Back in My Day Quiz | 19th, 20th & 21st Centuries

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. On June 25, 1950, the military forces of North Korea crossed the 38th parallel and invaded South Korea. On which date was an armistice signed?

Answer: July 27, 1953

The armistice created the Korean Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea, (at the 38th parallel, the original dividing line) and allowed for an exchange of prisoners. No peace treaty has ever been signed, and the two Koreas are technically still at war. Before the armistice at least 2.5 million persons were killed, including approximately 40,000 Americans. (I recall the daily "body counts" in the newspaper, the firing of General Douglas MacArthur by President Harry Truman, and the endless sessions of negotiation, including what shape table the negotiators would sit at, leading up to the armistice.)

2. When the 1950s began, radio was the prime entertainment medium. One very popular crime show had for a theme "The Love For Three Oranges" by Prokofiev. That music was accompanied by the chant "L-A-V-A, L-A-V-A." Which radio program was it? (Ask J. Edgar Hoover)

Answer: The FBI In Peace And War

"The FBI In Peace And War" aired on CBS from 1944-1958. Each episode featured a different FBI case. It was primarily sponsored by Lava Soap (thus the "L-A-V-A" chant). It was consistently in the top ten of most popular radio shows. (This show, where the outcome was in doubt until the very end, was a favorite of mine from 1950 to about 1954 when we finally got a television set.)

3. In 1950, the anesthesia of choice was ether. Much earlier, Dr. William T.G. Morton, a dentist, proved that ether, inhaled as a gas, was a safe anesthetic. At Massachusetts General Hospital, he and surgeon John Collins Warren performed the first successful surgery using ether. In which year was that first operation performed?

Answer: 1846

Although no longer used, ether for over a century was routinely the anesthesia used in surgery. It has since been replaced by kinder, gentler anesthetics. (In 1950, I had my appendix removed in an emergency operation in the middle of the night. Ether was used. I hated it, and still remember the horrible buzzing and swirling it induced.

A couple of months later, I had my tonsils removed. As I awaited the ether, I told the doctor that I would not breathe. He said that was fine. Of course, when I did have to breathe, the effects of the ether were greatly magnified.)

4. A major entertainment source for teens in the 1950s was the cinema. One of the early stars was Marlon Brando. In which of these two films did he appear?

Answer: The Wild One and On The Waterfront

"The Wild One" (1953) dealt with rival motorcycle gangs who take over a small town. Johnny Strabler (Marlon Brando) heads the Black Rebels; Chino (Lee Marvin) runs the Beetles. The 50s "black leather jacket" motorcycle image developed from this film. "On The Waterfront" presents corruption, violence, extortion, and racketeering on the docks in Hoboken, NJ. Terry Malloy (Brando), once an up-and-coming boxer now a dock worker, is pulled into the web of evil and then gets trapped between testifying in court or suffering dire consequences if he does. "On The Waterfront" was nominated or twelve Oscars and won eight, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Brando), Best Supporting Actress (Eva Marie Saint), and Best Director (Elia Kazan). (Both movies are still fixed in my memory! I suggest you see them, if you haven't.)

5. At the beginning of the 1950s, mainstream music was primarily female and male vocalists, often backed by big bands. In 1955 that changed drastically, in large measure because of the theme song for the movie "Blackboard Jungle." What was that theme?

Answer: Rock Around The Clock

"Blackboard Jungle" follows the trials and tribulations of teaching in an inner-city high school. The cast includes Glenn Ford, Anne Francis, Louis Calhern, Sidney Poitier, and Vic Morrow. (If you have never seen this film, you should.) "Rock Around The Clock" by Bill Haley and His Comets is the theme song that became the first iconic mainstream rock and roll anthem, initiating a significant change in the music that teens were listening to. Haley followed that hit with such others as the other three songs listed.

6. In the 1950s advertisements for cigarettes were a regular feature in all media. Which cigarette ad stated: "Come to where the flavor is. Come to _________ country"?

Answer: Marlboro

Marlboro used the slogan "Come to where the flavor is. Come to Marlboro Country." It also used the jingle "Filter, flavor, flip-top box." Marlboro Country was the west, and its symbol was the cowboy. Interestingly, four of the men who appeared in ads for Marlboro died of smoking related diseases (Wayne McClaren, David McLean, Dick Hammer, and Eric Lawson. (The Marlboro ads hooked me in around 1956...loved the crush-proof, flip-top box that looked great rolled up in the short sleeve of a t-shirt. After a great struggle, I quit for good in 1984, probably the reason I'm able to write this quiz today.

As a side note, when I began smoking, a pack was a quarter and a carton of ten was $2.00; today, a pack runs to $10 and a carton to $100+.)

7. Once rock and roll became the music of teens, the 1950s produced many different dances. Although bop/swing/jitterbug was the most popular, teens enjoyed slow dancing (particularly with the lights low), and starting in 1957, a slow dance that involved two lines of dancers, men on one side and women on the other. Which dance was it?

Answer: The Stroll

In 1957, "The Stroll," written by Clyde Otis and Nancy Lee, became a hit song by The Diamonds. The lyrics ("Come let's stroll / Stroll across the floor /Come let's stro-oh-oh-ol /Stroll across the floor / Now turn around baby / Let's stroll once more") led one woman and one man to join hands and "stroll" down the space between the two lines, then return to the bottom of the lines. (Great dance for guys and gals to show off their individual styles while strolling. My then partner, now my wife, enjoyed "The Stroll" and all the other dances of the fifties.)

8. During the fifties, television replaced radio as the prime entertainment medium. One show, "The Toast Of The Town," began in 1948. Under a different name it would present a young Elvis Presley to the television audience. Who hosted this show?

Answer: Ed Sullivan

"The Toast Of The Town" became "The Ed Sullivan Show" in 1955 and ran until 1971. Ed Sullivan introduced Elvis on September 9, 1956. Sullivan would later introduced the Beatles to the American television audience in 1963. (I watched the show in September, 1956, and still remember it well.)

9. In the 1950s teens read real books made of paper. One popular book involved a group of boys trying to survive on an uninhabited island after a plane crash. Which novel was it?

Answer: Lord Of The Flies

"Lord Of The Flies" is a 1954 novel, the first from William Golding who would later win the Nobel Prize for Literature. Although the boys at first seem to be able to work together for mutual survival, they eventually regress to a primitive state with dire consequences. (Enjoyed it when I first read it. Later, I got to teach it to college freshmen.)

10. As in any age, the fifties had a number of fashion fads such as Poodle Skirts. At a time when there were at least two competing styles, what teens put on their feet indicated their choice. Which two shoe styles best represent the difference?

Answer: White Bucks and Blue Suede Shoes

Blue Suede Shoes are associated with the rock and roll style and with Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley, both of whom sang "Blue Suede Shoes". White Bucks were the opposite of rock and roll, symbolized by Pat Boone who mostly sang non-rock songs (such as "April Love" and "Friendly Persuasion"). (I had a pair of each, and wore them depending on the occasion. So did most of my friends.)

Source: Author lowtechmaster

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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Back in My Day Trivia Quiz

Born in 1940, I was in my salad years in the 1950s, a decade I remember very well. How many of these 1950 subjects "back in my day" can you identify?

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