"In this sticky web that we're all in, behaving decently is no small task." -- Novelist Stacey D'Erasmo

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Quiz: Are You a Baby Boomer?

     Stories about the status of Baby Boomers like the one in today's NY Times leave me cold. Who cares that the first boomers are turning 65? It doesn't mean anything, especially since full Social Security  retirement age is now 66, and will be moving to 67 for younger boomers.

     But this begs the question:  Are you a Baby Boomer? Sure, you can check your birth date. But it's more of a cultural thing. Take this quiz to see if you make the grade as a true Baby Boomer. I suggest printing out the quiz, circling your choices, then checking back here -- answers will appear in a few days. Have fun!

1)  Who ran with Hubert Humphrey as the vice presidential candidate in 1968?
a)  Henry Hawkins
b)  Bob Dole
c)  Walter Mondale
d)  Sargent Shriver
e)  Ed Muskie

2)  What were the Everly Brothers first names?
a)  Dan and Don
b)  Phil and Don
c)  Dan and Dick
d)  Tommy and Dick
e)  Paul and Artie

3)  Who was king of the wild frontier?
a)  John Wayne
b)  Daniel Boone
c)  Andrew Jackson
d)  David Bowie
e)  Davy Crockett

4)  Florence Henderson played the mom in what TV show?
a)  The Brady Bunch
b)  Ozzie and Harriet
c)  My Three Sons
d)  The Partridge Family
e)  Father Knows Best

5)  Hey . . . who's Jude?
a)  Paul’s girlfriend
b)  John’s father
c)  John’s son
d)  Ringo’s real name
e)  the original Beatles drummer

6)  Who did not appear on Laugh In?
a)  Goldie Hawn
b)  Richard Nixon
c)  Joe Namath
d)  Lily Tomlin
e)  Johnny Carson

7)  When did Saigon fall?
a)  1969
b)  1971
c)  1973
d)  1975
e)  1977

8)  What was the first James Bond film?
a)  From Russia with Love
b)  Dr. No
c)  Octopussy
d)  Goldfinger
e)  Diamonds Are Forever

9)  Who was the first person to orbit the earth?
a)  Alan Shepard
b)  Yuri Gagarin
c)   John Glenn
d)  Neil Armstrong
e)  Valentina Tereshkova

10) What movie won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1969?
a)  Easy Rider
b)  The Graduate
c)  Midnight Cowboy
d)  Five Easy Pieces
e)  Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

11) Who shot President Ford in 1975?
a)  Sara Jane Moore
b)  Charles Whitman
c)  Kathy Boudin
d)  John Hinckley
e)  David Berkowitz

12) Who was Tania?
a)  Mary Jo Kopechne
b)  Patty Hearst
c)  Rocky’s girlfriend
d)  Dorothy’s dog
e)  Malcolm X’s daughter

13) Aside from giving us TV's "Keeping Up with the Kardashians," starring his step-daughters, Bruce Jenner is famous for winning the 1976 gold medal in what sport?
a)  cross country
b)  diving
c)  pole vault
d)  triathlon
e)  decathlon    

14) In 1974 daredevil Evel Knievel attempted to jump over a canyon at what river?
a)  Colorado
b)  Columbia
c)  Snake
d)  Red
e)  Green

15) Who was the first African American elected mayor of a major U. S. city?
a)  Carl Stokes in Cleveland
b)  Thomas Bradley in LA
c)  Coleman Young in Detroit
d)  Walter Washington in Washington, DC
e)  David Dinkins in New York

4 comments:

schmidleysscribbins.wordpress.com said...

Because I am a retired Demographer, and we coined the phrase BB, I don't have to take the test to know I am not one. Besides, I don't think I could answer all these questions. I know the answer to some of them, like who shot at President Ford (Squeaky Fromn) and when Saigon fell (1975). I remember when Evil Kneival tried to jump some canyon, but don't remember which one, and I was living in Washington when WW was mayor, but don't remember if he was the first Black mayor. I do know Virginia had the first Black governor, Douglas Wilder, however.

I am a "WWII" baby, not a Depression Baby, although the Depression was still on until the war ended. My husband was born in 1929 and is therefore a before the Depression Baby technically.

Kay Dennison said...

I was born in 1947 so I'm elder baby boomer. A lot of us who were born before 1950 (I've found) don't exactly fit the profile and identify more with the WWII babies but yes, I knew the answers to all the questions and remember where I was when JFK was assassinated.

Dick Klade said...

I know all the answers; just can't remember them right now. That means I'm slightly older than a boomer!

One answer just came to me. Knievel's famous jump was supposed to be across the Snake River near Twin Falls in Idaho. I believe he chickened out and didn't really do it. Funny how we geezers recall trivia and forget important stuff.

June said...

Hi! I'm so glad you left a comment for me so I could know you were present in the blogging world.

I'm most definitely a boomer, but I find myself guessing at half of the questions. During a lot of that time, I was . . . um . . . not paying a lot of attention...

And, oh, by the way, the quote thing is an automatic feed you can add from BrainyQuotes: http://www.brainyquote.com/link/index.html