posted
i found this posted on another website's forum.
"I had no idea I was old?!?!
AND HERE'S PROOF:
Every year Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin publishes what it calls "The Mindset List"--fun facts and figures about the incoming crop of freshmen so professors will be able to relate to their new students. Beloit says the list is a reminder that the world view of today's new college students is significantly different from the intellectual framework of those students who entered only a few years earlier. Put another way, it's a reminder that you are getting on in years. One of the list's creators is Beloit professor Tom McBride, who quips, "It is an alert for those of us who may be suffering from hardening of the references." And there's no medicine for this! So to better understand how the class of 2007 thinks, most of whom were born in 1985, read this and feel your age:
1. The people who are starting college this fall across the nation were born in 1985. 2. They have no meaningful recollection of the Reagan era and probably did not know he had ever been shot. 3. They were prepubescent when the Persian Gulf War was waged. 4. There has been only one pope in their lifetime. 5. They were 10 when the Soviet Union broke apart and do not remember the Cold War. 6. They are too young to remember the space shuttle blowing up on takeoff. 7. Tiananmen Square means nothing to them. 8. Bottle caps have always been screw off and plastic. 9. Atari predates them, as do vinyl albums. 10. The statement "You sound like a broken record" means nothing to them. (They have never owned a record player.) 11. They have likely never played Pac Man and have never heard of Pong. 12. They may have never heard of an 8-track tape. The compact disc was introduced when they were 1 year old. 13. They have always had an answering machine. 14. Most have never seen a TV set with only 13 channels, nor have they seen a black and white TV. 15. They have always had cable. 16. There have always been VCRs, but they have no idea what Beta was. 17. They cannot fathom not having a remote control. 18. They don't know what a cloth baby diaper is or know about the "Help me, I've fallen and I can't get up!" commercial. 19. They were born the year that Walkman was introduced by Sony. 20. Roller skating has always meant inline for them. 21. Michael Jackson has always been white. 22. Jay Leno has always been on "The Tonight Show." 23. They have no idea when or why Jordache jeans were cool. 24. Popcorn has always been cooked in the microwave. 25. They have never seen Larry Bird play. 26. They never took a swim and thought about "Jaws." 27. The Vietnam War is as ancient history to them as World War I, World War II, and the Civil War. 28. They have no idea that Americans were ever held hostage in Iran. 29. They can't imagine what hard contact lenses are.
30. They don't know who Mork was or where he was from. (The correct answer, by the way, is Ork.) 31. They never heard: "Where's the beef?", "I'd walk a mile for a Camel," or "De plane, de plane!" 32. They do not care who shot J.R. and have no idea who J.R. was. 33. Kansas, Chicago, Boston, America, and Alabama are places, not bands. 34. There has always been MTV. They don't have a clue how to use a typewriter"
Posts: 2532 | Registered: Jul 2001
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posted
36. They don't remember 'Now you know, and knowing is half the battle' but 'Its morphin time!' holds a special place in their hearts.
Posts: 2532 | Registered: Jul 2001
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posted
If people born before 1985 need to get out their dentures, makes me wonder where I should be already! (And I would like to point out that my 80-yr-old mother still has all her own teeth.)
Hmmm. I could take issue with some of these.
*They have always had an answering machine.
Believe it or not, even today, not everyone has an answering machine.
*...nor have they seen a black and white TV.
My kids have. I still have a small, portable black and white TV that my mom got as a bank promotion...before 1985!
*They have always had cable.
We have never had cable. But I do remember when cable TV was primarily for people in less metropolitan or rural areas who could only get 2 stations without it.
*They don't know what a cloth baby diaper is...
There are many who still use cloth baby diapers, for environmental and health reason...but even those people will often use disposables for traveling.
*Roller skating has always meant inline for them.
You can still get the "other type" of rollerskates at skating rinks - some of them, anyway.
*Michael Jackson has always been white.
ROFL. No further comment about that one.
*Popcorn has always been cooked in the microwave.
I still make popcorn the old-fasioned way, on the stove top. I like the way it comes out that way better, though microwaving is undoubtedly easier. Most of the microwave popcorns come with additives I prefer to avoid, however.
*They can't imagine what hard contact lenses are.
I still wear hard contact lenses.
*They don't have a clue how to use a typewriter.
Hmm, I am pretty sure that my kids know that a computer keyboard was derived from the layout of a typewriter keyboard...And we still have 2 old typewriters in the house, one a mechanical type.
Guess I am just anachronistic.
But the point is that my kids, who were both born after 1985, have been exposed to this stuff.
posted
odouls, I thought you wrote, "it's morphine time!", and I was going to question what the heck kids are growing up with these days if that's what replaced G.I. Joe.
Posts: 251 | Registered: Mar 2002
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posted
I'd just like to point out that the events that they are associating are inconsistant.
I was born in 82 and in some cases recall quite a few of those things, and others i don't recall.
Example:
Fall of the USSR: 1991 Iraq invades Kuwait: 1990
I was 9 and 8 respectively.
However, i dont' ever recall the tonight show before leno, i have seen larry bird play, and i can recall having a black & white tv, and no remote control.
Posts: 4482 | Registered: May 2000
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posted
Now youve gotta remember, this is a 'mindset' list. It's not neccesarily concerned with the facts, but how today's college freshman recall (or do not recall) them.
Posts: 2532 | Registered: Jul 2001
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posted
Most students entering college this fall were born in 1984.
1. A Southerner has always been President of the United States.
2. Richard Burton, Ricky Nelson and Truman Capote have always been dead.
3. South Africa's official policy of apartheid has not existed during their lifetime.
4. Cars have always had eye-level rear stop lights, CD players, and air bags.
5. We have always been able to choose our long distance carriers.
6. Weather reports have always been available 24-hours a day on television.
7. The "evil empire" has moved from Moscow to a setting in some distant galaxy.
8. "Big Brother" is merely a television show.
9. Cyberspace has always existed.
10. Bruce Springsteen's new hit, Born in the USA, could have been played to celebrate their birth.
11. Barbie has always had a job.
12. Telephone bills have always been totally incomprehensible.
13. Prom dresses have always come in basic black.
14. A "Hair Band" is some sort of fashion accessory.
15. George Foreman has always been a barbecue grill salesman
16. Afghanistan has always been a front page story.
17. There has always been an heir to the heir to the British throne.
18. They have no recollection of Connie Chung or Geraldo Rivera as serious journalists.
19. Peter Jennings, Dan Rather, and Tom Brokaw have always anchored the evening news.
20. China has always been a market-based reforming regime.
21. The United States has always been trying to put nuclear waste in Nevada.
22. The U.S. and the Soviets have always been partners in space.
23. Mrs. Fields' cookies and Swatch watches have always been favorites.
24. Nicolas Cage, Daryll Hannah, Eddie Murphy, and John Malkovich made their first major film impressions the year they were born.
25. The GM Saturn has always been on the road.
26. The "Fab Four" are not a male rock group, but four women enjoying "Sex and the City."
27. Fox has always been a television network choice.
28. Males do not carry a handkerchief in a back pocket.
29. This generation has never wanted to "be a Pepper too."
30. Ozzy's lifestyle has nothing to do with the Nelson family.
31. Women have always had tattoos.
32. Vanessa Williams and Madonna are aging singers.
33. Perrier has always come in flavors.
34. Cherry Coke has always come in cans.
35. A "hotline" is a consumer service rather than a phone used to avoid accidental nuclear war.
36. The drug "ecstasy" has always been around.
37. Genetic testing and DNA screening have always been available.
38. Electronic filing of federal income taxes has always been an option.
39. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has always been available to doctors.
40. Trivial Pursuit may have been played by their parents the night before they were born.
41. The U.S. has always maintained that it has a "clear right to use force against terrorism."
42. The drinking age has always been 21 throughout the country.
43. Women have always been members of the Jaycees.
44. The center of chic has shifted from Studio 54 to Liza's living room, live!
45. Julian Lennon had his only hit the year they were born.
46. Sylvan Learning Centers have always been an after-school option.
47. Hip-hop and rap have always been popular musical forms.
48. They grew up in minivans.
49. Scientists have always recognized the impact of acid rain.
50. The Coen Brothers have always been making films.
And in 1984, perhaps it was "Too Soon to Tell"...
* Technology analysts questioned the need for briefcase-sized computers.
* The National Children and Youth Fitness Study announced that children were overweight and underactive.
* A CPA organization heralded that computerized audit systems were being used to avoid errors and they were doing much better at spotting mistakes and providing internal audit controls.
* Film critics declared that George Lucas was looking for new directions because Star Wars interest was waning.
* Videotape technology was said to be killing the film industry and slowing cable network development.
* Analysts stated there was no market for Direct Broadcast Satellite systems.
* The U.S. Supreme Court declared sleeping to be a form of free speech.
posted
I miss the days of Napster dearly. Not neccesarily the Napster itself, but i remember when Napster was doing well, all my college memories of that period are good. Lots of fun to be had back then. These days...not so much.
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posted
Well, I was born in 1956, so I guess that makes me a relic. Fine with me.
But all of this, the fact that kids today don't remember so much because they weren't here, is why I am currently in process of writing about the world since I was born. It fascinates me how much the world has changed - and how much it hasn't changed - since I was born.
Posts: 2454 | Registered: Jan 2003
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posted
I, having been born in 1984, have contention with only two of these, aside from the history which I might know a bit better than my peers.
quote: 11. They have likely never played Pac Man and have never heard of Pong.
I would just like to point out that there was a Pac-man game at the laundry mat that we loved to play while mom was doing laundry, and I've heard of pong, my mom told me about it once.
quote: 18. They don't know what a cloth baby diaper is or know about the "Help me, I've fallen and I can't get up!" commercial
The first of these is wrong. My baby brother wore cloth diapers and I remember them from when I was four, and the "Help me, I've fallen and I can't get up!" Is a timeless quote that when said even today around a group born in '84 or '85 will result in gales of laughter. It was the best joke around for years. Better than any potty humor or knock-knock jokes. The rest of them are pretty much true, though I know a bit about them, but I honestly have never heard of "Beta" and am completely confused by the J.R. reference.
Posts: 349 | Registered: May 2003
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quote:quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If people born before 1985 need to get out their dentures, makes me wonder where I should be already! (And I would like to point out that my 80-yr-old mother still has all her own teeth.) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yeah, so does my 80-year-old grandmother! oh wait.
posted
Man alive, I feel old. Both lists make me feel old, actually, even though one of them was written for my birth year.
It's sad/funny how few people I know here at school who would be able to identify [with] most of the items on either of those lists.
Posts: 3932 | Registered: Sep 1999
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Beta used to be a video tape choice, now its a stage in software development that allows kids to play unfinished games for free.
Posts: 11895 | Registered: Apr 2002
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quote:quote: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I also know about cloth diapers (we use them to mop up all the time) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
yes, but has anyone in your lifetime ever used them as a diaper?
quote: 1. The people who are starting college this fall across the nation were born in 1985.
I was born in 1987
quote: 10. The statement "You sound like a broken record" means nothing to them. (They have never owned a record player.)
Actually, for a very long time we played records (we had a christmas chipmunks album that was a favorite) and still own the record player.
quote: 11. They have likely never played Pac Man and have never heard of Pong.
My Dad talked about making a pong game a few times...
quote: 15. They have always had cable.
I wish!
quote: 18. They don't know what a cloth baby diaper is or know about the "Help me, I've fallen and I can't get up!" commercial.
I wore cloth baby diapers I think.
quote: 20. Roller skating has always meant inline for them.
I used to have roller skates... they were yellow.
quote: 21. Michael Jackson has always been white.
quote: 29. They can't imagine what hard contact lenses are.
Some of my friends wear hard contact lenses...
quote: They don't have a clue how to use a typewriter"
We had one of those too. It was in the "office" (read: linen closet) and I wrote stories on it.
My conclusion: Either I'm really cultured, that list should be more general or say "most of them" instead of "they" or I wasn't really born when my parents say I was...
posted
OK, Here is my definitive age quiz. (You must answer from memory, no google)
1. Who was Mr. Hooper? 2. When was John Lennon Shot? 3. What was check point charlie? 4. Why was it hard to recognize "charlie"? 5. What happened to John Hinkley? 6. Who was the lead singer for the Police? 7. Who is Eric Heiden? 8. What was the MX missile controversy? 9. What was Mikhail Gorbachev's distinguishing feature? 10. What was the big deal about the 1992 Olympic Dream Team? 11. What were SALT and START? 12. How many medals did the US win in the 1980 Summer Olympics? 13. What was the Peacock Throne? 14. During the summer of 1979, why did it matter if you had an odd or an even license plate number? 15. Who did Nastassja Kinski pose with in her most famous picture? 16. What was Ronald Reagan’s key campaign promise in 1980? 17. What cabinet level department was started by Jimmy Carter? 18. Who was “the world’s most eligible bachelor”? 19. Who ran against Reagan in his second election? 20. What happened to Challenger?
Scoring:
20: Old duffer and/or trivia king 19-15: Been around long enough to know better. 10-15: Mature or atleast well read. 6-10: Wet behind the ears or you've lived in a closet 0 - 5: Either you are just a babe or senility has set in.
Posts: 12591 | Registered: Jan 2000
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posted
1. Who was Mr. Hooper? - teacher of Head of the Class? 2. When was John Lennon Shot? 1981 3. What was check point charlie? the passing point through the Berlin wall 4. Why was it hard to recognize "charlie"? 5. What happened to John Hinkley? He's in jail for shooting Reagan. 6. Who was the lead singer for the Police? Sting 7. Who is Eric Heiden? 8. What was the MX missile controversy? 9. What was Mikhail Gorbachev's distinguishing feature? the birthmark on his forehead 10. What was the big deal about the 1992 Olympic Dream Team? first B-ball team made of professionals 11. What were SALT and START? disarmament treaties 12. How many medals did the US win in the 1980 Summer Olympics? zero - we boycotted because it was in Moscow 13. What was the Peacock Throne? 14. During the summer of 1979, why did it matter if you had an odd or an even license plate number? It determined what day you were allowed to buy gas. 15. Who did Nastassja Kinski pose with in her most famous picture? 16. What was Ronald Reagan’s key campaign promise in 1980? You will be better off in four years by me cutting taxes. 17. What cabinet level department was started by Jimmy Carter? Education. 18. Who was “the world’s most eligible bachelor”? JFK, Jr. 19. Who ran against Reagan in his second election? Walter Mondale 20. What happened to Challenger? Blew up on takeoff.Posts: 26077 | Registered: Mar 2000
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