I sent Russell Weeks' Sobering Thoughts to the exhibit design, education,
human resources and marketing departments here at Shedd Aquarium.  Here's a
response from Gene Dillenburg, one of the exhibit developers

Linda Wilson
Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, IL


Amusing, and valuable for helping us realize that not everyone comes
equipped with the same cultural references.  But a little too "broad-brush"
for my tastes.  Just because something happened before you were born doesn't
mean you don't know about it or haven't heard about it.  I have a fairly
decent idea what Edison cylinders were and how they worked.  Ditto for
things that happened when I was "too young."  Men walked on the moon for the
first time when I was 9; I remember it quite clearly.  In fact, I remember
Apollo 8 from late 1968.  So I've no doubt many college Freshmen remember
two Germanys, and the rest no doubt at least heard about them.

There are still metal bottle caps that require a bottle opener.  And if they
are familiar with "Star Wars," why are they not familiar with "Jaws"?  I was
certainly familiar with "Frankenstein" and "King Kong."

"They have always had cable"?  Please.  Not everyone has cable, even today.
Those that do, of course, are intimately familiar with all those TV shows.

And any sports fan would consider all those teams "expansion," for that's
what they are.  (The Mets were born when I was two, but I and everyone else
always have, and always will, consider them an expansion team, for their
birth expanded the National League.)

So yes, we must always remember that people of different groups have
different experiences, different frames of references.  But also, that the
people within any group are also highly varied, and many of them *share* our
knowledge, understanding and references, even if they are not "one of us."

Cheers!  :-)

-- Gene