All About the 50's
Who wrote the classic novel The Catcher in the Rye in 1951?
J.D. Salinger. Around 250,000 copies are still sold each year.
In the United States, what is the only state to have a one-syllable name?
Maine. It is also the only state to share its borders with only one other U.S. state (New Hampshire).
This boxer, who would later go by Muhammad Ali, won a gold medal in the light-heavyweight division.
Who is Cassius Clay? He defeated Zbigniew Pietrzkowski of Poland and became an American hero as a result of his win
Who said, “We have nothing to fear but fear itself”?
Franklin D. Roosevelt. FDR expressed this sentiment at his 1933 presidential inauguration.
How often are the Summer Olympics typically held?
Every four years. The next Summer Olympic games will be held in Paris, from July 26 to August 11, 2024.
He was the president of the United States at the beginning of the 1950s?
Harry S. Truman. Truman was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953.
What Italian city is famous for its canals?
Venice. Venice was once an independent empire.
) Events at the 1960 Olympics included this game, invented by James Naismith and played with an orange ribbed ball.
What is basketball? The United States men’s team took gold in this event for the fifth time in a row.
Who said, “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough”?
Mae West. Mae West used this line as a calling card for her sensual side
Daily Double!!!!
What is it called when a bowler makes three strikes in a row?
Turkey. Turkeys became a common prize for winning a bowling tournament, and bowling a turkey became synonymous with three strikes in a row. Other achievements have their own names, like hambone (four consecutive strikes), wild turkey (six strikes), golden turkey (nine strikes), and dinosaur (a perfect game).
Complete the title of this major 1950s hit for the Everly Brothers: “Wake Up Little _____.”
Susie. “Wake Up Little Susie” was released on September 2, 1957. Some Boston radio stations banned the song because the lyrics implied that young couples spent the night together.
What does the D.C. stand for in Washington, D.C.?
District of Columbia. Washington, D.C., is named after both George Washington and Christopher Columbus.
Daily Double!!!!!
The 1960 Olympics were the first to be fully broadcast on this medium.
What is television? Footage of the Games was flown to New York City daily and aired by CBS, while European coverage was provided live by Eurovision.
Who said, “Never let the fear of striking out get in your way”?
Babe Ruth. Babe Ruth was one of the most prolific hitters in baseball history. In 1923, he broke the record for most home runs in a season.
What boxer fought against Muhammad Ali in the 1971 “Fight of the Century” and won?
Joe Frazier. It was the very first time two undefeated boxers faced off for the heavyweight championship of the world.
What is the name of the woman who refused to give up her seat on the bus in 1955?
Rosa Parks. She was 42 years old when she refused to give up her seat to a white man on a crowded bus in Montgomery, Alabama.
Daily Double!!!!!
These are the names of the worlds 5 oceans.
They are the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Arctic Ocean, and Southern Ocean.
Abebe Bikila of Ethiopia won a gold medal in track-and-field, despite running without these on his feet.
What are shoes? This historic Olympics moment saw Bikila become the first Black African to win a gold medal, and all while running barefoot!
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. Who said, “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much”? Hint: As a child, she was taught by a woman named Anne Sullivan.
Helen Keller. Helen Keller was the first person who was deaf and blind to earn a college degree.
. How long is a marathon?
26.2 miles. World-class runners finish a marathon in a little over two hours. Other participants might take eight hours or more.
Daily Double!!!!
What Cleveland disc jockey first used the term rock ’n’ roll in 1951?
Alan Freed. He introduced the phrase on mainstream radio in the early 1950s.
Where are the Spanish Steps located?
Rome, Italy. The monumental stairway has a total of 135 steps. It was built to link the Spanish Embassy and the Trinità dei Monti church.
This “fastest woman in the world” brought home three gold medals for the United States in track-and-field events, the first American woman to do so.
Who is Wilma Rudolph? Amazingly, this athlete was afflicted by polio as a child and doctors originally believed she would never walk normally
Who said, “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude”? Hint: She wrote I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
Maya Angelou. She was only the second poet in history to recite work at a presidential inauguration (Bill Clinton’s in 1993).
Who was the first baseball player to appear on a Wheaties cereal box?
Lou Gehrig. He was the first baseman for the New York Yankees and the first living person to be featured on the cereal box.