barnard? It was performed in Cape Town, South Africa, on December 3, 1967. The patient survived for only 18 days, but this surgery laid the groundwork for future successful transplants.
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.
Answer: 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.
When it’s too hot to play a full round of golf—or even a nine-hole round of golf—try this quick, alliterative golf game.
Answer: What is putt-putt? The game consists only of putting, but many courses are both imaginative and challenging.
Field of Dreams is set in this state.
Answer: What is Iowa? The field is open to the public, and you can walk on the baseball diamond. A few years ago, an MLB baseball complex was added, which hosts various events.
Munich is known for this festival, which runs from late September through early October.
Answer: What is Oktoberfest? It’s the largest folk festival in the world, featuring parades and celebrations of German culture, food, and drink.
Where was Leave It to Beaver set?
Answer: What is Mayfield? The state of this fictional town was never mentioned, but fans believe it to be Iowa, Ohio, or Illinois.
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.
Answer: What is cinched (or fitted, or similar)? Polka dots were everywhere, a flourish not seen during the war years.
If you want to travel to a Greek island and don’t mind crowds, this island is renowned for its sunsets.
Answer: What is Santorini? If crowds don’t interest you, you can still catch exquisite sunsets during the shoulder seasons—March and April as well as October through early November
Hell’s Canyon and Snake River primarily run through two states: Idaho and this.
Answer: What is Oregon? Both Hell’s Canyon and Snake River defy their names and are scenic tourist attractions
Every July 7–14, Pamplona hosts this celebration that features groups of people running through its streets.
Answer: What is the Running of the Bulls? The festival, which resembles New Orleans’ Mardi Gras, is called the Festival of San Fermín.
Popular breed of pet pigs
Answer: What is pot-bellied? They are intelligent and demanding. Did you know the FAA used to allow them in the cabin as service animals? (Gives a whole new meaning to “When pigs fly!”) A 300-pound “support” hog went wild on a US Airways flight in 2000. Pigs, peacocks, or other exotic animals are no longer allowed in the passenger cabin. Service dogs are the only service animals allowed in the cabin free of charge.