The other night a friend and I were talking about how in the seventies we grew up with what seems like a far greater awareness of cultural events that took place before we were born than kids do now. Maybe it was because we only had six TV channels (and one TV) so we either had to watch what the adults were watching or go outside and blow something up, whereas now kids have far more control over what the media can embed in their skulls. It's a trade-off: Jackson can gleefully ambush me in Call of Duty, but he has no idea who Andy Rooney is. And maybe that's okay, maybe in the long run it's more useful cultural currency for him to know more about gaming than a grumpy old man who laments the disappearance of typewriter ribbon, but it does concern me a little. I want him to find all kinds of things interesting, not just the stuff that's targeted to his demographic. If you're beginning to suspect this means I'm going to force him to watch Ethel Merman movies all through the holiday break YOU WOULD BE CORRECT. Out of curiosity, I whipped up a quick survey for us all. See how you do! UPDATE: ANSWERS AND RESULTS OF MONDAY'S 454 RESPONDENTS ARE BELOW.
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ANSWERS:
- Jack Paar hosted the Tonight Show (74% responded correctly)
- Elizabeth Taylor did not marry Charles Nelson Reilly (72.7%)
- David Sedaris is the only one who does not host a show on public radio, and I apologize for how awkwardly that question was worded (11% think he does host a show, though)
- Beppo was not a Marx brother (29% got that correct, 62% believe it was Gummo who wasn't a Marx brother! More on Gummo here.)
- You want to buy the world a Coke (97% of you do, anyway)
- All of those authors committed suicide (59% got that)
- 69% of respondents were under 40, 31% 40 and older (like me)