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Ten Scary Things Baby Boomers Faced

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Fun Trivia : Quizzes : Nostalgia : Ten Scary Things Baby Boomers Faced

Introduction:
"Contrary to the beliefs of American 'Gen-Xers', growing up in the U.S. during the 1950s and 1960s was not all Davy Crockett coonskin caps, lava lamps and 'flower children'. There were also plenty of things around to scare the the 'baby boomers'."


1. Atomic bombs could be dropped by Russia at any moment, or at least that's what American schoolchildren were led to believe. When an air raid siren sounded, they were taught to curled up on the floor in a "duck and cover" exercise. What was the name of the cartoon turtle used to demonstrate this civil defense drill?
    Bert
    Henry
    Sam
    Alvin


2. Polio struck over 60,000 people in 1952, mostly children, and killed 3,000 Americans. Imagine the horror of parents when a neighborhood child contracted the crippling childhood disease. Many vividly remember being stuck with a big needle full of Salk vaccine. A few years later another scientist developed an oral vaccine that was mercifully administered in a sugar cube. What was his name?
    Davak
    Jenkins
    Sabin
    Donaldson


3. Invaders from space were nothing new in the 1950s. Orson Welles' 1938 radio rendition of "The War of the Worlds" had already frightened a nation. But when Russia launched its Sputnik in 1957 America renewed its fascination with space, and widespread reports of UFOs and invaders from outer space began. Hollywood jumped on the bandwagon and produced countless, low-budget horror films about all forms of creatures from beyond. Which of the following was not a scary 1958 science fiction film?
    War of the Satellites
    It, The Terror from Beyond Space
    I Married a Monster from Outer Space
    My Baby Is a Martian


4. Emergency Broadcast System tests came on television randomly, and usually interrupted some enjoyable programming. As viewers held their breath awaiting word that Soviet nuclear warheads were about to rain down, they were forced to endure a half a minute of a loud, high-pitched obnoxious tone. In what year was the EBS initiated?
    1958
    1966
    1960
    1963


5. An "iron lung" was huge cylinders with a person's head sticking out of one end. Poor souls, mostly children, suffering from respiratory paralysis were forced to use the contraptions in order to breathe. A small mirror above their heads was a patients' only contact with the world around them. Where in the U.S. was this device developed?
    Detroit
    New York
    Boston
    Chicago


6. Nikita Khrushchev was a fat, bald Soviet leader that promised to "bury" us, and banged his shoe on a podium at the United Nations. With the push of a button, he could have started World War III. From sending troops to crush the Hungarian uprising (1956), to building the Berlin Wall (1961), Khrushchev symbolized tyranny and remained a threat to world peace until he was deposed in 1964. Who was his successor?
    Nikolai Bulganin
    Georgi Malenkov
    Leonid Brezhnev
    Lavrenti Beria


7. What is the "Doomsday Clock"?
    United Nations timepiece
    World's thermonuclear weapons stockpile
    Scientists' opinion of global danger
    Ancient prophesy


8. The prospect of Soviet missiles in Cuba not only caused churches to be open twenty-four hours a day, they put American military forces at DEFCON 2, the highest in U.S. history. Who was the U.S. Secretary of Defense during the 1962 crisis?
    Maxwell Taylor
    Robert McNamara
    Curtis LeMay
    Adlai Stevenson


9. Red China was a huge, mysterious land mass on the other side of the world with enough people to the march six abreast into the sea without running out of people. Many children believed that you could get to China by digging a hole deep enough in the backyard. What sport was largely responsible for an easing of tensions between China and the U.S.?
    Volleyball
    Water polo
    Basketball
    Table tennis


10. Mass murderers and serial killers made countless 1960s headlines, and American communities where paralyzed by sheer terror. Names like Whitman, Manson and Speck boosted hand gun sales while maniacs like the Boston Strangler killed repeatedly and evaded arrest. Which of the following 'monsters' was responsible for the fewest deaths?
    Charles Whitman
    Richard Speck
    Albert De Salvo
    Charles Manson


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