Remembering the 1950s
In 1955, she was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama, for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger.
Who is Rosa Parks? While this act was performed by a number of people around the same time, Parks’ age and reputation as an upstanding citizen garnered the most attention. She was instrumental in desegregating the South.
Today, we touch numbers on our phones or use our contact lists to make a phone call, but we used to do this to connect to the other party.
Answer: What is dial the phone? We also used to memorize phone numbers
The “Get Out of Jail Free” card is associated with this board game.
What is Monopoly?
After a rain, you sometimes see this multicolor phenomenon in the sky.
What is rainbow? Rainbows occur when the right atmospheric conditions are present: water droplets in the air, sunshine coming from behind you, and you positioned in just the right place. Sometimes you can see a full-circle rainbow if you’re in an airplane.
This German celebration takes place in September and October.
What is Oktoberfest? Munich’s Oktoberfest is the world’s largest folk festival.
Her coronation took place in 1953.
Who is Queen Elizabeth II? She’s held the crown for almost 70 years.
Today, when we’re driving and a tire deflates, we call a roadside service, but we used to do this ourselves.
What is change a flat tire?
This is played with kings, queens, rooks, bishops, knights, and pawns.
What is chess? The object of the game is to capture the opposing king. Did you know the game can end in a stalemate?
These birds were once used as gas detectors in coal mines.
What are canaries? This method of detecting gases ended in 1986 when it was replaced by technology
This is the French equivalent to Canada Day or the U.S. Fourth of July.
What is Bastille Day? It commemorates the beginning of the French Revolution and the storming of the Bastille.
In 1952, this vaccine was released by Dr. Jonas Salk.
What is polio? Polio was first detected in 1894 in Vermont.
In the days before text messages, we used to write notes in longhand, sometimes using this type of pen with a nib and refillable ink source.
What is fountain pen?
This over-50 women’s society exists “for no other purpose than to have fun with like-minded women.” You’ll see all of them wearing hats of a certain color.
What is Red Hat Society? Members dress in red and purple and wear red hats for their get-togethers.
This keeps Earth in orbit and animate and inanimate matter grounded on Earth.
What is gravity? It also keeps our atmosphere from wandering off, and it keeps satellites in orbit.
Roman Catholics celebrate this feast day the day after Halloween.
What is All Saints’ Day (or the Feast of All Saints)?
In 1957, the Soviets launched this satellite as well as the Space Age.
What is Sputnik? It was the first artificial satellite in space
When we needed new clothes, we consulted huge McCall’s, Vogue, and Butterick books to find these.
What are patterns? We sewed expensive-looking clothes for a fraction of what we would pay in a store. People took basic sewing classes as well as tailoring classes, which taught advanced topics to make clothes look professionally made. Do you remember when most everyone had a black Singer sewing machine?
Gardeners who plant clematis, ivy, and trumpet vines expect them to do this when growing.
What is climb? They’re known as climbers,and most require stakes or trellises. Ivy will cling to most anything.
Varieties of this cold or hot beverage include black, green, white, and oolong.
What is tea? Each has different health benefits due to antioxidants called flavonoids.
Canada Day was originally called this.
What is Dominion Day? The first day of July was officially sanctioned as Dominion Day in 1879. It became Canada Day in 1982 and celebrates the anniversary of the confederation. It is celebrated much the same way the United States celebrates the Fourth of July.
In 1952, this British monarch died.
Who is King George VI? He died in his sleep.
When we went to the library, we looked up books using this.
What is card catalog? Today, we use computers and mobile devices to find books
This is another name for table tennis.
What is ping-pong?
This mammal has the longest gestation period.
What is elephant? Their gestation period is around 95 weeks, versus the human gestation period of 40 weeks.
This public holiday is celebrated the day after Christmas in the U.K. and other Commonwealth countries.
What is Boxing Day? The most common explanation of the day is that it originated as a day off for the servants. It has evolved into a day of giving to charity and/or after-Christmas sales.